Online streaming counts for gold certification

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http://notesfromtheundergroundtv.com/2013/05/09/riaa-announces-streaming-now-counts-toward-platinum-and-gold-certifications/

The fight between the recording industry and the Internet has been raging for years now, with the Internet winning hands down. It seems like the recording industry is now trying to atleast meet the net in the middle. After taking a loss year and year when it comes to record sales due to the availability of free music online, the RIAA announces today that streaming online will now count towards gold and platinum certifications.
According to Billboard, Recording Industry Association of America has altered their formula to certify albums Platinum and Gold, now including streaming as part of the equation. The reasoning behind the change is clear—streaming was recently added to Billboard’s own charts as an indicator of popularity and listening in this manner has exploded, especially through services likes Spotify, Soundcloud and Youtube.
The RIAA’s formula for determining a single or an album’s status has only been altered five times since 1958, a fact that indicates just how much streaming and digital sales are beginning to change the industry. Originally based solely off units sold, the addition of tapes and CD sales was one of the first changes, then digital downloads, and the last change was in 2006 when master ringtones were added.
Now, the RIAA will be using calculations from a number of services, including audio streams from MOG, Muve Music, Rdio, Rhapsody, Slacker, Spotify, Xbox Music and video streams from MTV.com, VEVO, Yahoo! Music and YouTube. Under the new calculations, 100 streams of a song will be equal to one sale—an equivocation that stalled the industry leaders while trying to decide how to incorporate streaming into their factoring process.
The RIAA Chairman and Chief Executive Cary Sherman told Billboard that the decision required lengthy deliberation, given that streaming generates various levels of revenue depending on a number of factors. So, instead, the RIAA looked at the average number of times a song was streamed per download, and landed on 100.
“We also felt that pure economics should not be the basis for acknowledging artistic achievement,” Sherman said. Speaking of which, over 56 new titles will be acknowledged given the new rules, includingEmeli Sandé‘s “Next To Me,” Lana Del Rey‘s “Video Games” and even one from the old school canon—Aerosmith‘s “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing”

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Earendil Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: November 17 2008 Location: Indiana, USA Status: Offline Points: 1584	Topic: Online streaming counts for gold certification Posted: May 09 2013 at 18:50
	http://notesfromtheundergroundtv.com/2013/05/09/riaa-announces-streaming-now-counts-toward-platinum-and-gold-certifications/ The fight between the recording industry and the Internet has been raging for years now, with the Internet winning hands down. It seems like the recording industry is now trying to atleast meet the net in the middle. After taking a loss year and year when it comes to record sales due to the availability of free music online, the RIAA announces today that streaming online will now count towards gold and platinum certifications. According to Billboard, Recording Industry Association of America has altered their formula to certify albums Platinum and Gold, now including streaming as part of the equation. The reasoning behind the change is clear—streaming was recently added to Billboard’s own charts as an indicator of popularity and listening in this manner has exploded, especially through services likes Spotify, Soundcloud and Youtube. The RIAA’s formula for determining a single or an album’s status has only been altered five times since 1958, a fact that indicates just how much streaming and digital sales are beginning to change the industry. Originally based solely off units sold, the addition of tapes and CD sales was one of the first changes, then digital downloads, and the last change was in 2006 when master ringtones were added. Now, the RIAA will be using calculations from a number of services, including audio streams from MOG, Muve Music, Rdio, Rhapsody, Slacker, Spotify, Xbox Music and video streams from MTV.com, VEVO, Yahoo! Music and YouTube. Under the new calculations, 100 streams of a song will be equal to one sale—an equivocation that stalled the industry leaders while trying to decide how to incorporate streaming into their factoring process. The RIAA Chairman and Chief Executive Cary Sherman told Billboard that the decision required lengthy deliberation, given that streaming generates various levels of revenue depending on a number of factors. So, instead, the RIAA looked at the average number of times a song was streamed per download, and landed on 100. “We also felt that pure economics should not be the basis for acknowledging artistic achievement,” Sherman said. Speaking of which, over 56 new titles will be acknowledged given the new rules, includingEmeli Sandé‘s “Next To Me,” Lana Del Rey‘s “Video Games” and even one from the old school canon—Aerosmith‘s “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing”

rogerthat Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: September 03 2006 Location: . Status: Offline Points: 9869	Posted: May 09 2013 at 19:08
	From how many of these streaming services do bands or labels make any money at all? I know RIAA said it's not only about commerce but what does it represent for a band if their song has received a million hits on youtube but they won't get any money for that? How would it be different from being told that their album didn't sell at all even as it raced up the download charts?

Earendil Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: November 17 2008 Location: Indiana, USA Status: Offline Points: 1584	Posted: May 09 2013 at 19:14
	Good questions. I don't see how it will make much of a positive difference for the artists.

Man With Hat Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Collaborator Jazz-Rock/Fusion/Canterbury Team Joined: March 12 2005 Location: Neurotica Status: Offline Points: 166178	Posted: May 10 2013 at 03:27
	lol that seems silly.
	Dig me...But don't...Bury me I'm running still, I shall until, one day, I hope that I'll arrive Warning: Listening to jazz excessively can cause a laxative effect.

Dean Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Retired Admin and Amateur Layabout Joined: May 13 2007 Location: Europe Status: Offline Points: 37575	Posted: May 10 2013 at 03:47
	I guess fewer records are selling enough to award gold and plat discs to.
	What?

Gerinski Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: February 10 2010 Location: Barcelona Spain Status: Offline Points: 5093	Posted: May 10 2013 at 04:58
	It calls for easy manipulation, it's easy to program computers to visit a certain song streaming again and again. If I understand correctly this will only apply for certification of singles, right? How would they calculate for albums certification when streamings are for a single song??