Quality Matters: Billboard Charting and Platinum & Gold Certified Singles and Albums

When we talk about the Music Industry, common people see the limelight, fame, and fan following. But that is just an after-effect of your core skills in music. Indie musicians always have to target the best of their skills to secure a position in people-oriented awards & achievements.

Note that these awards & achievements are the barometer of one’s success. Platinum & Gold certifications are such awards in Billboard.

Platinum awards are for albums or singles that have reached a milestone in sales, whether digital or physical. The sales number shows the high demand for the album among music lovers. Gold certifications operate similarly but their sales number or achievement number is lesser than the platinum certifications.

Platinum and gold certificates have public demand as their cornerstone. This means if your creative piece is good enough for the public, certificates are yours.

In this article, we’re going to discuss how Billboard Charts work and how an artist can achieve it.

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Understanding the Billboard Charts:

The Billboard chart is a series of popular music pieces that ranks on top across America. This charting serves as the measurement of the success of these music singles or albums. Note that these certifications also consider the commercial success of the song, considering an album or single’s sale in digital & hard copies.

The determination of Billboard charting ranking depends on several factors. They are as follows.

Digital Sales
Streaming Numbers
Radio Airplay
Physical Sales

1. Hot100:

This list considers the top 100 most popular single songs based on several factors such as Radio Airplay, Digital Sales, and Streaming Data.

2. Billboard 200:

This ranks the best popular albums across all genres considering several factors such as Sales, Streaming, and Radio airplay.

3. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Album:

This chart considers only the Hip/Hop albums and considers the popularity of R&B songs.

4. Country Airplay:

Country Airplay is considered the most-played country song on radio. No other genre is allowed to be on this list.

5. Dance/Electronic Albums:

This list puts the top-performing dance & electronic music albums.

6. Alternative Songs:

This list considers only alternative rock songs.

7. Latin Songs & Albums:

This is for listing the most popular Latin songs and Albums in the U.S.

How Billboard Charting & Certifications Impact on an Artist’s Career?

Billboard Charting reflects the people’s choices of music and appreciate that. Therefore being on this chart automatically lifts an artist’s career.

1. Visibility:

Featuring on the Billboard Charting automatically boosts up your song or album’s visibility. The Hot 100 list exposes your single to a wider audience and lets people know your work.

2. Credibility:

Billboard is the measurement of credibility among the music-lover community. If you’ve secured a position here, be sure to get noticed by significant players in the industry as well as be ready to get recognized for your skill.

3. Industry Attention:

Billboard charts are considered & monitored by big labels, music producers, and executives. A position in that chart gains attention from the stakeholders and big names in the industry. Also be ready for collaborations, endorsements, and high-paying gigs.

4. Certifications:

Gold & Platinum awards are given to you when you have sold 5,000,000 & 1 Million sales in all platforms combined respectively. These certifications can offer you strong financial support as well.

5. Increased Revenue:

Featuring on the Billboard chart & getting awards for it will leave you with better deals with labels & distributors.

6. Merchandising Opportunities:

Once you register your name in the Billboard chart, you’re now a certified artist. The certification helps you to secure merchandising deals & tour sponsorships.

Adele launched an album named ‘21’ that achieved diamond certification in the U.S. This brought immense success and wealth to her as well as established her as a powerhouse.

Beyonce digitally launched her self-titled album in 2013 and within days, it secured the Platinum Certification. This showed the power of Digital Releases.

Post Malone started his career with his debut album ‘Stoney’ which secured multiple platinum certifications that established him as a commercial superstar.

How You Can Achieve Platinum/Gold Certifications?

Artists & record labels must accurately count their sales numbers in digital & hard copies.
The number then should be reported to the relevant organisations.
Certification bodies may later conduct the auditing and verification of your request.
Once the numbers are confirmed, the certification body will issue the respective certificate.
As an artist, you can use certifications as your marketing tools.

Points to Note:

Be 110% sure about your sales counting. It can be challenging & time-taking.
Closely observe the industry trends.
Achieving certifications in multiple countries can be difficult.
Consider your financial positioning as production, promotion, and distribution can be costly.

The Evolution of Billboard and Certifications in the Digital Age:

Digital access to music has changed the Billboard charting in a dramatic way. We have tried to summarise it through a few listings given below.

Digital platforms such as YouTube, Spotify & Apple Music have become the big players in the procedure.
Billboard now considers the digital play, downloads, and streams.
The number of sales required includes digital downloads alongside the hard copy sales.
The chart considers the SEA method which considers streams as album sales.
The digital age has brought a better global perspective to charting.
Digital platforms offer real-time data and allow more accurate counting.

Controversies and Debates around Billboard:

Billboard charting has still maintained its positioning as a trusted source of the world’s best music. However, like all good things, it’s also not free of controversies. Here are a few of them.

Several critics question the accuracy of the charting as they can be manipulated.
Billboard is alleged for letting artists bundle their albums with concert tickets.
Exclusive deals such as Spotify, and Apple Music bring some criticism for the unfair advantage.
Critics argue about the representation of Genres in Billboard Charting.
The Billboard chart focuses on the U.S. only popularity that doesn’t represent the Global popularity of the artist.

Conclusion:

Securing a position in the Billboard chart means getting recognition, finances, hot deals, and a big warm welcome from the industry itself. There are several rules for getting Gold & Platinum certifications. However, the one & most important condition is to create quality content that people would love.

Above, we have discussed how important the Billboard chart is and how you can get a certificate from them. Also, we read some of the controversies that revolve around the Billboard chart. Hope you have liked this article. To know about the certification & charting, contact us.

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