Recording Industry Association Of America (
RIAA) certifies releases on the basis of sales.
Adjusting to the digital age, RIAA now equates 150 streams (on Spotify or elsewhere) to a single download/sale. A release must accrue 500,000 sales for gold certification, 1 million for platinum and 2 million for multi-platinum. Needless to say, these honors aren’t easy to come by.
Here are 10 alternative artists whose RIAA certifications might surprise you.
The 1975 – “Sex”
The 1975 have received all sorts of certifications since they dropped their debut album in 2013. One song that we didn’t expect to be top-performing was “Sex.” Despite being put forward on the band’s 2012 EP, the track paled in popularity compared to many of its album mates and following releases. As of 2019, though, it became one of four of the band’s singles to be designated gold by RIAA.