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THIS IS SO CONFUSING: Just read over on "Idol" about CD's being certified "Platinum" BEFORE it really "goes" platinum.....believe it has all to do with the "shipped" vs "sales" figures....Thought certification occurs when cd's are "shipped"....this may count for all those cd's being on the shelves without the projected sales "coming through"?????Help.
I guess Libbyrose as far as the label's are concerned once they ship the albums they are considered sold, its up to whomever buys them to sell them. I would imagine that the label has there money before those cd's are ever shipped and its irrelavite(sp) as to how many are sold each week, thats just the store getting there money back for there investment. So, if the label has sold 700k or so and they ship another 200k, I really don't know how many they ship at one time, guess it depends on how many orders they get, it probably want take but maybe one more shipment and she'll go platinum. This probably don't make a bit of sense.
Over at StreetPulse*, they have STG with a 228% rise from Jan 22, 2008 - Jan 25, 2008 (ie just after Ellen and Jimmy) as compared with a similar span a week ago. She has by far the largest % rise of the 50 albums mentioned over this period, but the data is not nearly as accurate as Soundscan. Over a longer week span the % may fall somewhat. Still, it is some measure how she is doing.
Update now +157% for Jan 22, 2008 - Jan 26, 2008. Falling as expected, but still good. Only album in 3 figures. Next is Trish Yearwood with +80% but Bucky is -54%, Taylor is -7% and RF is -11%.
THIS IS SO CONFUSING: Just read over on "Idol" about CD's being certified "Platinum" BEFORE it really "goes" platinum.....believe it has all to do with the "shipped" vs "sales" figures....Thought certification occurs when cd's are "shipped"....this may count for all those cd's being on the shelves without the projected sales "coming through"?????Help.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scooter520
I guess Libbyrose as far as the label's are concerned once they ship the albums they are considered sold, its up to whomever buys them to sell them. I would imagine that the label has there money before those cd's are ever shipped and its irrelavite(sp) as to how many are sold each week, thats just the store getting there money back for there investment. So, if the label has sold 700k or so and they ship another 200k, I really don't know how many they ship at one time, guess it depends on how many orders they get, it probably want take but maybe one more shipment and she'll go platinum. This probably don't make a bit of sense.
Jim has it right.
The key thing to know, Libbyrose, is that albums don't go platinum before they are "really platinum". When they go platinum, they are REALLY Platinum. There aren't two standards, but many people, as I did before doing some detailed research on this last year, think there is the "shipped" number, then the "real" number put out by SoundScan.
SoundScan has nothing to do with the gold or platinum standard certified by the RIAA. Do an advanced search of the forums by search ing on RIAA and my username, and look at some of my older posts on the subject in which I go to great jibberish about the process. Here's the short version straight from the RIAA website:
The Process
The certification process begins with an independent sales audit of each title by Gelfand, Rennert & Feldman, a highly respected accounting firm that has been auditing title sales for the RIAAŽ for more than 20 years.
The audit calculates what product has been shipped for sale, net after returns, versus product used for promotional purposes, for the life of the release. When certifying audio and music video releases, the independent auditor is careful to survey the entire music marketplace. An artist's GoldŽ or PlatinumŽ award represents sales through retail, record clubs, rackjobbers, and all other ancillary markets that legitimately distribute music. Once a title’s sales has been audited and verified as having reached requisite levels, a formal certification report is issued and sent to the title's record company.
We are often asked why we don’t just use sales figures from SoundScan. SoundScan measures over-the-counter sales at music retail locations, while the RIAAŽ's certification levels are based on unit shipments (minus returns) from manufacturers to a wide range of accounts, including non-retail record clubs, mail order houses, specialty stores, units shipped for Internet fulfillment or direct marketing sales, such as TV-advertised albums. The other difference is that SoundScan's archive is only a few years old, while the RIAAŽ has tracked artists' sales levels for more than 40 years.
The RIAAŽ certification program is open to member and non-member companies. RIAAŽ certification entitles the authorized record company to purchase official RIAAŽ award plaques bearing the trademarked RIAAŽ hologram seal from licensed plaque manufacturers.
All certification audits are conducted for a fee. If multiple sales levels are simultaneously certified, only one audit certification fee is charged. Companies requesting their initial certification audit must incur any travel expenses by the RIAAŽ's independent auditor. The charge for certifications is $350 for RIAAŽ member companies. Non-members are charged $450 per certification, which must be pre-paid. Companies will be charged the full audit certification fee for any requests that do not meet the GoldŽ and PlatinumŽ Program requirements. A 30-day time limit is set for pending certifications. If a full audit cannot be completed within this time, a charge of $100 will be rendered to member companies and $200 to non-member companies.
Requests for audio and music video certification may be made to the RIAAŽ. Companies must submit one copy of the audio or music video product upon certification request. All versions of the title's catalog must be represented.
Also, this question came up earlier this year:
Only domestic sales and sales to U.S. military post exchanges may be included. The requesting company must separate PX sales from other accounts on sales sheets. Export sales outside the United States are not included in certification.
And here's on reason, in addition to inventory at resellers, that the Soundscan numbers are not complete:
Club sales and club free goods may be included towards certification. Product shipped to retail, mail order, record clubs, TV marketing and other ancillary markets are combined toward certified sales. All shipments to these accounts must be verified by the label.
For instance, all the CDs given at Ellen's show will count but will not be included in the SoundScan numbers. I know at least a half dozen friends and family members who order all their music through a record club. According to my source at RIAA, these "non-SoundScan" units may be as high as 10% of total sales in the first year, less as time goes on.
My older posts talk about why Soundscan was started and how the data is used by many in the music industry.
The labels don't publish weekly "shipped numbers" (or any shipped numbers for that matter), so SoundScan has to do the job of estimating for the consumer when gold or platinum (and now diamond) status is approaching. But that's not what SoundScan was designed to do.
And a valid question is, if Jim has it right, why all this?
Hey thanks Robert. Following ur post, would overseas shipped numbers be included in the certification. I saw a couple of posts on idol board that Taylor sold like 150,000 overseas and Kellie at least 100,000. If overseas shipped numbers are included for Kellie wouldn't that suggest that she's fairly close to "platinum" certification? Maybe by or b4 this Fall? Hopefully?
Over at StreetPulse*, they have STG with a 228% rise from Jan 22, 2008 - Jan 25, 2008 (ie just after Ellen and Jimmy) as compared with a similar span a week ago. She has by far the largest % rise of the 50 albums mentioned over this period, but the data is not nearly as accurate as Soundscan. Over a longer week span the % may fall somewhat. Still, it is some measure how she is doing.
*Here are some FAQs about them
"If an artist appears on national TV, when will I see a sales spike?
It will take a total of two days: one day for purchase, and the following day it will register on the chart.
What is the percentage Sales up/down based on?
This measures the increase or decrease of sales from the previous week.
What type of retailers are you tracking?
StreetPulse reporters run the scope of major, chain, independent, and websites.
How often is the sales information updated?
We track sales information directly from the point-of-sales system from each individual store location at the closing of every day. Our data is updated seven days a week."
Oops! as usual, jump right to the last page. Do they have total sales figures. Would be interesting to compare "StreetPulse" to "Sound Scan", ie if there's any visible difference between both figures.
Following ur post, would overseas shipped numbers be included in the certification.....
Wake up Amy (maybe that's not your name) Of course, 2:30Am here is..mmmm.....not sure in Singapore. . Read the green paragraph in my post. Man, how many times I've done that!!!
Oops! as usual, jump right to the last page. Do they have total sales figures. Would be interesting to compare "StreetPulse" to "Sound Scan", ie if there's any visible difference between both figures.
Unfortunately no, but Soundscan is a much more thorough process and hence more accurate. You can compare roughly in that if SP says that, in over a week's span, STG has risen say 100% and you know SS's figs from the previous week then you can compare, but I'm not really sure that the 2 counting systems use exactly the same weekly span, so that would introduce differences. I just treat SP as a rough guide, but it's good for seeing a spike due to just one day's sale after a TV appearance for example.
Just to add to what Robert said (international sales do not count for the main (US) certification), each country has it's own separate gold and platinum levels and certifications. Here's more info and chart showing the number for each country
If they would release and promote her pop/rock crossover songs then she could have a lot more US and international sales. Since little marketing has been done to sell (retail) another 300,000 CDs in the US I'm not even looking for platinum anytime soon. Platinum is just a word and award anyway - it's marketing and retail sales that really matters for album sales.
Update now +157% for Jan 22, 2008 - Jan 26, 2008. Falling as expected, but still good. Only album in 3 figures. Next is Trish Yearwood with +80% but Bucky is -54%, Taylor is -7% and RF is -11%.
Hopefully? 
Do they have total sales figures. Would be interesting to compare "StreetPulse" to "Sound Scan", ie if there's any visible difference between both figures. 
