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"I think this is the biggest accolade you can
be given because it means your fans have gone out and bought
your records. And that's why we make records - for our public."
Sir Elton John, 3/16/1999 at the launch of the RIAA® Diamond®
Award
The RIAA® Gold® and Platinum® Awards program was launched
in 1958 in an effort to create a standard by which to measure
sales of a sound recording. In the beginning, there was only
a Gold® album award for the sale of 500,000 copies. As
the industry grew, other awards were developed. The Platinum®
award (1,000,000 sold) was created in 1976 and with the advent
of the compact disc and the subsequent increase in sales,
the Multi-Platinum™ award was created in 1984. On March
16, 1999, the RIAA® launched the Diamond® Awards,
honoring sales of 10 million copies or more of an album or
single.
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