Occasionally I get some mail asking me a question.  For example, here is a question.

"I remember reading somewhere that platinum used to signify 2 million units sold and gold signified 1 million. Then supposedly the music industry became much more competitive, so they cut the numbers in half.  Am I full of shit?  Maybe I was stoned and just dreamed up the article.  Actually, I probably read it in Metal Edge during the Gerri Miller years."

Thanks for the question!  You are fairly accurate, so I doubt your info came from Gerri Miller.  Please follow me through a brief history of Gold and Platinum Album certifications courtesy of the Recording Industry Association Of America, Inc.  The Gold record award was introduced in 1958 (not Nikki Sixx's band, which is now simply called 58 by the way).  A Gold album was awarded for sales in excess of $1 million (based on the manufacturer's wholesale price) and a Gold single for one million copies.  In 1975, the Gold album standard was raised so that an artist had to sell 500,000 copies as well as meet or surpass $1 million in sales.  In 1976, the Platinum award was introduced.  The criteria for an album was set at 1 million copies sold and $2 million in sales.  The single criteria was set at 2 million copies sold.  The multi-platinum award was introduced in 1984 to honor albums with sales of 2 million or more copies.

Currently, Gold is awarded for 500,000 copies, Platinum for 1,000,000, and Mult-Platinum for 2,000,000+.  These criteria are used for both singles and albums.

If you have a reasonable question or have a SludgeScan request, send it to SludgeScan@metal-sludge.com

Now onto the scans!

As Of March 2, 2000

Notes Of Interest:

Union's first week sales were 2,103, which is about 3 times the amount Sebitchian Bach sold his first week last November.

Speaking of Sebitchian, his CD sold 466 copies last week.

Motley Crue moved 3,013 copies of "Entertainment or Death" last week.

And Methods Of Mayhem is down to 9,314 units a week.

Poison's "Greatest Hits" was recently certified Platinum, but it has only sold 689,618.

As of March 10, 2000

Notes:

The Bloodhound Gang sold 80,370 it's first week and debuted at #19 on the Billboard Charts.  That's twice the amount that Methods Of Mayhem did during it's first week, and MOM had way more advertising than The Blooodhound Gang. 

Union sold 1,069 in it's 2nd week, for a total of 3,257.  It took Sebitchian 6 weeks to get to that figure.

Warrant moved 160 units last week.

Slaughter sold a whopping 101 units, which is still amazing cause who are these people?

Sebitchian moved 324 units last week.

As Of March 28, 2000

Notes:

Poison sold 12,087 their first week and debuts at #131 on The Billboard Top 200.

Great White has sold about 15,000 more records than Ratt.

The Bloodhound Gang's scans went up from 65,394 to 75,391, up from #22 to #16 on The Billboard Top 200.  Their album has been out a month and will surpass Methods Of Mayhem's sales in another week or two.

Union's scans went from 673 to 618.

Sebitchian's scans drop from 294 to 236.  His album has been out since early November and he still hasn't broken 10,000. 

Here are 2 letters I received.

Hey:
Do SoundScan statistics denote actual copies sold, or # of discs sold. The reason I ask is I believe Gold/Platinum albums are currently awarded when 500,000 / 1,000,000 DISCS are sold, not when the required number of copies is sold.  To put it another way, Motley Crue will receive a gold album when/if  "Live: Entertainment Or Death" sells 250,000 copies because there are 2 discs in the package.  Does the SludgeScan number of 100,156 indicate that they've sold 100,156 copies or 50,078 copies?

Thanks,
TTwisted

Dearest TTwisted,

It sure is a good thing you included a second paragraph, because you were losing me on the first one.  Turns out, you have very good questions.  Just remember that Gold and Platinum awards are given for shipments to retail and not for actual scans (I won't go into detail as we've beaten this topic to death). 

Anyway, here are your answers:

1.  Yes, Motley would receive a Gold album for selling 250,000 copies of a double album (250,000 X 2 =
500,000).

2.  The scan number reflects actual copies sold of the entire package, not the package times the number of discs contained in the package.  The scan number of 100,156 means they have sold 100,156 copies.  So, for certification purposes, they are at 200,312 units.

XOXO,
Lita

Hi Lita.

This isn't a request but a question I'd like you to answer during a future update.

If someone purchases a cut-out album (I'm sure you know about these) from a bargain or cheap bin in a record store and it is still-sealed, does that count as a Sound Scan over-the-counter sale?

Will

Will,

Thanks for the question.  Another good one!  Cut-outs do not count as Soundscan Sales.  If you look at a cut-out, the hole is usually drilled right through the UPC code.

Also, just in case anybody was wondering, used CDs do not count as Soundscan Sales either.

XOXO,
Lita

More updates coming this week.  I have everybody's requests and will be getting to them soon.

As Of March 29, 2000

Notes:

Poison is down from 12,086 to 6,038.

Union's scans went down from 618 to 544.

L.A. Guns' scans are down from 274 to 212.

As Of March 30, 2000

Click Here For April 2000 Sludge Scans!