Rihanna has become the biggest-selling singles artist of the digital age in the US, surpassing more than 100 million Gold & Platinum ‘song certifications’ from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
These certifications reflect both individual digital downloads of tracks, as well as on-demand streams – with 100 on-demand audio and/or video streams counting as one certification unit.
The achievement places the star at No.1 on RIAA’s list of artists with the most Digital Single Awards ahead of Taylor Swift (88m), Katy Perry (79m), Kanye West (46.5m) and Lady Gaga (39.5m).
“Gold & Platinum is the industry’s premier way to celebrate achievement in the marketplace,” said Cary Sherman, Chairman & CEO, RIAA.
“We’ve given awards to artists for nearly 60 years, but it’s rare that we have the opportunity to recognize a milestone like the one Rihanna has reached. Congratulations to Rihanna!
“Rihanna is the first artist to surpass RIAA’s 100m mark. It’s a historic feat.”
Cary Sherman, RIAA
“She has not only surpassed RIAA’s one-hundred million mark, but also is the first artist to do so. It’s an historic feat and a testament to an extraordinary career.”
Rihanna’s certifications span 37 separate titles, and include a 9X multi-Platinum award for “We Found Love,” 6X multi-Platinums for “Stay,” “What’s My Name” and “Only Girl (In The World),” plus a 2X multi-Platinum for new song “FourFiveSeconds,” a Platinum for “Bitch Better Have My Money” and many more.
Rihanna’s career album awards total 7.5 million sold in the United States, including a 2x multi-Platinum for “Good Girl Gone Bad” (2007), five Platinum albums for “A Girl Like Me” (2006), “Rated R” (2009), “Loud” (2010), “Talk That Talk” (2011) and “Unapologetic” (2012) plus Gold for “Music Of The Sun” (2005).
Rihanna recently released her latest single, Bitch Better Have My Money, with a highly controversial seven-minute online video.
The effort has now been watched almost 15 million times on YouTube.Music Business Worldwide
