DM's Beatles forums
Beatles forums => News => Topic started by: Wolf on January 23, 2005, 07:46:30 PM
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The Capitol Box was certified by the R.I.A.A. as Gold and Platinum on December 17, 2004.
Thus this Box Set has become the Fabsters' 43rd Gold and 38th Platinum album.
Their all-time certified U.S. album sales now stand at 167.5 million (second is Elvis with 117.5 million).
This is equal to 83 multi platinum, 167 platinum or 334 gold awards.
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The Beatles disbanded over 30 years ago & it's been over 40 years since they formed & they still rule to this day because there's nothing happening today so it doesn't surprise me.
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great news, they deserve it
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That's pretty amazing!
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Their all-time certified U.S. album sales now stand at 167.5 million (second is Elvis with 117.5 million).
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WoOt.. :o nice to know they had more than Elvis ..
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Heh, I sent in this info to AbbeyRd's Beatles News Site well over a week ago, but they haven't done any updates......heh.
Here's all of the RIAA stats:
In Print:
Abbey Road - 12 Million
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - 11 Million
The Beatles - 9.5 Million (for a total of 19 million units)
1 - 9 Million
1967-1970 - 8 Million (for a total of 16 million units)
1962-1966 - 7.5 million (for a total of 15 million units)
Magical Mystery Tour - 6 Million
Rubber Soul - 6 Million
Revolver - 5 million
A Hard Day's Night - 4 Million
Let It Be - 4 Million
Anthology 1 - 4 Million (for a total of 8 million units)
Help! - 3 Million
Live At The BBC - 2 Million (for a total of 4 million units)
Anthology 2 - 2 Million (for a total of 4 million units)
Anthology 3 - 1.5 Million (for a total of 3 million units)
Please Please Me - 1 Million
Beatles For Sale - 1 Million
Past Masters, Volume 1 - 1 Million
Past Masters, Volume 2 - 1 Million
Yellow Submarine - 1 Million
Let It Be....Naked - 1 Million
With The Beatles - 500,000
Yellow Submarine Songtrack - 500,000
The Capitol Albums, Volume 1 - 250,000 (for a total of 1 million units)
Albums Boxed Set - 1 Million Units (16 disc set)
Total: 148 million
Out of Print:
Meet The Beatles - 5 Million
The Beatles' Second Album - 2 Million
The Beatles' Story - 500,000
Something New - 2 Million
Beatles '65 - 3 Million
Early Beatles - 1 Million
Beatles VI - 1 Million
Yesterday and Today - 2 Million
Hey Jude - 1 Million
The Beatles At The Hollywood Bowl - 1 Million
Rarities - 500,000
Rock and Roll Music - 500,000 (for a total of 1 Million units)
Rock and Roll Music, Volume 1 - 1 Million
Rock and Roll Music, Volume 2 - 1 Million
Love Songs - 1.5 million (for a total of 3 million units)
20 Greatest Hits - 2 Million
Reel Music - 500,000
Total of Out of Print Albums: 27.5 Million
Albums Total: 175.5 Million Albums!
Singles:
Hey Jude - 4 Million
Get Back - 2 Million
Something - 2 Million
Let It Be - 2 Million
Lady Madonna - 1 Million
Long And Winding Road - 1 Million
A Hard Day's Night - 500,000
All You Need Is Love - 500,000
Ballad of John and Yoko - 500,000
Can't Buy Me Love - 500,000
Eight Days A Week - 500,000
Free As A Bird - 500,000
Got To Get You Into My Life - 500,000
Hello Goodbye - 500,000
Help! - 500,000
I Feel Fine - 500,000
I Want To Hold Your Hand - 500,000
Nowhere Man - 500,000
Paperback Writer - 500,000
Penny Lane - 500,000
Real Love - 500,000
We Can Work It Out - 500,000
Yellow Submarine - 500,000
Yesterday - 500,000
21 Million singles!
Total: 196.5 million albums and singles!
Here's the band's video certifications, counting these they have over 200 platinum certifications. Note that a Platinum award for a video is awarded when it has sold 100,000 copies.
The Beatles Live: Ready, Set, Go! - Platinum (100,000 copies sold)
Anthology DVD - 13x Platinum (over 250,000 of the 5 disc sets)
The First Us Visit - 2x Platinum (200,000 copies sold)
Uncertified:
Introducing The Beatles - 1 Million
Songs Pictures and Stories of the Fabulous Beatles - (Nearly a half million.......a rerelease of Introducing The Beatles)
She Loves You - 1 Million+
From Me To You - 500,000+
Please Please Me - 1 Million+
Twist And Shout - 1 Million +
Love Me Do - 1 Million +
The uncertified stats are all releases that weren't on Capitol, so the label never bothered to recertify those sales. Also, gold was pretty much the one and only standard in certifying singles in the early 60's.....so while "I Want To Hold Your Hand" is only certified for 500,000, we know that it has actually sold over 4 Million copies in the US.....counting uncertified album sales and singles that need recertifications and such, I'd say they've sold over 250,000,000 albums and singles in the United States.
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Rowdy, that is excellent work!
Singles:
Hey Jude - 4 Million
Get Back - 2 Million
Something - 2 Million
Let It Be - 2 Million
Lady Madonna - 1 Million
Long And Winding Road - 1 Million
A Hard Day's Night - 500,000
All You Need Is Love - 500,000
Ballad of John and Yoko - 500,000
Can't Buy Me Love - 500,000
Eight Days A Week - 500,000
Free As A Bird - 500,000
Got To Get You Into My Life - 500,000
Hello Goodbye - 500,000
Help! - 500,000
I Feel Fine - 500,000
I Want To Hold Your Hand - 500,000
Nowhere Man - 500,000
Paperback Writer - 500,000
Penny Lane - 500,000
Real Love - 500,000
We Can Work It Out - 500,000
Yellow Submarine - 500,000
Yesterday - 500,000
21 Million singles!
I have just browsed thru this (due to being in a hurry), but I would like to comment on this. A single that was certified "Gold" from 1958 (the start of the RIAA handing out awards) up to December 1988 is equal to 1 million of sales, not 0.5 million!
In January 1989, the RIAA lowered the level of gold awards from 1m to 0.5m, but all the singles that got certified "gold" prior to that date are still million sellers.
I have indicated these occasions:
Hey Jude - 4 Million
Get Back - 2 Million
Something - 2 Million
Let It Be - 2 Million
Lady Madonna - 1 Million
Long And Winding Road - 1 Million
A Hard Day's Night - 500,000 -> 1 million (certified in 1964)
All You Need Is Love - 500,000 -> 1 million (certified in 1967)
Ballad of John and Yoko - 500,000 -> 1 million (certified in 1969)
Can't Buy Me Love - 500,000 -> 1 million (certified in 1964)
Eight Days A Week - 500,000 -> 1 million (certified in 1965)
Free As A Bird - 500,000, correct (certified in 1996)
Got To Get You Into My Life - 500,000, correct (certified after 1988, as far as I remember)
Hello Goodbye - 500,000 -> 1 million (certified in 1967)
Help! - 500,000 -> 1 million (certified in 1965)
I Feel Fine - 500,000 -> 1 million (certified in 1964)
I Want To Hold Your Hand - 500,000 -> 1 million (certified in 1964)
Nowhere Man - 500,000 -> 1 million (certified in 1966)
Paperback Writer - 500,000 -> 1 million (certified in 1966)
Penny Lane - 500,000 -> 1 million (certified in 1967)
Real Love - 500,000, correct (certified in 1996)
We Can Work It Out - 500,000 -> 1 million (certified in 1966)
Yellow Submarine - 500,000 -> 1 million (certified in 1966)
Yesterday - 500,000 -> 1 million (certified in 1966)
It is lamentable that the RIAA is not automatically upgrading pre-1989 "Gold" singles to "platinum" level, as they are proven and certified million sellers! Record companies have to ask them to do it, and I`m not sure if they demand a fee to be paid, which would be a scandal, as the comps already paid fees for the original certifications (in the 1960s). Capitol has not yet bothered to upgrade these old Gold awards to platinum level, I hope they will someday do this.
I will get back to this topic soon. I have more to add!
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Thanks for clearing that up! :)
After changing the stats, the total for singles is 29.5 million, bringing the overall albums and singles total to a certified 205,000,000!
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That must make the Beatles one of the greatest human-shared-experiences in history!
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It doesnt make them .. they ARE ! hehe :)
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I read somewhere that Elvis is the most recognised image in the world. How they work these things out though?
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Great stuff Rowdy and Wolf!! Amazing stats!
Not sure about Elvis being the most recognised image in the world though....Very open to interpretation.
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i dont know though Apps .. you could probably go anywhere in the world and ask .. hey do you know who Elvis is ? and i can bet that they would say YES also the same goes for the Beatles
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Marilyn Monroe is pretty recognized as well.
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Rowdy, I have looked at your compilation of Beatles/RIAA stats once more. Excellent stuff!
There are some cases I`d like to comment on:
Albums Boxed Set - 1 Million Units (16 disc set)
Or: 62,500 sets with each 16 CDs have been shipped, giving a total of 1 million single CDs.
Hey Jude - 1 Million
This LP is certified for sales of 3 million (upgraded in 1991).
Rock and Roll Music - 500,000 (for a total of 1 Million units)
I am not sure about this selling 0.5m, since this double-LP was certified platinum already in 1976, and I don`t know if the RIAA already counted double LPs twice back then. I tend to think not. I know they introduced the counting of multiple CDs within a set in the early 1990s. So it could be this set actually sold 1 million double LPs (or 2 million single LPs). But don`t quote me on that.
Can't Buy Me Love
This single sold over 3 million copies in 1964.
I Want To Hold Your Hand - 500,000
According to Capitol, roughly 5 million copies were sold by 1968.
Yesterday - 500,000
This sold 1.8 million during 1965 and has probably sold over 2 million by the end of the 1960s.
She Loves You - 1 Million+
This 45 sold over 3 million copies in 1964.
From Me To You - 500,000+
Please Please Me - 1 Million+
I`m not sure about From Me To You. It was the flip side of Please Please Me in 1964, so if you`re listing From Me To You separately, you are referring to the 1963 "bubbling-under" release? Would be a surprise if it moved half a million.
The uncertified stats are all releases that weren't on Capitol, so the label never bothered to recertify those sales. Also, gold was pretty much the one and only standard in certifying singles in the early 60's.....so while "I Want To Hold Your Hand" is only certified for 500,000, we know that it has actually sold over 4 Million copies in the US.....counting uncertified album sales and singles that need recertifications and such, I'd say they've sold over 250,000,000 albums and singles in the United States.
These uncertified sales by record companies other than Capitol are quite annoying. Look at "A Hard Day`s Night". This was released and distributed by United Artists from 1964 to 1978. None of these sales ever got certified. Only the sales that took place since Capitol took over the distribution in 1978 are certified by the RIAA. Vee Jay sold over 7 million Beatles records during 1964 - none of which are certified (and they will never get certified). Or take the countless 1960-1962 releases by Polydor or other companies. These racked up a couple of millions during the years - none are certified.
But what is more annoying is that Capitol just doesn`t seem to be caring for upgrading any of the 1964-1967 Capitol singles! The Beatles sold over 50 million singles in the U.S., yet only 29 million are certified. Capitol did upgrade all of the singles from 1968 to 1970, I wonder why they didn`t do the same with the pre-1968 singles. All of them would be upgraded from gold to platinum (as they were all million sellers, except Slow Down/Matchbox, which however has chances becoming a gold single under the new cert levels). And some of them would qualify for multi platinum (I Want to Hold Your Hand, Can`t Buy Me Love, Yesterday for certain, possibly also I Feel Fine, We Can Work It Out, Hello Goodbye and some others).
I hope Capitol will someday get their act together and upgrade the complete Beatles singles catalogue. Just like they did with the albums (they did a marvellous job there).
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nice, they deserve it :-)
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Concering the two disc Rock and Roll Music, I agree that the two discs weren't counted together as one, however I know the RIAA only counts a two disc set as two units if the overall time is over 100 minutes. Granted, I don't think either of the band's two double album hits releases run that long, or the White Album for that matter, so I think the RIAA must have set the bar lower for releases on vinyl (as I don't think they could even hold 100 minutes without really sacrificing sound quality). Plus, there's a chance that they transfered some of the excess sales to the certification of the separate volumes that it eventually spawned. For now, I'll leave at 1,000,000 units without counting it as a two disc set.
The 'Love Songs' release, on the other hand, was certified for a million in sells in 1997....then suddenly jumped to 3,000,000 in 2000, so I'm figuring that 1,500,000 of the two disc sets were sold, and they managed to count it as a double album.
I updated all of the stats and here's where we are at so far:
Gold Albums: 43
Platinum Albums: 38
Gold Singles: 24 (21 are million sellers)
Platinum Singles: 6
In Print:
Abbey Road - 12 Million
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - 11 Million
The Beatles - 9.5 Million (for a total of 19 million units)
1 - 9 Million
1967-1970 - 8 Million (for a total of 16 million units)
1962-1966 - 7.5 million (for a total of 15 million units)
Magical Mystery Tour - 6 Million
Rubber Soul - 6 Million
Revolver - 5 million
A Hard Day's Night - 4 Million
Let It Be - 4 Million
Anthology 1 - 4 Million (for a total of 8 million units)
Help! - 3 Million
Live At The BBC - 2 Million (for a total of 4 million units)
Anthology 2 - 2 Million (for a total of 4 million units)
Anthology 3 - 1.5 Million (for a total of 3 million units)
Please Please Me - 1 Million
Beatles For Sale - 1 Million
Past Masters, Volume 1 - 1 Million
Past Masters, Volume 2 - 1 Million
Yellow Submarine - 1 Million
Let It Be....Naked - 1 Million
With The Beatles - 500,000
Yellow Submarine Songtrack - 500,000
The Capitol Albums, Volume 1 - 250,000 (for a total of 1 million units)
Albums Boxed Set - 62,500+ (16 disc set for a total of 1 million units)
Total: 148 million
Out of Print:
Meet The Beatles - 5 Million
The Beatles' Second Album - 2 Million
The Beatles' Story - 500,000
Something New - 2 Million
Beatles '65 - 3 Million
Early Beatles - 1 Million
Beatles VI - 1 Million
Yesterday and Today - 2 Million
Hey Jude - 3 Million
The Beatles At The Hollywood Bowl - 1 Million
Rarities - 500,000
Rock and Roll Music - 1 Million
Rock and Roll Music, Volume 1 - 1 Million
Rock and Roll Music, Volume 2 - 1 Million
Love Songs - 1.5 million (for a total of 3 million units)
20 Greatest Hits - 2 Million
Reel Music - 500,000
Total of Out of Print Albums: 29.5 Million
Albums Total: 177.5 Million Albums!
Singles:
Hey Jude - 4 Million
Get Back - 2 Million
Something - 2 Million
Let It Be - 2 Million
(Certified Gold when Gold stood for 1 Million units)
Lady Madonna - 1 Million
Long And Winding Road - 1 Million
A Hard Day's Night - 1 Million
All You Need Is Love - 1 Million
Ballad of John and Yoko - 1 Million
Can't Buy Me Love - 1 Million
Eight Days A Week - 1 Million
Hello Goodbye - 1 Million
Help! - 1 Million
I Feel Fine - 1 Million
I Want To Hold Your Hand - 1 Million
Nowhere Man - 1 Million
Paperback Writer - 1 Million
Penny Lane - 1 Million
We Can Work It Out - 1 Million
Yellow Submarine - 1 Million
Yesterday - 1 Million
(Certified Gold when Gold stood for 500,000 units)
Free As A Bird - 500,000
Got To Get You Into My Life - 500,000
Real Love - 500,000
29.5 Million singles!
Total: 207 million certified albums and singles!*
* A few singles have not been recertified although we know how much they've sold:
Can't Buy Me Love - 3 Million +
I Want To Hold Your Hand - 5 Million (give or take)
Yesterday - 2 Million+
Counting these, the band's overall total of albums and singles on Capitol is over 214,000,000 units.
The following releases were released on a label outside of Capitol and have never been certified:
Introducing The Beatles - 1 Million
Songs Pictures and Stories of the Fabulous Beatles - 500,000 (give or take).......(a rerelease of 'Introducing The Beatles')
She Loves You - 3 Million+
Please Please Me - 1 Million+
Twist And Shout - 1 Million +
Love Me Do - 1 Million +
A Hard Day's Night (United Artists Film Soundtrack) - 2 Million+
Adding these in the mix, we know The Beatles have sold over 223,500,000 albums and singles in the United States.
Finally, here's the band's video certifications. Note that a Platinum award for a video is awarded when it has sold 100,000 copies.
The Beatles Live: Ready, Set, Go! - Platinum (100,000 copies sold)
Anthology DVD - 13x Platinum (over 250,000 of the 5 disc sets)
The First Us Visit - 2x Platinum (200,000 copies sold)
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Concering the two disc Rock and Roll Music, I agree that the two discs weren't counted together as one, however I know the RIAA only counts a two disc set as two units if the overall time is over 100 minutes. Granted, I don't think either of the band's two double album hits releases run that long, or the White Album for that matter, so I think the RIAA must have set the bar lower for releases on vinyl (as I don't think they could even hold 100 minutes without really sacrificing sound quality). Plus, there's a chance that they transfered some of the excess sales to the certification of the separate volumes that it eventually spawned. For now, I'll leave at 1,000,000 units without counting it as a two disc set.
You are correct about that 100 minutes rule. That rule only covers albums released since 1982. All double albums released prior to that year are not affected, which means that a 80-minutes double album will get certified for two LPs separately if it is from, say, 1977. 1982 because the first CDs were released back then, which symbolizes the end of the vinyl era to RIAA, so to speak.
It may be that this rule change with 1982 being a turning point came about in 1997, which resulted in many pre-1982 double albums doubling their certification levels.Not only 'Love Songs' doubled its cert level in 1997, but also the Red & Blue compilations and the White Album. Also Floyd`s "The Wall" got doubled in 1997. So that decision to exclude pre-1982 albums from that 100 minutes rule must have come about in 1997.
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Here is a chronological rundown of the Beatles' R.I.A.A. certifications:
MEET THE BEATLES!
02/03/64 Gold
12/26/91 Platinum
12/26/91 Multi Platinum 5.0
THE BEATLES' SECOND ALBUM
04/13/64 Gold
01/10/97 Platinum
01/10/97 Multi Platinum 2.0
HARD DAY'S NIGHT
01/22/97 Gold
01/22/97 Platinum
10/11/00 Multi Platinum 4.0
SOMETHING NEW
08/24/64 Gold
01/10/97 Multi Platinum 2.0
BEATLES '65
12/31/64 Gold
12/26/91 Platinum
12/26/91 Multi Platinum 2.0
01/10/97 Multi Platinum 3.0
THE BEATLES' STORY
12/31/64 Gold
BEATLES VI
07/01/65 Gold
01/10/97 Platinum
HELP!
08/23/65 Gold
01/10/97 Platinum
01/10/97 Multi Platinum 3.0
RUBBER SOUL
12/24/65 Gold
12/26/91 Platinum
12/26/91 Multi Platinum 4.0
01/10/97 Multi Platinum 6.0
YESTERDAY & TODAY
07/08/66 Gold
01/10/97 Platinum
01/10/97 Multi Platinum 2.0
REVOLVER
08/22/66 Gold
12/26/91 Platinum
12/26/91 Multi Platinum 3.0
01/10/97 Multi Platinum 4.0
07/25/00 Multi Platinum 5.0
SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND
06/15/67 Gold
02/06/92 Platinum
02/06/92 Multi Platinum 8.0
11/22/96 Multi Platinum 9.0
01/10/97 Multi Platinum 11.0
MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR
12/15/67 Gold
12/26/91 Platinum
12/26/91 Multi Platinum 5.0
07/25/00 Multi Platinum 6.0
THE BEATLES
12/06/68 Gold
12/26/91Platinum
12/26/91 Multi Platinum 7.0
11/25/96 Multi Platinum 8.0
03/13/97 Multi Platinum 16.0
01/27/99 Multi Platinum 17.0
07/25/00 Multi Platinum 18.0
02/06/01 Multi Platinum 19.0
YELLOW SUBMARINE
02/05/69 Gold
12/26/91 Platinum
ABBEY ROAD
10/27/69 Gold
12/26/91 Platinum
12/26/91 Multi Platinum
12/26/91 Multi Platinum 9.0
01/10/97 Multi Platinum 11.0
02/06/01 Multi Platinum 12.0
HEY JUDE
03/06/70 Gold
12/26/91 Platinum
12/26/91 Multi Platinum 3.0
LET IT BE
05/26/70 Gold
01/10/97 Platinum
04/14/00 Multi Platinum 4.0
THE BEATLES 1962 - 1966
04/13/73 Gold
12/27/91 Platinum
12/26/91 Multi Platinum 5.0
01/10/97 Multi Platinum 6.0
03/12/97 Multi Platinum 13.0
07/25/00 Multi Platinum 14.0
02/06/01 Multi Platinum 15.0
THE BEATLES 1967 - 1970
04/13/73 Gold
12/26/91 Platinum
12/26/91 Multi Platinum 5.0
12/25/96 Multi Platinum 6.0
01/10/97 Multi Platinum 7.0
03/12/97 Multi Platinum 14.0
07/25/00 Multi Platinum 15.0
02/06/01 Multi Platinum 16.0
THE EARLY BEATLES
01/08/74 Gold
01/10/97 Platinum
ROCK 'N' ROLL MUSIC
06/14/76 Gold
06/14/76 Platinum
ROCK`N`ROLL MUSIC VOLUME 1
01/16/97 Gold
01/16/97 Platinum
ROCK 'N ROLL MUSIC, VOLUME 2
01/16/97 Gold
01/16/97 Platinum
THE BEATLES AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL
05/05/77 Gold
08/12/77 Platinum
LOVE SONGS
10/24/77 Gold
01/10/97 Platinum
07/26/00 Multi Platinum 3.0
REEL MUSIC
05/26/82 Gold
20 GREATEST HITS
10/04/84 Gold
12/26/91 Platinum
01/10/97 Multi Platinum 2.0
LIVE AT THE BBC
02/03/95 Gold
02/03/95 Platinum
02/03/95 Multi Platinum 4.0
THE BEATLES ANTHOLOGY, VOLUME 1
04/02/96 Gold
04/02/96 Platinum
04/02/96 Multi Platinum 6.0
11/22/96 Multi Platinum 8.0
12/19/96 Multi Platinum 9.0
THE BEATLES ANTHOLOGY, VOLUME 2
11/22/96 Gold
11/22/96 Platinum
11/22/96 Multi Platinum 3.0
BEATLES FOR SALE
01/16/97 Gold
02/06/01 Platinum
PAST MASTERS, VOLUME 1
01/16/97 Gold
01/16/97 Platinum
PAST MASTERS, VOLUME 2
01/16/97 Gold
01/16/97 Platinum
PLEASE PLEASE ME
01/16/97 Gold
01/16/97 Platinum
RARITIES
01/16/97 Gold
WITH THE BEATLES
01/16/97 Gold
THE BEATLES ANTHOLOGY, VOLUME 3
02/21/97 Gold
02/21/97 Platinum
02/21/97 Multi Platinum 3.0
05/21/98 Multi Platinum 4.0
BOX SET - MULTISELECTION
02/17/99 Gold
02/06/01 Platinum
YELLOW SUBMARINE SONGTRACK
11/02/99 Gold
1
12/15/00 Gold
12/15/00 Platinum
12/15/00 Multi Platinum 5.0
02/02/01 Multi Platinum 7.0
12/19/01 Multi Platinum 8.0
01/27/04 Multi Platinum 9.0
LET IT BE
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You know, there could be a chance that "A Hard Day's Night" includes the original UA soundtrack in its certification.........I mean "With the Beatles" has only gone gold since it was released here in the late eighties......yes, Capitol had "A Hard Day's Night" since the late seventies when they acquired the rights as you said, but I still find it unlikely that it has sold four million copies since then. With "Meet the Beatles" selling five million, most of which came in 1964, I could see the UA soundtrack having sold two million or so in 1964 (partly because of the competition with "Something New").....and then A Hard Day's Night could've sold a further million from then on until the eighties, and then another million when it was finally released here in 1988.
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You know, there could be a chance that "A Hard Day's Night" includes the original UA soundtrack in its certification.........I mean "With the Beatles" has only gone gold since it was released here in the late eighties......yes, Capitol had "A Hard Day's Night" since the late seventies when they acquired the rights as you said, but I still find it unlikely that it has sold four million copies since then. With "Meet the Beatles" selling five million, most of which came in 1964, I could see the UA soundtrack having sold two million or so in 1964 (partly because of the competition with "Something New").....and then A Hard Day's Night could've sold a further million from then on until the eighties, and then another million when it was finally released here in 1988.
Not too likely. Capitol would have needed the internal distribution and sales documents of UA to get pre-1978 sales certified. There is too much involved in that. Things like that don`t happen.
But of course you do have a point with 'With The Beatles' only being certified with sales of 500,000. It took ca. 10 years to sell that much. But then again, 'Please Please Me' sold twice as much in the same time. One would have expected these two albums to sell about the same, or in the case of one outselling the other, 'With The Beatles' would have appeared to be the safer bet of leading in sales, since it is a more iconic album (classic sleeve, LP that sparked UK Beatlemania, first ever Beatles LP to sell over 1 million in UK).
If PPM sold 1 million in ten years, then it is not impossible for AHDN to have sold 4 million in 23 years. It is a more recognizable album than PPM, as it had always been part of the US catalog and is linked to the first Beatles movie. Add to that that it is generally referred to as the best of the early Beatles albums, it wouldn`t be a big surprise if it kept on selling quite well. Don`t forget that it probably did enjoy extra sales generated by John`s murder in 1980 and also by the media buzz surrounding the Beatles' 20 year anniversary of arriving in the US in 1984.
AHDN did sell an awful lot of copies during 1964. Check out this item from Billboard:
"United Artist`s decision to issue A Hard Day`s Night ahead of the film`s release proved to be a wise one. On July 1, 1964, the company announced that the LP had sold and delivered 1 million copies in just four days. Billboard, in a story titled "Beatles` LP: 4 Days That Shake The Industry", reported the news in its July 11 issue, stating that the album had become one of the fastest selling LPs in the history of the record business."
It sold 1 million copies in four days, now imagine what it sold in the 14 weeks it stayed at the top of Billboard`s albums charts? Must have been more than 2 million. I think it was the second biggest selling LP of 1964 right behind "Meet The Beatles!". Assuming it sold roughly over 3 million in '64, by the end of the 60s, it should have been approaching the 4 million mark, or if that is too optimistic, let`s say by 1978. And that is a conservative approach to AHDN`s American sales.
I don`t think these pre-1978 sales are a factor in the RIAA awards.
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Elvis most likely is the most acknowledgeable figure of all time. He had a very distinct voice and a very distinct style, thats extermely easy to see even if you havent heard one of his songs.
Think about it, if you showed the whole world a picture of Ringo, how many would recognize him?
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I still think Marilyn Monroe is more recognizable than Elvis...
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I there equal...
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Don't know why I never got around to adding this:
George
Albums:
All Things Must Pass - 6x Platinum (This has sold a total of 6,000,000 units....it was originally a 3 LP set, and is now a 2 CD one, so it's hard to figure out how many album sets have been sold)
Concert for Bangladesh - Gold (250,000 two disc sets)
Living In The Material World - Gold
Dark Horse - Gold
Extra Texture - Gold
The Best of George Harrison - Gold
Thirty Three and 1/3 - Gold
George Harrison - Gold
Somewhere in England - Gold
Cloud Nine - Platinum
Brainwashed - Gold
Singles:
My Sweet Lord - Gold
Total: 12 Million Albums and Singles
Ringo
Albums:
Ringo - Platinum
Goodnight Vienna - Gold
Singles:
It Don't Come Easy - Gold
Photograph - Gold
You're Sixteen - Gold
Total: 3 Million Albums and Singles
John
Albums:
Plastic Ono Band - Gold
Imagine - 2x Platinum
Mind Games - Gold
Walls and Bridges - Gold
Rock 'n Roll - Gold
Shaved Fish - Platinum
Double Fantasy - 3x Platinum
John Lennon Collection - 3x Platinum
Milk and Honey - Gold
Live in New York City - Gold
Imagine: Soundtrack - Gold
Lennon Legend - Gold
Lennon Anthology - Gold (A four disc set.....so over 125,000 sets have been sold, for a total of 500,000 units)
Singles:
Instant Karma - Gold
Just Like (Starting Over) - Gold
Woman - Gold
Total: 15 Million Albums and Singles
Videos:
Live in New York City - Gold (50,000)
Lennon Legend - Platinum (100,000)
Paul
Albums:
McCartney - 2x Platinum
Ram - Platinum
Wildlife - Gold
Red Rose Speedway - Gold
Band on the Run - 3x Platinum
Venus and Mars - Platinum
Wings At The Speed Of Sound - Platinum
Wings Over America - Platinum
London Town - Platinum
Wings Greatest - Platinum
Back To The Egg - Platinum
McCartney II - Gold
Tug Of War - Platinum
Pipes of Peace - Platinum
Give My Regards To Broad Street - Gold
All The Best - 2x Platinum
Flowers in the Dirt - Gold
Tripping the Live Fantastic: Highlights - Platinum
Off The Ground - Gold
Flaming Pie - Gold
Wingspan: Hits and History - 2x Platinum (1 million 2 disc sets)
Driving Rain - Gold
Back in the U.S. - 2x Platinum (1 million 2 disc sets)
Singles:
Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey - Gold
My Love - Gold
Live and Let Die - Gold
Band on the Run - Gold
Listen To What the Man Said - Gold
Silly Love Songs - Gold
Let 'Em In - Gold
Goodnight Tonight - Gold
Coming Up (Live) - Gold
Ebony and Ivory - Gold
The Girl Is Mine - Gold
Say Say Say - Platinum
Total: 31.5 Million Albums and Singles
Videos:
Paul is Live - Gold (50,000)
Wingspan - Gold (50,000)
Back in the U.S. - 3x Platinum (300,000)
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Nice, George did amazingly awesome as a solo career, I would have never seen it coming. I guess techincally All Things Must Pass is the greatest selling ex-Beatle album of all time.
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Oh, forgot.........
Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 1 - 3 Million*
Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 3 - 1 Million
One of the biggest solo albums.........could possibly be THE highest seller in the States......but then again, it isn't solely a George recording.