'Gold & Platinum' Abound Inside Recording Industry Association's D.C. HQ

NORTHWEST -- Music lovers often read about their favorite artists’ albums receiving ‘gold’ and ‘platinum’-certified status in the pages of Rolling Stone or Billboard, but despite the success conveyed by such designations they still remain somewhat mysterious to the population as a whole, no doubt due somewhat to their rather ethereal qualities.

Yet such ‘precious’ awards do, in fact, materially manifest in a tangible form through a series of official awards primarily presented to musicians, as part of the Recording Industry Association of America’s (RIAA) official Gold and Platinum Awards Program.

And beyond perhaps Paul McCartney or Bono’s trophy room, no better place exists to marvel at these glimmering plaques than inside the RIAA’s Washington office that serves as the trade organization’s headquarters.

The spacious, tenth-floor space received a fresh facelift at the end of summer and its walls are now adorned with dozens of gold and platinum awards from the likes of current chart-toppers, such as Adele, fun., Gotye, and even the Biebs (aka Justin Bieber) himself.

Owing to the RIAA’s status as the primary advocate for the world’s major music companies (its members create, manufacture and/or distribute approximately 85% of all legitimate recorded music produced and sold in the United States), many a member of Congress and GRAMMY Award-winner has seen the inside of the group’s F Street, NW offices.

But you don’t have to be on Jay-Z’s speed dial or boast a Congressional pin to get a peek at said music history, as the organization also sometimes makes its space available to outside parties for the occasional reception or concert.

First launched in 1958, the RIAA’s Gold and Platinum Awards Program was originally developed as a simple means to honor artists and create a standard by which to measure sales of sound recordings.

The Gold album award recognizes shipments of 500,000 copies or more of an album or single, the Platinum award recognizes more than 1 million units shipped (multi-Platinum more than 2 million), and, in 1999, the Diamond award was created to honor shipments of 10 million units.

As music technology has evolved, so too has the G&P Program with awards now presented for Digital Sales (since 2004) and ringtones (2006). The RIAA has even started to assemble an unofficial museum of music technology at its offices, which boasts everything from a phonograph to a Sony Discman to, of course, various mp3 players, for visitors to study when stopping-by.

A sizeable charitable component to the program also exists with the RIAA presenting artists that volunteer their time in support of nonprofits, such as Musicians On Call, with commemorative plaques at small and big events alike, including during the recent Presidential conventions in both Tampa, Florida and Charlotte, North Carolina.

And that’s music to everyone’s golden ears, right?