Articles

Many music professionals have had their homes destroyed by the January 2025 fires in L.A. While this alone is obviously tragic, the contents in their homes is possibly more of a loss. In many cases artists, songwriters, producers, engineers, and other music professionals have lost their musical instruments, recording equipment, awards, creative works, and more. MusiCares®, the 501(c)3 charity established by the Recording Academy® (Grammy® Awards) to serve as a safety net for the music community, is poised to help music professionals who are affected.  MusicGoldmine is donating a rare piece of music memorabilia to contribute to helping affected musicians....

As of January 2025, the ranking of artists by the number of Gold and Platinum record awards issued by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) reflects their monumental commercial success and enduring influence. Also: Check out these two videos on our MusicGoldmine YouTube™ channel for more information, interesting facts and stories (you can watch these videos right here or view them on YouTube): The RIAA awards Gold and Platinum certifications based on sales attained in the United States. Sales outside the U.S. are not included in the calculation. While the sales figures to achieve Gold or Platinum have varied...

The week in music history brought to you by MusicGoldmine.com. Just a couple of highlights from this week in music history! DEC 18: Happy birthday to Keith Richards, born today in 1943! The legendary guitarist, songwriter, and co-founder of The Rolling Stones is known for his gritty guitar riffs, rebellious persona, and enduring influence on rock music, Richards has become an icon of the genre. He first met Mick Jagger in his youth, and their partnership became the foundation of one of the most successful and enduring songwriting duos in history. Richards’ distinctive guitar style, often employing open tunings and a raw,...

Official RIAA awards have historically only been made available to those who worked on the recordings in a creative, technical or marketing capacity. According to the RIAA: "Any artist, label or other affiliated party who contributed to an RIAA certified title (riaa.com/gold-platinum/) and would like to obtain a physical plaque, can do so." (Source: riaa.com, underline added). What about RIAA awards made available to fans? A trend that has seen some minor growth in recent years is for artists to make arrangements with the RIAA for fans to be able to directly purchase official awards with their own personal names as the presentation....

The week in music history brought to you by MusicGoldmine.com. Just a couple of highlights from this week in music history! DEC 8: Happy birthday to Phil Collen, born today in 1957! The English musician is best known as the lead guitarist for the legendary rock band Def Leppard. Collen began playing guitar as a teenager, inspired by bands like Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. Before joining Def Leppard, he played in several bands, including Girl, a glam rock group that enjoyed modest success in the late 1970s and early '80s. Collen joined Def Leppard in 1982 during the recording of their...