Articles — are gold records playable?

For most musicians, receiving a RIAA Gold or Platinum record is one of the ultimate career milestones. These framed awards symbolize hit albums, sold-out tours, and years of hard work in recording studios and on the road. But that has never stopped curious artists--and also collectors-- from wondering: “Does this thing actually play?” and "Is it my record or not?"   Over the years, musicians, producers, industry insiders, and collectors have shared stories about artists attempting to place their own Gold or Platinum awards onto turntables just to see what would happen. Sometimes the experiments worked, or worked briefly. Other times...