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On March 16, 1999 the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the organization that issues music product sales awards, launched the RIAA Diamond Award program. It was created to recognize albums which have achieved the impressive milestone of selling 10 million copies or more in the U.S.  The award was designed by renowned crystal designer Peter Yenawine. Yenawine was a (continued below...) ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Check out this YouTube™ video telling the story of the RIAA Diamond Award and its' 1999 launch (Also, subscribe to our MusicGoldmine YouTube channel here for more content about music and collectibles): ______________________________________________________________________________________________ master designer at Steuben Glass—and...

The week in music history brought to you by MusicGoldmine.com. Just a couple of highlights from this week in music history! JAN 15: Today in 1967: The Rolling Stones' performance of "Let's Spend the Night Together" on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1967 is one of their most famous television appearances. Due to the song's suggestive lyrics, the show's producers requested the band change the line to "Let's spend some time together." Reluctantly, Mick Jagger complied, visibly rolling his eyes during the performance. This moment highlighted the tension between rock 'n' roll's rebellious nature and mainstream media's conservative standards, further cementing...

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation has announced their Nominees for 2025 Induction. They are: Bad Company, The Black Crowes, Mariah Carey, Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Billy Idol, Joy Division/New Order, Cyndi Lauper, Maná, Oasis, Outkast, Phish, Soundgarden, and The White Stripes. According to the Hall "Artists or bands become eligible for nomination 25 years after releasing their first commercial recording." Eight of this year's 14 nominees are on the ballot for the first time: Bad Company, The Black Crowes, Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Billy Idol, Maná, Outkast, and Phish.   Commenting on this year's announcement, John Sykes,...

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. If you want a glimpse of the kind of destruction we're talking about, read this article from the Los Angeles Times about renowned producer Bob Clearmountain (Bryan Adams, David Bowie, Rolling Stones, Roxy Music, Bruce Springsteen, among many others) losing his home and home studio: ...

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...