Almost a year after the release of his eighth studio album, “The Life of Pablo”, Kanye West has purpose to celebrate. On Tuesday (April 4), Pablo reached platinum status, according to a statement from the Def Jam label rapper. A representative of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) confirmed the Billboard certification.
Although the label says that the project is the first streaming album to go platinum, Billboard reported that in April last year TLOP was briefly available for sale on Kanye west official website upon launch in February. TLOP – which entered into exclusive Tidal – got the number 1 on the Billboard 200, after 70 percent of the album’s debut earnings – 94,000 equivalent albums units – are due for streaming. (TLOP streamed over three billion times in the world). In addition, the Kanye West site sells digital downloads for $ 20.
Although it was difficult to know if the platinum status was part of the album’s sales in addition to streams, source says that the RIAA does not break down the components of certification. Platinum certification reflects million albums equivalent units, combining traditional album sales, sold album of songs and streaming audio and video on demand. Billboard contacted representatives of Kanye West for additional comments.
Continue reading
