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NEWS ARCHIVE
Clean Bandit Awarded 2x Platinum Thanks to Streaming
The BPI – which manages the famous Certified Awards Programme that gives the disc certification status to music recordings - has announced that it will now include streaming data from audio services alongside download and physical format sales for singles.

This move was made in conjunction with the Official Charts Company’s recent decision to include streaming data in the Official Singles Chart which saw Ariana Grande’s ‘Problem’ ft. Iggy Azalea become the first UK chart No.1 to be made up of sales and streams.

This landmark decision has made for an eclectic mix of newly awarded singles! More than 80 singles have been awarded a Silver certification as a result, including: Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene’, Aaliyah’s ‘Try Again’, McFly’s ‘Five Colours in Her Hair’ and Busted’s ‘Crashed the Wedding’. Beyoncé ft. Jay-Z ‘Drunk in Love’, One Directions ‘Best Song Ever’ and Calvin Harris’ ‘Summer’ have been upgraded to 400,000 units and awarded Gold disc status. Holders of coveted Platinum discs now include Taylor Swift for ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’, Coldplay for ‘Fix You’ and Katy Perry for ‘Dark Horse’.

However, most impressive, is the list of newly awarded 2x Platinum discs for sales of over 1.2m units – no mean feat these days! Jessie J ft. B.o.B ‘Price Tag’, David Guetta ft. Sia ‘Titanium’ and Clean Bandit ft. Jess Glynne ‘Rather Be’ (pictured) are amongst the lucky few to have been elevated to this status under the new rules.

The reason these, what appear to be ‘older’ songs, have been uplifted is due to the inclusion of streaming date being backdated to Week One at the start of 2014 to ensure it remains consistent with the Official Charts database. The same ratio is being used for streams that the Official Charts Company use – 100 streams = one sale.

The effect of this new ruling is quite significant for new hits and less so for older tracks. For example, while streaming accounts for just one per cent of sales for Jessie J’s ‘Price Tag’, released over three years ago, a fifth – 20 per cent – of Clean Bandit’s ‘Rather Be’, which came out in January, is made up of streams. From now on, this trend is likely to accelerate.

Geoff Taylor, Chief Executive of the BPI, said “Like the Official Charts, the BPI’s Certified Awards and Platinum, Gold and Silver discs form part of our country’s music heritage, so including audio streams in the sales data for Singles represents an important landmark. It will ensure that our awards remain relevant and up to date in measuring the popularity of our favourite recordings.”

There has been a huge surge in streaming by music consumers in recent months and over the past year - in 2013 alone there were 7.4 billion streams, up 100 percent on 2012, and the figure for 2014 is expected to at least double meaning we will be seeing a much needed shake up in those songs awarded silver, gold and platinum discs.

www.bpi.co.uk



Published: 10 July 2014
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