How many copies of a record album must be sold for the album to be awarded a "gold record"? Is it 1/2 million, 1 million, or 2 million copies?

That shiny disc mounted on a plaque is one of the most recognizable symbols of success in the music industry. To earn this coveted award, an album must achieve 500,000 certified unit sales in the United States. The certification is handled by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which has been tracking these impressive milestones for decades and created the standard that is still used today.

The RIAA established the Gold award program in 1958 to honor artists and create a standardized measure of commercial success. The very first Gold album certification was awarded that year to the soundtrack of the musical "Oklahoma!". This set a benchmark that generations of musicians have strived to reach, making the Gold record a true rite of passage for many successful artists.

Of course, the way we consume music has evolved. To keep pace, the RIAA now includes digital track sales and on-demand audio and video streams in its calculations. For certification purposes, 1,500 streams of songs from an album are now equivalent to one album sale. Beyond Gold, the next major milestones are Platinum, awarded for one million units, and the incredibly rare Diamond award, which signifies a staggering ten million units sold.