Elvis Presley tops the global sales charts with approximately 1 billion records that have passed, according to the Guinness World Records. As for the bands, they are the Beatles that dominate with 600 to 700 million copies sold.
But counting gold records is a different story: every country has its own rules, its own thresholds, and its own certification body. Let's take a look at all of this together!
A gold record is a music certification awarded when an album or single exceeds a certain sales threshold. Certifications cover cumulative sales of albums and singles, as well as downloads and streams.
It exists four main stages :
- the silver disc,
- the gold record,
- the platinum record,
- And the diamond disc.
These thresholds vary by country and have changed significantly since the rise of the streaming, which is now factored into the calculation of sales equivalents.
An Artist's Evaluation for France
In France, certifications are administered by two organizations: the SNEP (Syndicat National de l’Édition Phonographique) and the’UPFI (Union of Independent French Record Producers). The first French gold records were officially awarded in 1973. Since then, the thresholds have varied widely depending on market conditions, and have fallen significantly starting in 2006 amid the crisis in the physical music industry.
You can find the official, up-to-date list on the SNEP website (https://snepmusique.com/).
Note that France does not use silver discs. Certifications go directly from the’gold to platinum, then to the diamond.
Current thresholds in France
For an album, physical sales, downloads, and streams are combined to form’sales equivalents.
Here are the current tiers.
| Certification | Album (sales equivalent) | Single (stream equivalents) |
|---|---|---|
| Gold disc | 50 000 | 15 million |
| Platinum disc | 100 000 | 30 million |
| Diamond disc | 500 000 | 50 million |
How Streaming Factors Into the Equation
Since 2016, the SNEP includes streaming plays in its calculations, in partnership with the institute GFK. The method for creating an album involves three steps.
- We add up the streams for each track on the album.
- Remove the half of the wiretaps of the most-streamed song.
- We divide the resulting total by 1 500 to calculate the sales equivalent.
From the April 25, 2018, following a cheating scandal, only the listening data from subscriber accounts are taken into account. It therefore takes about 1,500 plays to count as the equivalent of an album sale. This system explains why platinum or diamond certifications are still achievable today, even without high CD sales.
And in the United States (RIAA)?
In the United States, record certifications are issued by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America). The thresholds there are much higher than in France, because the U.S. market is much larger. Album sales, certified singles, downloads, and streams are all aggregated into units to reach each threshold.
- Gold Record: 500,000 units
- Platinum record: 1,000,000 units
- Diamond blade: 10,000,000 units
In terms of recent certifications, Taylor Swift has broken numerous records since 2022, driven by her album reissues.
The threshold values and the artist with the most gold records in the world
It is important to distinguish between two concepts that are often confused. The number of copies sold refers to total sales over an entire career. The number of certifications rewards a specific album or single as soon as it reaches a certain threshold. It's not the same thing, and the ranking can vary depending on what you're looking at.
The Artists Who Have Sold the Most Records Worldwide
Here are the best-selling artists in music history, according to available estimates.
| Artist | Estimated Sales | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Elvis Presley | ~1 billion | Best-selling solo artist (Guinness) |
| The Beatles | +600 million | Best-selling band of all time |
| Michael Jackson | +340 million | Among the best-selling solo albums |
| Madonna | ~250 to 300 million | One of the best-selling female artists |
These figures remain estimates : Each source counts albums, singles, and streams converted to sales equivalents differently.
According to its official website, 60 % of Elvis Presley's sales were conducted in the United States and 40 % in the rest of the world. The King, who died on August 16, 1977, remains an absolute benchmark in the music industry.
Find out more about most listened music Around the world, current trends tell a different story.
And if you're looking for the best-selling French song Worldwide, the rankings also hold a few surprises.
In short, if you look at total sales, Elvis and the Beatles are still ahead of everyone else. If you look at the number of certifications earned to date, the rankings vary by country and organization.
For an even broader perspective, find out who is considered the greatest artist of all time, based on the various criteria used.
English
Las certificados de ventas en discos de oro platino y double platino el que más tiene es Elvis por mucho que duela que vayan a menphis a su museo y lo verán se pudo a ver echo lo mi con Michael Jackson el rey del pop pero es lamenta que no tenga museo propio.