Should we consider the 4CD, 4LP and digital album (40 tracks) a quadruple album?
How will the sales of these versions count?
And are the 16 tracks versions considered double albums?
Wons, what say you?
For RIAA, Recording Industry Association Of America, every disc in one package is counted as one album sold for purposes of determining Gold, Platinum and Multi-platinum certifications. So if U2 were able to sell 250,000 copies of the 4 LP and 4 CD formats, that would equal platinum certification, only 250,000 purchases, but 1,000,000 total disc sold.
SOUNDSCAN which records sales online and in stores will only count each purchase and NOT the individual disc in the package. SOUNDSCAN figures help determine chart position on the weekly Billboard 200 album chart.
Both RIAA and Soundscan consider 1,500 streams of a song or songs from any album equivalent to the sell of one album.
Songs Of Innocence and Songs Of Experience failed to be certified GOLD in the United States for 500,000 copies sold, even when streams were added in. Songs Of Surrender will have a better shot at going GOLD since just 125,000 copies sold of the 4LP/4CD packages will get them a GOLD award from the RIAA.
This year could be the first year since 2009 that U2 has received an award from the RIAA. U2 last received awards from the RIAA for No Line On The Horizon being certified Gold and Platinum back in 2009.