Yes, a guy from the RIAA just finished counting up all the copies in my music room. I didn't realize that I had that many ...
But doesn't the RIAA count the White Album as TWO albums since it is a double LP? I think that is how it works. And that would explain why the White Album has twice the "sales" as say Abbey Road, which continues year in and year out to be the top selling Beatles album.
That is correct...but Abbey Road is currently at 12x, so guess technically they are tied, but I imagine other certifications are to follow...
And does All Things Must Pass count as 2 or 3 albums according to the RIAA? The third LP was originally a BONUS LP (which was supposedly included for free), so how does that get counted? Personally, I think any album, regardless if it is double, triple, etc., should count as only ONE entity.
And Billy Joel's Greatest Hits I and II is #5. Now that is crazy!!! https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=top_tallies&ttt=T1A#search_section
Peppers50th may have outsold WA50th but when all versions are counted White Album sold 12 million units (24 million discs) and Sgt Pepper's 11 million. I cannot believe that after 50 years these two albums have only sold 12 and 11 million copies. I would have guessed at least double and then go from there.
And how does it work with expanded reissues- Thriller 25 was a double album so we’re those units counted as 2 and added to the original count, or was Thriller 25 considered a separate title? Is the White album 4Lp box counted as 4 and added in? What about Billy Joel’s Hits I & II being 3Lp MoFi box now. Counted as 3? Eagles Greatest Hits LP is now packaged with Greatest Hits Vol 2 in a slipcase, is it now counted as a double?
OK. Just to say I've finally finished back-reading this thread. I didn't start it until I had the box set in my hands over Xmas, so it's taken about six weeks off and on for me to read through it all. It was nice to read all the anticipation before release and then the mainly good surprises the set contained. A few disappointments along the way especially Rev take 20 not being in there. And lots of disgressions but often of interest. One thing that seems to me to come over is that the Beatles were moving away from vocal harmonies with this album. Sometimes they didn't use them where they could have to good effect (Good Night, I'm So Tired) and sometimes they were less audible than they could have been (Sexy Sadie, Helter Skelter). And when they're there they're often parodies (Beach Boys in USSR and doo-wop in Happiness). It's in some way the antithesis to Rubber Soul in my book. The new remix corrects this impression somewhat, but should a new remix be allowed to change what was obviously the Beatles original intention? Not that it matters too much since we can still listen to the original mix whenever we want to.
Really interesting article, I would have never come across it, thanks for posting. More than anything, these numbers assure me the product will keep coming!
