RIAJ

In this edition of Sunday Favorite, I am choosing to feature Certification Travels.  This post highlighted the history of RIAJ - the Recording Industry Association of Japan.  

Japan is steeped in historical culture and tradition.  And so one point of interest about RIAJ is its original title - Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association (RIAJ is the adopted name as of 1969).

RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) sets an impressively high standard for artists aspiring to gold, platinum, multi-platinum, and diamond certification.

RIAJ, in the Eastern Hemisphere, sets an intriguing standard for artists aspiring to gold, platinum, multi-platinum, million (the United States equivalent of diamond), and multi-million.

In essence, RIAJ appears to be the foreign equivalent of RIAA.

On this note...

The post will say the rest of it.  Follow the link above.

Soundcheck

Due disclosure - This post contains affiliate links and I may be compensated on any purchase made.

Speaking of Nick Rhodes...

His preference for the Roland series of keyboard synthesizers is featured in this edition of Soundcheck.

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500+ sounds

600+ looped phrases

DJ-style effects

Bluetooth connection

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If you aspire to being the next "say hello to the controller," start with the Roland GO:KEYS Music Creation Keyboard Synthesizer.  The investment will be worth your end goal.

Duran Duran - Nick Rhodes at the Park Hyatt Tokyo

Certification Travels

Where has the certification process taken us?

United States
UK
France
Canada
Australia
Portugal
Germany

Let's travel to Japan today with the country's RIAJ certification process.

RIAJ stands for Recording Industry Association of Japan and was founded in 1942 with headquarters in Minato, Tokyo.

RIAJ Purposes -

Promote music sales

Enforce copyright laws

Research related to Japanese music industry

The Japanese certification process began in 1989.  Sales include singles, albums, and digital downloads.

Point of intrigue -

The highest level of certification is known as "million" rather than "diamond."

With this said, below is the certification process -

Gold - 100,000

Platinum - 250,000

2x Platinum - 500,000

3x Platinum - 750,000 

Million - 1,000,000

Multi-Million - 2,000,000+

(Source - Wikipedia)

My take away -

Japan's recording industry sets an impressive standard for certification honors...akin to the RIAA.  I am intrigued by the use of "million" rather than "diamond" and can only imagine Japanese artists achieving such elite status.

Beck - A Look Back

Speaking of Beck...

Beck has 13 studio albums to his name.  Beck's most recent album, Hyperspace, was released in April 2019.

Genres considered - Folk, Funk, Soul, Hip Hop, Electronic, Alternative Rock, Country, and Psychedelia.  

Beck's career began in the late 1980's and spans to the present day.  This post could easily go on for some time to write about Beck's musical background, so I will let Wikipedia sum up what you, as the reader and passerby, want to know.

With this said, Beck has impressive success to his name - from certification to awards and nominations.

Mellow Gold (1994) - Platinum
Odelay (1996) - Double Platinum
Mutations (1998) - Gold
Midnite Ventures (1999) - Gold
Sea Change (2002) - Gold 
Guero (2005) - Gold 

American Music Awards 
1 Nomination

Antville Music Video Awards
1 Nomination, 2 Wins

Berlin Music Video Awards
1 Nomination 

Billboard Music Video Awards
1 Nomination

Brit Awards
(International Male Solo Artist)
7 Nominations, 3 Wins

California Music Awards
3 Nominations

Grammy Awards
13 Nominations, 7 Wins

MTV Europe Music Awards
7 Nominations

MTV Video Music Awards
9 Nominations, 6 Wins

MVPA Awards
(Los Angeles music trade organization)
(Honors the year's best music videos)
7 Nominations, 3 Wins

Meteor Music Awards
(Achievements in the Irish and international music industry)
1 Nomination

NME Awards
(New Musical Express - UK music magazine)
(Excellence in music to recording artists and radio stations)
1 Win

UK Music Video Awards
3 Nominations, 4 Wins

World Music Awards
1 Nomination

My take away -
Although I only know of one song, I greatly appreciate Beck's diverse musical styles and blend of multiple genres.  Beck truly is unique and musically one of a kind and therefore deserves his many honors.

Beck

I recently came across "Saw Lightning" on the Chicago-based music blog, Faronheit.  

"Saw Lightning" is Beck's most recent song - dating to April 2019.  I personally am not one for the song.  However, I have long been one for "Where It's At" that dates to 1996...quite the musical throwback!

And so in this edition of Friday Fave, I am reminiscing historic pop culture in the form of music by the artist, Beck.

World Music Awards

When I focus on individual musicians or bands, I highlight their history and honorable award nominations and wins.  I also feature the most notable albums with certifications.  

Let's focus on awards.  The American Music Awards and Grammy's tend to be a given.  The Academy Awards and Golden Globe Awards are commonly listed.  For some, international awards are noted (especially if the musician or band is British).  Examples of international awards include the Brit Awards, Ivor Novello Awards, and Q Awards...

...And then there is the World Music Awards.

The World Music Awards was founded in 1989 by Albert II, Prince of Monaco.  Awards are presented to the world's best selling artists by category and territory.  "Best selling" is determined by sales compiled by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).  

Legend Award -

"...honor top recording artists who have made outstanding contributions to the music industry..."

(The full list of winners can be found on Wikipedia.)

Diamond Award -

"...honor those select top-selling artists who have sold over 100 million records during their career..."

(The full list of winners can be found on Wikipedia.)

Millennium Award -

Presented in 2000

"...world's best-selling recording-artist of all time"

The Millennium Award was given to Michael Jackson and Mariah Carey.  

(Source - Wikipedia)

My take away -

The World Music Awards by Legend, Diamond, and Millennium are intriguing and profound in honors.  Where the major ceremonies that fans know well tend to be local to the United States and England, the World Music Awards are presented on a global scale - Monte Carlo, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and London.

The world truly is the musician's stage.