{"id":241123,"date":"2026-03-12T09:15:30","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T13:15:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/2026\/03\/12\/why-a2im-started-an-riaa-style-sales-certification-program-for-indie-artists\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T09:15:30","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T13:15:30","slug":"why-a2im-started-an-riaa-style-sales-certification-program-for-indie-artists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/2026\/03\/12\/why-a2im-started-an-riaa-style-sales-certification-program-for-indie-artists\/","title":{"rendered":"Why A2IM Started an RIAA-Style Sales Certification Program for Indie\u00a0Artists"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\tSince he began working with the indie folk band\u00a0Wilderado,\u00a0Braden Merrick<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 partner, president and A&R at Bright Antenna Records \u2014 has seen the group\u2019s members build a loyal fan base, quit their day jobs and even buy homes \u2014\u00a0all without reaching the level of mainstream visibility that\u2019s traditionally associated with music industry success.\u00a0But\u00a0they\u2019d\u00a0never received official industry recognition for their achievements.<\/p>\n

\n\tThat\u00a0finally changed last summer.\u00a0In June, the band was awarded a\u00a0certification from the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) as part of the organization\u2019s recently unveiled Star Certification initiative,\u00a0an RIAA-style program that awards indie acts for reaching specific consumption thresholds for albums and singles. In\u00a0Wilderado\u2019s\u00a0case, the group received the A2IM \u201cOne Star\u201d certification \u2014 given out for albums and singles that reach more than 50,000 equivalent album units \u2014 for its 2021 self-titled debut album.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\"2025<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t79 Indie Music Executives on How the Independent Music World Has Changed in Recent\u00a0Years\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tNew\u00a0Levels Strike Global Partnership With\u00a0Virgin Music Group, Signs Hooligan Hefs\u00a0& More\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tBad Bunny’s Australia Debut Sets Attendance Benchmark in Sydney\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n

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\n\t\u201cTo get the award is a big talking point,\u201d Merrick says. \u201cIt allowed us to go to people [who have said], \u2018Call me when you\u2019ve sold\u00a0X,\u2019 or,\u00a0\u2018Call me when you have something to talk about,\u2019 because there are gatekeepers out there, and you\u2019re trying to get to each one at the right time during an artist\u2019s campaign or career. \u2026The award\u00a0basically\u00a0validated\u00a0all the work the team had done. And the band, it made them go, \u2018Whoa, this is a recognition of our hard work.\u2019 And it gave us\u00a0sort of\u00a0an\u00a0elevated view within the industry.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tA2IM\u2019s\u00a0Star Certification initiative, launched in June in partnership with Luminate,\u00a0is a response to\u00a0the lack of\u00a0recognition\u00a0available for smaller acts and labels who may not have the reach to hit the RIAA\u2019s traditional thresholds for certification, including Gold (500,000 units), Platinum (1 million units) and Diamond (10 million units).\u00a0A2IM\u2019s program\u00a0includes three tiers: One Star, for 50,000 units; Two Star, for 100,000 units; and Three Star, for 300,000 units. According to Richard James Burgess<\/strong>,\u00a0who served as A2IM CEO\u00a0for a decade\u00a0through the end of last year and shepherded the Star Certification project from the very beginning,\u00a0those thresholds were designed to be \u201cachievable for independents\u201d who\u00a0have racked up impressive sales and streaming numbers on a smaller scale.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tL-R: Katie Garcia of Bayonet Records, Jody Whelan of Oh Boy Records and Randy Chin of VP Records pose with A2IM Star Certification plaques at Indie Week 2025. Photo Credit: Dan Bassini<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tSince\u00a0launch, a total of 71 albums and singles have been certified under the initiative, including releases from such prominent indie acts as Cigarettes After Sex (Partisan Records), Thundercat<\/a> (Brainfeeder), Grizzly Bear<\/a> (Warp Records) and MUNA<\/a> (Saddest Factory Records).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tTo receive a certification,\u00a0as with RIAA honors,\u00a0labels and artists can request a review of an album or\u00a0single\u2019s\u00a0consumption numbers via the A2IM website<\/a>. Once a month, the organization goes to Luminate with the requests and certifies those that qualify. The cost for the request itself is $25 for A2IM members and $150 for non-members; if certified, labels and artists can\u00a0purchase\u00a0a One Star, Two Star or Three Star plaque for $290. Burgess says \u201calmost all\u201d of that money goes to the manufacturer of the discs that adorn the plaques, with \u201ca small margin\u201d going to A2IM to cover administrative costs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\"2005\"<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\u2018What a Lucky Window We Made It Through\u2019: 9 Indie Artists Look Back on Their 2005\u00a0Breakthroughs\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n

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\n\tFor\u00a0Matt Brinkworth,<\/strong> director of global sales at\u00a0Omnian\u00a0Music Group\u00a0\u2014\u00a0which has so far received A2IM certifications for releases by DIIV, Wild Nothing and Home Shake\u00a0\u2014\u00a0the cost is worth it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI think what I like most about this initiative\u00a0is\u00a0the independent music industry\u00a0measures\u00a0success differently than the major labels,\u201d\u00a0he\u00a0says. \u201cI think\u00a0it\u2019s valuable to have a certification that can actually reflect what achievement looks and feels like in our part of the industry.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tConversations about starting a certification program for independents began \u201cpretty soon\u201d after Burgess began at A2IM a decade ago, he says, but it started to solidify once Luminate came aboard. For about a year and a half prior to announcing Star Certifications, Burgess says A2IM also conducted \u201ca lot of test runs\u201d for the initiative.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tAs A2IM was working on the program, Burgess notes he \u201chad a conversation with the RIAA\u201d to ensure it was \u201ccomfortable\u201d with the idea of a similar initiative to its gold and platinum program being introduced. Turns out, he\u00a0needn\u2019t\u00a0have worried.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cEvery chance to acknowledge achievements across the music community is something to celebrate, and \u200bwe\u2019re supportive of A2IM\u2019s Star Certification to recognize the accomplishments of independent artists and their label partners,\u201d RIAA chairman and CEO Mitch Glazier<\/strong> says in a statement sent to Billboard<\/em>. \u201cPrograms that shine a light on milestones like these help underscore how music continues to reach fans in new ways, shaping culture and strengthening connections across our entire ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tNotably, Star Certifications are open to artists from all eras, even if they hit one of the benchmarks decades in the past. Case in point: Cymande\u2019s self-titled album, released in 1972 on Janus Records and reissued by Partisan Records in 2022, received a One Star certification last July. Other older titles certified thus far include Beenie Man<\/a>\u2019s 1997 album\u00a0Many Moods of Moses<\/em>, released by VP Records (Two Star);\u00a0Pharoahe\u00a0Monch<\/a>\u2019s 1999 single \u201cSimon Says,\u201d released by\u00a0Trescadecaphobia\u00a0Music (Three Star); and The Magnetic Fields\u2019 1999 album\u00a069 Love Songs<\/em>, released by Merge Records (Two Star).\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tDeclarations of Independence: 23 Top Indie Artists\u2019 Secrets to\u00a0Success\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n

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\n\tThe certifications are also open to\u00a0major label artists, including those who have far exceeded the Star certification thresholds.\u00a0Those certified so far include\u00a0T.I.<\/a>\u00a0(Three Star certification for the 2008 single\u00a0\u201cLive Your Life,\u201d released by Atlantic Records);\u00a0Calle 24<\/a>, Chino Pacas<\/a> &\u00a0Fuerza\u00a0Regida<\/a>\u00a0(Three Star\u00a0for the 2023 single \u201cQUE ONDA,\u201d released by Warner Records); and Diplo<\/a> & Morgan Wallen<\/a>, who received a Three Star certification for their hit\u00a0single \u201cHeartless,\u201d\u00a0released by Columbia Records,\u00a0which peaked at No. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has\u00a0also\u00a0been certified diamond by the RIAA\u00a0for\u00a0more than 10 million\u00a0equivalent album units.<\/p>\n

\n\tNow, A2IM is hoping to encourage more indie labels to realize the benefits of certification \u2014 which Burgess admits can be a challenge. \u201cI think one of the big problems we face in the independent sector is people are so busy, nose to the grindstone, just trying to get the next record out, with usually not enough people, that it takes them a while to kind of catch on to something new like this,\u201d he says. One possible benefit of the certification process, according to Burgess, is that it can uncover registration errors, allowing artists and labels to tap\u00a0uncollected royalties.\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s kind of a nice double check,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tAnother obstacle to getting buy-in to the initiative\u00a0is that indie artists also tend to be less comfortable with touting themselves\u00a0and their achievements.\u00a0\u201cI think\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0one of those things that sometimes people [aren\u2019t] used to being told, \u2018Hey, you can be excited about something that might come across as bragging,\u2019\u201d says\u00a0Brinkworth. \u201cI guess it\u00a0depends on the type of person you are, but I know\u00a0that in\u00a0indie music in particular, people are a lot\u00a0more humble. And\u00a0so\u00a0the idea of getting a big plaque\u2026maybe they never thought they ever would.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n


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Aller \u00e0 la source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since he began working with the indie folk band\u00a0Wilderado,\u00a0Braden Merrick\u00a0\u2014 partner, president and A&R at Bright Antenna Records \u2014 has seen the group\u2019s members build a loyal fan base, quit their day jobs and even buy homes \u2014\u00a0all without reaching the level of mainstream visibility that\u2019s traditionally associated with music industry success.\u00a0But\u00a0they\u2019d\u00a0never received official industry […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-241123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-musique","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241123"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241123\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}