strangers passing in the street Wrote:RIAA awards certifications, Gold, Platnium, multi, whatever, based on information given to them by the record companies. If the record companies don't apply for a certification, RIAA doesn't award one. RIAA more or less audits the record companies numbers.

The record companies often times want to keep a low profile on the number of records sold, because the more records sold the more royalties they have to pay out.

Dark Side of the Moon has only been awarded 15x Platnium, the last cerification being made in 1999. Come on, this album has been on the Billboard catolog Album charts constantly since then, and you mean to tell me they haven't moved another million copies in the last 8 years. I've read more then once that this album still sells 8000 + copies a week in the US alone. That would bump up dark side to well over 18x by now.

Anyway, the certifications are only the total number reported.

As far as the world wide sales go, the only ones that might know this, for sure are the record companies. There is no international association like RIAA. So in other words, nobody really knows for sure how many copies have been sold world wide, except for possibly the people pressing the discs.

Keep in mind, also, that the Wall is a double CD, which means that every album sold gets counted twice, hence the success of other double albums, like the Beatles White album, and Billy Joels Greatest Hits. Dark side is still Pink Floyds best seller, in terms of total albums sold. The Wall, however, has moved more discs.

Grguitarfreek100 Wrote:no number can be write, but it can be written.

monkey.choker Wrote:And because it has sold so many, this amazing fact is absolutely true:

There is never a moment in time when TDSOTM is not being played. :;):