Yesterday, the RIAA made a move toward modernization by incorporating streams into their certification process for giving out Gold and Platinum record awards. As a result, some albums from the previous year got a bump in their certification, including Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly. You’d think that would be cause for celebration, but not so for Top Dawg Entertainment.
Last night TDE CEO Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith tweeted out his disagreement with the change, saying “we don’t don’t stand behind this RIAA BS. Ole skool rules apply, 1 million albums sold is platinum. Until we reach that number, save all the congrats.” Tiffith added in a second tweet, “no cheat codes 2 platinum… #TDE.”
We can certainly appreciate Tiffith’s commitment to success without shortcuts, but streaming has become an undeniable part of music listening. Perhaps this is TDE’s subtle way to get more people to buy the album, or maybe the TDE CEO is expressing his frustrations with the overall trend of dwindling album sales.
Kendrick Lamar has yet to respond to his newly-minted Platinum record certification, but given how close-knit TDE has been, it’s probable the Compton rapper agrees with his label boss.
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