Elvis real record sales

[Brian]

Hi everyone

According to the Riaa The Beatles have 170 million album sales in the U.s. while Garth Brooks has 128 million and Elvis currently has 118.5 million
However Elvis hasn't had any album certification updates since 2004 and I believe several of Elvis old albums haven't been properly updated by the Riaa so I've compiled a list of albums that I think have been long overdue for a certification update and I will list how many units I think they have sold by this point.

1.Elvis Presley current certification:Gold, I think this album is 3x platinum
2.Elvis current cetification:Gold, I think this album is 3x platinum
3.Loving You current certification:Gold, I think this album is 3x platinum
4. King Creole current certification:Gold, I think this album is platinum
5. Elvis golden records vol.1 current certification:6x platinum I think this album is 10x platinum

6. Elvis is Back current certification:Gold, I think this album is platinum
7.His hand in mine current certification:platinum, I think this album is 2x platinum

8.Gi Blues current certification:platinum, I think this album is 3x platinum
9. Blue Hawaii current certification:3x platinum I think this album is 7x platinum

10. Kissin Cousins current certification:none, I think this album is gold
11. Harem Scarem current certification:none, I think this album is gold
12. Girl Happy current certification:none, I think this album is gold
13. spinout current certification:none, I think this album is gold
14. Paradise Hawaaian style current certification:none, I think this album is
gold

15. Elvis 68 Special current certification:platinum, I think this album is 2x platinum

16.From Elvis in Memphis current certification:gold, I think this album is 2x platinum

17. Back in Memphis current certification:gold, I think this album is platinum
18. Elvis Country current certification:gold, I think this album is platinum
19.Camden Christmas album 1970 current certification:9x platinum I think this album is 11X platinum

20. He Touched Me current certification:platinum, I think this album is 2x platinum

21. Aloha From Hawaii current certification:5x platinum, I think this album is 14x platinum

22. Fool album 1973 current certification:none, I think this album is gold
23. Raised on Rock current certification:none, I think this album is gold
24. Good Times current certification:none, I think this album is gold
25. Promised Land current certification:none, I think this album is gold
26. Today current certification:none, I think this album is gold
27. Sun sessions current certification:gold, I think this album is platinum
28.Moody Blue current certification:2x platinum, I think this album is 20x platinum

29. Elvis in Concert current certification:3x platinum, I think this album is 10x platinum

30.Elvis 30 #1 hits current certification:4 x platinum, I think this album is 6x platinum


This would put Elvis ahead of both the Beatles and Garth Brooks in the U.S. album RIAA certifications totals. Elvis would have a total of approximately 196.5 album sales if these certifications would be updated just like I have listed.

What do you think of RIAA updates of Elvis albums?
Do you think these particular albums I have listed need updated?
Do you think I missed any albums that need updated
Any additional thoughts?

I look forward to getting everyone's feedback, thoughts and opinions on this.

[KPM]

We've discussed this before and there is a world of info on this subject.
This is a well thought out article on the subject:
http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/one_...rd_sales.shtml

I have always felt that his record sales were never fully reported and documented from the 50's-not just for Elvis (althought his sales were so above the rest that it was harder to hide) but for Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee, etc.... The record keeping was in another universe compared to how its done in the last 20 years.

[Brian]

We've discussed this before and there is a world of info on this subject.
This is a well thought out article on the subject:
http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/one_...rd_sales.shtml

I have always felt that his record sales were never fully reported and documented from the 50's-not just for Elvis (althought his sales were so above the rest that it was harder to hide) but for Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee, etc.... The record keeping was in another universe compared to how its done in the last 20 years.

Yes I've read that article before and I agree with you. I thought I would start a thread about this because from what I've seen fans love talking and discussing what Elvis records sales are and that they are pissed off that Garth Brooks is ahead of him, I have no doubt that Elvis will eventually pull ahead of Garth Brooks again but doubt all of Elvis sales will be accurately documented and I don't think he will ever pull ahead of the Beatles in the U.S. certified RiAA totals but I truly believe he is and I also dont' have faith in Sony Bmg. I think first and foremost it had to do with the old RCA record keeping and now I don't believe Sony Bmg are even trying to find and update Elvis old record sales like they say they have been.

[MojoElvis]

They need to get the record straight, no pun intended...lol
Not unless the the Music industry knows it and wants to claim these people to have more due to them being more contemporary artists. The oldies station here doesn't even play songs from the early 60s or 50s. Now it's called the hits of the 60s, 70s and 80s.
Leaving a bunch of ELVIS songs out of the play list. Because of this, a lot of young people don't know jack about the awesome voice Elvis had and great talent in delivering them. They only know him has this icon and almost cartoon character. My girlfriend's 14 year old sister always says, Elvis sucks! and I ask her, do you know any song other than, Hound Dog? She knows every song they play on the radio, including the oldies station.
The whole music industry isn't based on true facts it's based on, what do we want to sell now? Lie if you have to do so to promote this new artist or Garth Brook's, Madonna's, Hanna or Beatles box set to sell.

[rocknroll]

Brian,

Where do you get the information from on what you have posted? Is it just a guess?

I'm sure Moody Blue has sold much more than is given credit for, but I highlky doubt 20X platinum.

Also, may of the records you think are gold by now (Fool, Raised On Rock, Good Times), I don't think they have sold a million copies, so I would leave them as no certification.

Also question Aloha being at 14X platinum.

[Joe Car]

All I know is, when he died, RCA couldn't keep up with the demand as they were working 24/7 trying to keep up with demand.. It wasn't like it is now, back then stores carried pretty much every album that he had cut, and all stores ran out of stock. Naturally, we have never gotten a true count of just how many albums were sold after he passed away, but it had to be tens of millions just alone in North America. I have read anywhere from 100-200 million albums of Elvis' were purchased the weeks following August 16/1977!

[KPM]

Food for thought-(this info was from a few years ago but the premise is true)



4. The RIAA certifies U.S. sales only whereas Elvis Presley is a truly international artist. The RIAA does not count any sales of any artist outside the U.S.A. As an example It's Now Or Never sold 1.2 million in England alone, as much as it did in the US. Elvis’ combined international sales of over 400 million units are a unique achievement. (It is estimated that Elvis has sold over 600 million units in the USA and over 400 million units in all other countries combined for a total of over one billion units sold worldwide.)

5. Math for Music Lovers – The Summary

The RIAA counts only certifiable round numbers: 500,000 for GOLD and full millions for platinum and multiple platinum. This means that the 1,012,088 sales of Elvis NBC TV Special counts as much as the 1,922,601 of You'll Never Walk Alone: one million RIAA Sales - i.e. 922,601 of the latter are not counted. You might argue that these conditions are the same for all artists, which indeed they are, but because of the ever changing ways of releasing music over the past decades, the consequences are quite remarkable in that the more albums you have released, the more sales you lose by being under and in between levels. Garth Brooks reached his figures with only 12 releases, which means he could ONLY have 12 x 999,999 lost sales, where as Beatles has 36 platinum albums and a theoretical loss three times as high as Garth Brooks. The staggering number of Elvis albums released over the past 45 years means that his “lost” sales by RIAA accounting are astronomic compared to his main competitors.
For the purpose of this exercise, if we average the numbers and say all artists will be credited 500,000 extra sales for records between the various platinum levels, the figures look like this based on the artists current number of certified albums:

Elvis 43 Platinum x 500,000 = 21.5 mil. New Total: 109

Beatles 36 Platinum x 500,000 = 18.0 mil. New Total: 168

Garth 12 Platinum x 500,000 6.0 mil. New Total: 106

If we take that one step further and add 250,000 units as an average on all Gold albums(half of the difference between 500,000 and 999.,999, we find that The Beatles and Garth Brooks have only albums that have platinum status and therefore get no additional figures:

Elvis 38 Gold x 250,000 = 9.5 mil. New Total: 118.5

Beatles 0 Gold = 0 New Total: 168

Garth Brooks 0 Gold = 0 New Total: 106

If we go one step further and award the average 250,000 to albums that haven’t reached gold status, it becomes VERY interesting because neither The Beatles nor Garth Brooks have any albums that have not been certified. Elvis, however, has more than 200 non-certified.
Elvis 220 Uncertified = 55 New Total: 173.5

Beatles 0 Uncertified = 0 New Total: 168

Garth Brooks 0 Uncertified = 0 New Total: 106

After this exercise we need to go back and add the many Elvis albums that were released by other companies through special license arrangements with RCA. None of these sales are accounted for in RIAA totals. In 1978 Brooklandville Marketing announced sales of over 2 million sets of the double album they had licensed from RCA, and in general these heavily marketed albums sold very large numbers. Then we should add the missing RCA numbers sold in the 12 months after his death and the 81 million singles we can document, the RIAA statement reaches the absolute absurdity.

A different angle to all of this, that keeps getting ignored is that it’s so much easier to achieve high sales figures in today’s mass consumption market, than it was back in the ‘50s. When Elvis’ first album Elvis Presley sold 300,000 in the spring of 1956 – it set a new record for a popular album – and it was the album of that year. Today, the best selling album of the year, as well as several runners-up, will easily sell over 10 million copies in the US alone . In 1956 sales of long-playing records were marginal and priced beyond the financial means of many. In 2001, you could see people buy as many as 5-10 CDs at one time.

Singles are not even mentioned-and Elvis by far has sold more singles in the US and around the world than Brooks.

[Brian]

Brian,

Where do you get the information from on what you have posted? Is it just a guess?

I'm sure Moody Blue has sold much more than is given credit for, but I highlky doubt 20X platinum.

Also, may of the records you think are gold by now (Fool, Raised On Rock, Good Times), I don't think they have sold a million copies, so I would leave them as no certification.

Also question Aloha being at 14X platinum.

After Elvis died his popularity exploded, RCA's pressing plant stopped pressing recordings for all their other artists and all the record stores had signs saying sorry there are no more Elvis Presley records, it's estimated by RCA that Elvis sold 100 million records in the year after he died which I believe I know Moody Blue was a very popular album probably selling more than 2x platinum plus when you figure in 31 years I figure 20x platinum isn't out of the realm of possibility same for Aloha which was a double album but is only counted as one album by the RIAA plus when you again figure in sales over a 30 year period and after Elvis death it could very well be diamond.
to get a gold record you need sales of 500,000 copies plus Raised on rock, Fool and Good times all charted and I think by now they would probably qualify gold. It's a guess but an educated guess.

[poormansgold]

There more Records that's haven't count yet , I know One time They Go by Air time On Radio wave... I think they stop count those now The Singles records are rare in USA because It cost Too much to made them... If they count sales of FTD Releases .. The Sets (Box Sets) count as One record.. Elvis had out sold The Beatles And anothers Artist 3 x over .....
They needed to update The list every year .
Tom

[rocknroll]

After Elvis died his popularity exploded, RCA's pressing plant stopped pressing recordings for all their other artists and all the record stores had signs saying sorry there are no more Elvis Presley records, it's estimated by RCA that Elvis sold 100 million records in the year after he died which I believe I know Moody Blue was a very popular album probably selling more than 2x platinum plus when you figure in 31 years I figure 20x platinum isn't out of the realm of possibility same for Aloha which was a double album but is only counted as one album by the RIAA plus when you again figure in sales over a 30 year period and after Elvis death it could very well be diamond.
to get a gold record you need sales of 500,000 copies plus Raised on rock, Fool and Good times all charted and I think by now they would probably qualify gold. It's a guess but an educated guess.

I hope you are right, but we may never know.

I know he sold butt loads of records after his death, but 100 - 200 million seems like a bit much.

[KPM]

I hope you are right, but we may never know.

I know he sold butt loads of records after his death, but 100 - 200 million seems like a bit much.

We have a Capital Records Plant in Jacksonville Ill and it was contracted by RCA to produce Elvis records right after his death. I have heard the figure of 20 million in the year after Elvis's death as being a pretty good estimate of world sales during that time.