I’m sure you’ve heard of gold (500,000) and platinum (1,000,000) records, but have you heard of gold and platinum downloads? The RIAA will be handing awards to tracks that sell a 100,000 copies (gold) on sites such as iTunes, Sony Connect and Napster, while sales of 200,000 singles will qualify an artist for platinum status.

Hoobastank, Yellowcard, and Jet received the first awards for legally sold downloads at a ceremony in Miami at the end of August. Other artists that currently qualify for the new RIAA Digital awards include Usher, Outkast, Beyonce, Black Eyed Peas, Jay-Z, P. Diddy, Jessica Simpson, and No Doubt.

Huge step in the right direction.