Certifiable and Sourced Sales

[Quzi]

Wikipedia user Harout72 and I contributed research to the following list of the Beach Boys' certifiable units in order to get a clearer idea of the total sales of the band. I thought it would be of suitable interest to the board, so here it is. Any sourced additions for the miscellaneous section of this post would be very much appreciated!

US Certified Sales

Certified Albums:
                  
All Summer Long-Album 500,000
(Gold: Feb 18, 1965)

The Beach Boys in Concert-Album 500,000
(Gold: Feb 18, 1965)

The Beach Boys Today-Album 500,000
(Gold: Oct 1, 1965)

Surfin’ U.S.A.-Album 500,000
(Gold: Nov 15, 1965)

Surfer Girl-Album 500,000
(Gold: Nov 15, 1965)

Summer Days-Album 500,000
(Gold: Feb 7, 1966)

Little Deuce Coupe-Album 1,000,000
(Gold: Dec 21, 1966; Platinum: Feb 5, 1992)

Shut Down Vol. 2-Album 500,000
(Gold: Dec 21, 1966)

Best of The Beach Boys-Compilation 2,000,000
(Gold: Apr 12, 1967; Platinum Dec 2, 1991; 2x Platinum Dec 2, 1991)

Endless Summer-Compilation 3,000,000
(Gold: Aug 14, 1974; Platinum: Sept 30, 2003; 2x Platinum: Sept 30, 2003; 3x Platinum: Sept 30, 2003)

Spirit of America-Compilation 500,000
(Gold: Apr 30, 1975)

15 Big Ones-Album 500,000
(Gold: Sept 1, 1976)

Best of The Beach Boys Vol. 2-Compilation 2,000,000
(Gold: Dec 10, 1976; Platinum: Feb 5, 1992; 2x Platinum: Feb 5, 1992)

The Beach Boys Christmas Album-Album 500,000
(Gold: Apr 6, 1982)

Made in U.S.A.-Compilation 2,000,000
(Gold: May 26, 1988,  Platinum: Sept 30, 2003; 2x Platinum Sept 30, 2003)

Still Cruisin’-Album 1,000,000
(Gold: November 27, 1989; Platinum: Sept 30, 2003)

Good Vibrations: 30 Years of The Beach Boys-Box Set 500,000 (100,000 sales * 5CD multiplier)
(Gold: Nov 2, 1993)

The Greatest Hits-Compilation 2,000,000
(Gold: Apr 27, 1999; Platinum: Apr 27, 1999; 2x Platinum Apr 27, 1999)

Pet Sounds-Album 1,000,000
(Gold: Feb 11, 2000; Platinum: Apr 6, 2000)

Sound of Summer: The Very Best of The Beach Boys-Compilation 3,000,000
(Gold: Sept 4, 2003; Platinum Jun 10, 2003; 2x Platinum: Nov 3, 2005; 3x Platinum May 11, 2012)

Total Certified Album Units = 22,500,000

Certified Singles:

"Good Vibration"-Single 1,000,000
(Gold: Dec 21, 1966)

"I Get Around"-Single 1,000,000
(Gold: Feb 22, 1982)

"Kokomo"-Single 1,000,000
(Gold: Jan 10, 1989; Platinum: Jan 10, 1989)

Total Certified Single Units = 3,000,000

Certified Videos:

Good Timin’: Live at Knebworth 1980-Video 100,000
(Gold: Jan 17, 2008)

Total Certified Video Units = 100,000

Total Certified US Units = 25,600,000

(Source: RIAA) (Site: http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH)
________________________________________

UK Certified Sales (Database is from 1973 onwards)

Certified Albums:

20 Golden Greats-Compilation 600,000 (Released in 1976: Certified in 1976: ₤ 1.66 an album in UK in 1976: £1,000,000 (Platinum-award) ÷ £1.66 (an album)=600,000 (units) )
(Silver: Jul 1, 1976; Gold: Jul 1, 1976; Platinum Aug 1, 1979)

Holland-Album 75,000 (Released in 1973: Certified in 1978: ₤ 2.00 an album in UK in 1978: £150,000 (Silver-award) ÷ £2.00 (an album)=75,000 (units) )
(Silver: Jan 1, 1978)

15 Big Ones-Album 75,000 (Released in 1978: Certified in 1978: ₤ 2.00 an album in UK in 1978: £150,000 (Silver-award) ÷ £2.00 (an album)=75,000 (units) )
(Silver: Jan 1, 1978)

The Very Best of The Beach Boys Vol. 1 & 2-Compilation 300,000
(Silver: Jul 25, 1983; Gold: Jul 25, 1983; Platinum: Sept 9, 1983)

Summer Dreams-Compilation 300,000
(Silver: Aug 2, 1990; Gold: Aug 2, 1990; Platinum: Sept 1, 1990)

Best of the Beach Boys-Compilation 60,000
(Silver: Jun 1, 1995)

Platinum Collection-Compilation 60,000
(Silver: Jun 10, 2005)

The Very Best of The Beach Boys-Compilation 300,000
(Silver: Jun 1, 1995; Gold: Oct 25, 2002; Platinum: Dec 2, 2005)

Total Certified UK Units = 1,770,000

(Source: BPI) (Site: http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx)
________________________________________

German Certified Sales (Database is from 1975 onwards)

Certified Albums:

20 Golden Greats-Compilation 250,000
(Gold: 2009)

Total Certified German Units = 250,000

(Source: Bundesverband Musikindustrie) (Site: http://www.musikindustrie.de/gold_platin_datenbank/)
________________________________________

French Certified Sales (Database is from 1973 onwards)


Certified Albums:

California Gold-Compilation 100,000
(Gold)

20 Good Vibrations-Compilation 100,000
(Gold)

Total Certified Album Units = 200,000

Certified Singles:

"Kokomo"-Single 200,000
(Silver: 1989)

Total Certified Single Units = 200,000

Total Certified French Units = 400,000

(Source: SNEP) (Site: http://www.infodisc.fr/Certif_Album.php) (Site: http://www.infodisc.fr/Single_Certif.php)
________________________________________

Austrian Certified sales (Database is from 1990 onwards)


Certified Albums:

Still Cruisin'-Album 25,000
(Gold Jan 10, 1994)

20 Golden Greats-Compilation 50,000
(Gold: Jan 10, 1994; Platinum 30 Sept, 1999)

Total Certified Austrian Units = 55,000

(Source: IFPI Austria) (Site: http://www.ifpi.at/?section=goldplatin)
________________________________________

Argentinean Certified Sales (Database is from 1980 onwards)

Certified Albums:

Summer Dreams-Compilation 60,000
(Platinum: Apr 18, 2005)

Total Certified Argentinian Units = 60,000

(Source: CAPIF) (Site: http://web.archive.org/web/20110820130534/http://www.capif.org.ar/Default.asp?PerDesde_MM=0&PerDesde_AA=0&PerHasta_MM=0&PerHasta_AA=0&interprete=&album=&LanDesde_MM=1&LanDesde_AA=1980&LanHasta_MM=12&LanHasta_AA=2010&Galardon=O&Tipo=1&ACCION2=+Buscar+&ACCION=Buscar&CO=5&CODOP=ESOP)
________________________________________

Australian Certified Sales (Database is from 1997 onwards)

Certified Albums:

Sounds of Summer: The Very Best Of The Beach Boys-Compilation 140,000
(Platinum: 2009; 2x Platinum: 2011)

Total Certified Album Units = 140,000

Certified Videos:

Good Vibrations Tour-DVD 15,000
(Gold: 2006; Platinum: 2008)

Live at Knebworth 1980-DVD 15,000
(Gold 2004; Platinum 2006)

Endless Harmony: The Beach Boys Story Documentary-DVD 7,500
(Gold 2008)

Total Certified Video Units = 37,500

Total Certified Australian Units = 177,500

(Source: ARIA) (Site: http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-accreditations.htm)
________________________________________

Swiss Certified Sales (Database is from 1989 onwards)

Certified Albums:

20 Golden Greats-Compilation 50,000
(Platinum: 1991)

Total Certified Swiss Units = 50,000

(Source: Schweizer Hitparade) (Site: http://hitparade.ch/search_certifications.asp?search)
________________________________________

Canadian Certified Sales (Database is from 1975 onwards)

Certified Albums:

Sounds of Summer: The Very Best Of The Beach Boys-Compilation 100,000
(Gold: Nov 3, 2003; Platinum: Apr 10, 2006)

Total Certified Canadian Units = 100,000

(Source: Music Canada) (Site: http://www.musiccanada.com/gpSearchResult.aspx)
________________________________________

Swedish Certified Sales (Database is from 1987 onwards)


Certified Albums:

California Gold-Compilation 50,000
(Gold: Jun 16, 1993)

Total Certified Swedish Units = 50,000

(Source: IFPI) (Site: http://web.archive.org/web/20120125103125/http://www.ifpi.se/wp/wp-content/uploads/guld-platina-1987-1998.pdf)
________________________________________

Total Certified Sales Worldwide = 28,532,500

[Quzi]

The following is a list of miscellaneous sales figures that are able to be sourced and have been suitably confirmed.

US

* The Warmth of the Sun compilation sold 14,000 units in its first week of sales.
Source: http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1051852/maroon-5-nudges-linkin-park-from-atop-billboard-200

* That's Why God Made the Radio sold 61,000 units in it's first week of sales.
Source: http://music.broadwayworld.com/article/The-Beach-Boys-THATS-WHY-GOD-MADE-THE-RADIO-Debuts-at-3-on-the-Billboard-Album-Chart-20120613

*In the April 23, 1966 edition of Billboard, "Sloop John B" was said to have sold 500,000 units in its first two weeks of release according to Capitol.
Source:http://books.google.com.au/books?id=nEUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA56&dq=%22beach+boys%22+gold&hl=en&sa=X&ei=up57UaXWKqvyiAewnYGYCQ&ved=0CEQQ6AEwBTgK#v=onepage&q=%22beach%20boys%22%20gold&f=false

*In the November 6, 1964 edition of LIFE, it was reported that "Fun, Fun, Fun" supposedly sold over 800,000 units.
Source:http://books.google.com.au/books?id=rkgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA33&dq=%22beach+boys%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=c-R8Ufv4G8TniAfOrYHACA&ved=0CEAQ6AEwBDiOAg#v=onepage&q=%22beach%20boys%22&f=false

UK

* In the Jan 7, 1967 issue of Billboard, it was reported that sales of the Best of The Beach Boys were approaching 100,000 units.
Source: http://books.google.com.au/books?id=CSkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA38&dq=Beach+Boys+album+sales+in+UK&hl=en&sa=X&ei=MuVqUYWpIujNiwKcyoHQDQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Beach%20Boys&f=false
* The September 16, 1967 edition ups this figure another 100,000 units by saying 200k records had been pushed.

* Billboard reported that "Good Vibrations" had sold over 50,000 units in the first 15 days of release, according to EMI.
Source: http://books.google.com.au/books?id=CykEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA64#v=onepage&q=beach%20boys&f=false

Canada
*Endless Summer was awarded a Canadian Recording Industry Association Gold Album award for sales of over 50,000.
Source: http://books.google.com.au/books?id=9OULdq5clMEC&pg=PA2&dq=%22endless+summer%22+%22beach+Boys%22+canada+sales&hl=en&sa=X&ei=inx2Ufi9EeK0iwKhy4A4&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22endless%20summer%22%20%22beach%20Boys%22%20canada%20sales&f=false

Australia

* On Jun 2, 1982 Billboard magazine reported that Beach Boys Greatest Hits had sold 245,000 units. This would make it eligible today for a 3x Platinum award based on current Australian certification criteria.
Source: http://books.google.com.au/books?id=GCQEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA1&pg=PT57&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=beach%20boys&f=false

France

* According to Billboard Magazine, "Rock and Roll Music" had sold in excess of  150,000 units in France by April 9, 1977
Source:http://books.google.com.au/books?id=xCMEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT54&dq=%22beach+boys%22+sales&hl=en&sa=X&ei=wpl7UaapBomTiAfDm4GwBw&ved=0CEgQ6AEwBjgK

Japan
* The Pet Sounds Sessions sold 10,000 copies. With a 4CD multiplier, this equals 40,000 units pushed in Japan by 18, April 1998.
Source:http://books.google.com.au/books?id=mQ4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA52&dq=%22beach+boys%22+copies&hl=en&sa=X&ei=B8F7UZ79DYmFiAfWqIHQBQ&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q=%22beach%20boys%22%20copies&f=false

Worldwide

* By December 22, 2010 "Little Saint Nick" had sold 254,000 digital units according to Neilson Soundscan data published by Yahoo.
Source: http://music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart-watch/chart-watch-extra-top-holiday-hits.html

Total of Miscellaneously Sourced Units = 2,364,000

Total Certified Sales Worldwide + Total Miscellaneous Units = 30,896,500

[The Heartical Don]

Still Cruisin’-Album 1,000,000
(Gold: November 27, 1989; Platinum: Sept 30, 2003)

 

[The Shift]

Still Cruisin’-Album 1,000,000
(Gold: November 27, 1989; Platinum: Sept 30, 2003)

 

Startling isn't it. If that one album – that particular one album – notched up a million, then we can be pretty certain that 29mill total sales world-wide is conservative in the extreme…

Great job Quzi and Harout72. If this leads to a reassessment of BBs sales worldwide and subsequent increased royalties for the Boys, then I hope they give you a slice of the action!

[Cabinessenceking]

I still think the total would clock up to 100 mill. Could it really be that much less?

[Nicko1234]

Startling isn't it. If that one album – that particular one album – notched up a million, then we can be pretty certain that 29mill total sales world-wide is conservative in the extreme…

That 29 million is only for the certified sales though isn't it? Not for the actual sales.

I knew that Still Cruisin' had sold 700,000 at the time but didn't know it had reached the million mark. Wowsers.

[gxios]

In 1971 Jack Reilly, introducing the band, would say "35 million records sold!".  Even then I thought that kind of low- everyone I knew had some BB's records in their collection.

[The Shift]

We should add up how many copies of Pet Sounds those of who post on this board have… that alone would probably merit a gold certification!

[The Heartical Don]

We should add up how many copies of Pet Sounds those of who post on this board have… that alone would probably merit a gold certification!

 

I've lost track of that number, John. I have the Sessions box twice; the LP in the UK 1966 version and the Reprise 1971 one; the first mono CD version, the mono/stereo CD (due to a lot of my collection having been stored for years) in, I guess, three copies; the 40th anniversary fuzzy cover CD/DVD set twice; and a CDR of the MFSL edition (that I treasure, it sounds fantastic, punchy and clear). And Pet Sounds Live. Which amounts to 11 copies.

[drbeachboy]

We should add up how many copies of Pet Sounds those of who post on this board have… that alone would probably merit a gold certification!

Let's see, I have 7 cd releases, the 2012 download, 2 LPs, and the Pet Sounds Sessions Box.

Edit: I forgot about the DVD-A. I got that too.

[The Shift]

3LPs
Approx 7 CDs
1 gold CD
I sessions box set
2 DVD-As

[The Heartical Don]

We should add up how many copies of Pet Sounds those of who post on this board have… that alone would probably merit a gold certification!

Current estimate: 2469 members, on the average 10 copies, amounts to, say, 25,000 copies.

However, one of the mods wrote that he bought 89 LPs and 39 CDs and lots of other stuff, all BBs-related, in 2013 alone.

So the mods, obviously suffering from some hitherto undefined aberration in their brains, can tip the scales to 100,000.

I predict a bronze CD. Or messing. Copper?

[The Shift]

However, one of the mods wrote that he bought 89 LPs and 39 CDs and lots of other stuff, all BBs-related, in 2013 alone.

So the mods, obviously suffering from some hitherto undefined aberration in their brains, can tip the scales to 100,000.

Sounds like we're paying the mods too much.   

[Cabinessenceking]

We should add up how many copies of Pet Sounds those of who post on this board have… that alone would probably merit a gold certification!

Current estimate: 2469 members, on the average 10 copies, amounts to, say, 25,000 copies.

However, one of the mods wrote that he bought 89 LPs and 39 CDs and lots of other stuff, all BBs-related, in 2013 alone.

So the mods, obviously suffering from some hitherto undefined aberration in their brains, can tip the scales to 100,000.

I predict a bronze CD. Or messing. Copper?

how many lurkers (people who read the board but haven't signed up) could we estimate there are for SmileySmile.net?

[The Heartical Don]

However, one of the mods wrote that he bought 89 LPs and 39 CDs and lots of other stuff, all BBs-related, in 2013 alone.

So the mods, obviously suffering from some hitherto undefined aberration in their brains, can tip the scales to 100,000.

Sounds like we're paying the mods too much.   

 

They live like bank managers. Allegedly.

[The Heartical Don]

We should add up how many copies of Pet Sounds those of who post on this board have… that alone would probably merit a gold certification!

Current estimate: 2469 members, on the average 10 copies, amounts to, say, 25,000 copies.

However, one of the mods wrote that he bought 89 LPs and 39 CDs and lots of other stuff, all BBs-related, in 2013 alone.

So the mods, obviously suffering from some hitherto undefined aberration in their brains, can tip the scales to 100,000.

I predict a bronze CD. Or messing. Copper?

how many lurkers (people who read the board but haven't signed up) could we estimate there are for SmileySmile.net?

  hadn't thought of that... the sky's the limit. Mike Love can thank us for his luxurious lifestyle!

[Steve Mayo]

I still think the total would clock up to 100 mill. Could it really be that much less?

they were stating over 100 million worldwide back in 1976. also warner's press release back in 1971 stated over 65 million worldwide. outside of throwing darts at figures, who knows where they get these figures.

[guitarfool2002]

I honestly don't know where or how these numbers are generated once it gets into the 7 or 8 figure area. On the surface it looks like an unscientific and random process, a guessing game.

For those who have read the book "Hit Men": What about the unsold copies of the albums that got returned? Again, if we're looking at records sold in the 60's and 70's it would be the focus here, *not* 2013 since one cannot "return" a digital sale with no actual physical product exchanging hands.

Elements of this process were part of the foundation of the lawsuit against Capitol which led to the Beach Boys being able to start Brother as a company, filed in Spring '67. But consider:

For the collectors out there, you still see certain 70's albums all the time which are "sealed" yet have the cut-out marking on the top corner. I have one of the most common (if anyone wants to make an offer...  ), BB's "Love You". Another one mentioned in Hit Men which I also have is called "Here's Johnny...", a greatest-hits set of clips from Johnny Carson's Tonight Show. They shipped literally tens of thousands more of this record set than they knew would ever sell, and people in that chain cashed in when they all came back. And you still see sealed copies of it for sale all the time as a result, almost 40 years later.

They'd ship so many more copies and retailers would then (be forced to?) buy so many more copies of certain albums that many of them would eventually come back unsold, then be tagged as cut-outs. And some people in the chain of distribution and sales could stand to make good money through this practice.

It's nothing that wasn't done since records started being sold, recall Brian Epstein placed a large enough advance order for his record shop NEMS so the Beatles' debut "Love Me Do" could make a dent in the charts, and at that point it wasn't important at all whether 40,000 customers actually came into his shop to buy those records...it still created a ripple that made the record show up on the charts.

The question related to the album sales becomes how many of those "millions" of albums sold were tabulated when the retailers placed their initial orders? A large chain like Woolworth's could have hypothetically placed an advance order for 300,000 units to stock their shelves...if those stores eventually only sold 100,000 copies of those albums to customers and the rest were returned as unsold, was the sales figure ever adjusted to 100,000 units sold or did the initial order of 300,000 stay in the books as units sold?

To say the total sales figures especially if quoted in the 70's are suspect is one thing, but you could also suggest they're not at all to be taken as accurate, and they could cook those books in many ways to brag about "65 million records sold!" without mentioning the little details like how many of those units sold were actually bought by consumers and how many unsold units got shipped back to a warehouse and either destroyed, discounted as cut-outs, or were forgotten, a practice which made some people a nice profit after all was said and done?

[The Shift]

≥ one cannot "return" a digital sale with no actual physical product exchanging hands.…

It's a comin' in a way:

http://www.macrumors.com/2013/03/07/apple-patent-applications-address-user-to-user-resale-and-lending-of-itunes-store-content/

[AndrewHickey]

≥ one cannot "return" a digital sale with no actual physical product exchanging hands.…

It's a comin' in a way:

http://www.macrumors.com/2013/03/07/apple-patent-applications-address-user-to-user-resale-and-lending-of-itunes-store-content/

Since then, though, US courts have affirmed that the doctrine of first sale doesn't apply to digital files. Which is an entirely good thing.

[Quzi]

I found a few more Billboard articles which had a few random sales tidbits, pushing up the accountable sales total to in excess of 30 million. Still quite a way off the 100 million figure, but it's becoming increasingly more apparent that the figure's not too inflated. The band have now been added to the list of the best selling music artists of all time ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_music_artists ) but I'm continuing to hunt down archived data to flesh out Wikipedia articles on the songs. I just found out that the Beach Boys were the highest selling albums band for the final quarter of 1966, dethroning the 3 year reign UK artists had until that point.

[Quzi]

Also, I can't really post this in the sold section, but there's an ad in the December 17, 1977 edition of Billboard advertising a bulk lot of 8,000 Beach Boys singles for $1,200. 4000 Add Some Music to Your Day/Susie Cincinnati, 4000 Slip on Through/This Whole World. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=gUUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT46&dq=%22beach+boys%22+copies+4000+add+some+music&hl=en&sa=X&ei=PcR7Ua7IFIbAiQfR_IHgCw&ved=0CDIQuwUwAA

[Cabinessenceking]

I found a few more Billboard articles which had a few random sales tidbits, pushing up the accountable sales total to in excess of 30 million. Still quite a way off the 100 million figure, but it's becoming increasingly more apparent that the figure's not too inflated. The band have now been added to the list of the best selling music artists of all time ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_music_artists ) but I'm continuing to hunt down archived data to flesh out Wikipedia articles on the songs. I just found out that the Beach Boys were the highest selling albums band for the final quarter of 1966, dethroning the 3 year reign UK artists had until that point.

I get so depressed when I see how much music by shite artists have been sold. I'm not one to criticise them as music taste is subjective in the extreme, but Aerosmith 150 mill? Kiss equals Beach Boys sales by claiming 100 mill sales? c'mon....

and finally that farce of a wikipedia page which claimed The Beatles had sold over 1 billion records is gone. talk about endless horseshit. anyone with half a brain would see those figures as unlikely in the extreme. Beatles fanatics who try to push that band into the obscene with praise (I'm saying this as a big fan of that group).

[smile-holland]

However, one of the mods wrote that he bought 89 LPs and 39 CDs and lots of other stuff, all BBs-related, in 2013 alone.

So the mods, obviously suffering from some hitherto undefined aberration in their brains, can tip the scales to 100,000.

Sounds like we're paying the mods too much.   

You forgot to mention the 24 singles, Don. 

But I'm misquoted a bit here, as I mentioned I bought or GOT them, the last category actually being quite a large part of it.

O, and the only earnings we mods receive are 4 extra stars below our username. 

[Mendota Heights]

So hoist up the John B's certified sales
See how the main sale sets
Call for the captain ashore, let me go home
Let me go home, I want to go home...