Template:Editnotices/Page/List of best-selling music artists
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IMPORTANT: Please read before adding any artists or editing any figures
What is required to be on this list? All artists included on this list, which have begun charting on official albums/singles charts have their available claimed figure(s) supported by at least 20% in certified units. That is why Cliff Richard, Diana Ross, Scorpions, Charles Aznavour, Bing Crosby, Gloria Estefan, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Tom Jones, The Jackson 5, Dionne Warwick, the Spice Girls, Luciano Pavarotti, Dolly Parton, Ozzy Osbourne, Andrea Bocelli and others have not been included on this list. The more recent the artist, the higher the required percentage of certified units, so artists such as Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Flo Rida, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Adele, Justin Bieber and Bruno Mars are expected to have their claimed figures supported by over 75% in certified units. The certified units are sourced from available online databases of local music industry associations. Note that all certified units are converted from Gold/Platinum/Diamond certification awards based on criteria provided by certifying bodies. The details of how much certified sales each artist should have based on the first year they appear on charts, can be found in the second box from the top on article's talk page. What is the purpose of having certified sales? The requirements of certified sales are designed to avoid inflated sales figures, which are frequently practiced by record companies for promotional purposes. Claimed figures The claimed figures are referenced from online articles created by highly reliable sources. For clarity, the sources used, say the term "records" (singles, albums, videos) and not "albums". However, if all available sources for an artist/band say "albums", such sources are only used if the certified album units of the said artist meet the required percentage amount. Why are higher claims for figures often avoided? Note that this list uses claimed figures that are closest to artists' available certified units. Inflated claimed figures that meet the required certified units amount but are unrealistically high, are not used. When are the claimed figures upgraded? The claimed figures are upgraded only when there is a significant progress in artists' certified sales. In other words, the available certified sales for each artist should get relatively closer to already listed claimed figure in order for higher figures to replace the listed ones. It is highly recommended that editors discuss sales figures on the talk page before making any changes. How streaming may affect the certified sales Note that the certified sales of the newer artists may sometimes be higher than their listed claimed figures. That is because Recording Industry Association of America and almost all other certifying bodies count streaming towards Gold and Platinum thresholds required for Digital Single Award certification. For this reason, some singles and even albums get over certified by hundreds of thousands of units. The over certified figures, however, often times are in millions of units for RIAA certifications. |