Mr Viral
January 9, 2025, TORONTO, ON: Music Canada’s Gold & Platinum certification program is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2025. For half a century, the program has marked the milestone sales and streaming accomplishments of artists in Canada – making the distinctive Gold and Platinum plaques the most recognizable symbol of commercial success in the music industry.
Since 1975, the Gold & Platinum program has recognized popular music in Canada, providing a unique historical timeline of the music Canadians have loved over the past five decades.
“As we look back on 50 years of the program’s history, you can see the impact and reach of songs that defined generations, hit singles that captured the culture of the day, and all the ways that different technologies have influenced how we consume the music of our lives,” says Patrick Rogers, CEO of Music Canada. “There is no greater benchmark of success than a Gold & Platinum certification, because it reflects what Canadians listen to and love.”
In its first year, the program issued 27 Album and seven Physical Single certifications. The Program’s first-ever certifications, which were issued on August 1, 1975, were:
Paul Anka
Anka
Platinum Album
Bachman-Turner Overdrive
Four Wheel Drive
Platinum Album
Beau Dommage
Beau Dommage
Platinum Album
Paul Anka
Feelings
Gold Album
Jim Croce
Greatest Hits
Gold Album
John Denver
Back Home Again
Gold Album
John Denver
Evening with John Denver
Gold Album
George McCrae
Rock Your Baby
Gold Album
The Guess Who
The Best of Vol. 2
Gold Album
Paul Anka
“I Don’t Like to Sleep Alone”
Gold Physical Single
The program has always reflected how people listen to their favourite songs and albums, beginning with vinyl albums and 45 rpm vinyl singles, then cassette tapes, CDs, digital downloads, ringtones, audio streaming and most recently, video streaming. As the industry continues to evolve, the Gold & Platinum program will grow alongside it and continue to celebrate the music that Canadians choose to listen to, wherever they choose to listen to it.
Today, the genres of music and the artists finding commercial success are broader and more diverse than ever before. In 2024, the program certified 1,025 Singles and 211 Albums, including:
Benson Boone
“Beautiful Things”
Diamond Single
Tate McRae
“you broke me first”
Eight Times Platinum Single
Sabrina Carpenter
“Espresso”
Seven Times Platinum Single
Dax
“Dear Alcohol”
Double Platinum Single
Josh Ross
“Trouble”
Double Platinum Single
Koriass, Jay Scøtt
“Matusalem”
Gold Single
Preston Pablo
“Dance Alone”
Gold Single
Cameron Whitcomb
“Quitter”
Gold Single
Charlotte Cardin
99 Nights
Platinum Album
Karan Aujla
Making Memories
Gold Album
Music Canada will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Gold & Platinum program throughout the year with special events, playlists and presentations. And to officially mark the anniversary, each new Gold & Platinum program plaque presented in 2025 to artists and their teams will include a commemorative 50th Anniversary pin.
Follow Gold & Platinum on Instagram and X for weekly posts celebrating the program’s rich history, and contribute to the conversation with #GoldPlat50.
About Music Canada
Music Canada is the trade association representing Canada’s major record labels: Sony Music Entertainment Canada, Universal Music Canada and Warner Music Canada. Like its members, Music Canada is a partner to the industry, working with artists, independent labels, publishers, platforms, associations and others, in advancing forward-looking policies to ensure a dynamic and successful Canadian music ecosystem which returns value to music creators.
For more information:
Regan Reid
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