Some major hardware for Mr. Top.
Simply put, there’s no one doing it quite as well as Zach Top these days. Though there are plenty of other stellar artists keeping the traditional scene alive, such as Jake Worthington, Charley Crockett and more, the Washington native has launched himself into the stratosphere as of late.
Of course, this was highlighted on a national scale the past year when he not only took home Best New Artist at the CMA Awards in November, which he accepted with a Coors Banquet in hand, but also when he scored his first-career Grammy back in February. In turn, Top became the first-ever winner of the brand-new Best Traditional Country Album category, winning it with his sophomore album, Ain’t In It For My Health.
He’s kept the pedal to the floor as of late as well. In addition to selling out venues across the country on his Cold Beer & Country Music tour and dropping his first songs of the year with the double-release of “Good Girls & Cowgirls” and “Other Side Of Hurtin’” back in August, Top also received a whole lot of love at the upcoming CMA Awards in November. Being one of the lead male nominees, Top was nominated for his first-ever Male Vocalist of the Year award, as well as Album of the Year for Ain’t In It For My Health.
Fresh off the batch of CMA nominations, Top continued his hot streak this week by bringing home a whole lot of hardware from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
At Goodtimes dive bar in downtown Nashville on Tuesday afternoon, Top was presented with a hefty nine brand-new certifications from the RIAA. These include his breakout hit, “I Never Lie” going 4x platinum, “Use Me,” “Bad Luck” and “Sounds Like the Radio” going platinum and “South of Sanity,” “Cold Beer & Country Music,” “There’s the Sun” and “Lonely for Long” going gold.
The most notable certification, however, is none other than his breakthrough debut album, Cold Beer & Country Music, officially selling over one million units and becoming his first-career platinum album.
While all of this sounds great, the RIAA (and its subsequent certification process) can be a bit confusing, so let me explain how it all works.
Starting with their background, the RIAA is a trade organization consisting of major record labels and distributors that aims to “support and promote the creative and commercial vitality of music labels in the United States.” With that being said, however, their primary feature, in terms of public discussion of music, is undoubtedly their tracking of artists’ sales. These sales, of course, are tracked in terms of “gold,” “platinum,” and “diamond” certifications once a song or album hits the required criteria.
RIAA Criteria
When a single or album has sold at least 500,000 units, it is then eligible for a Gold certification; when it hits 1 million, it is eligible for Platinum certification. And finally, a song or record must sell 10 million units for it to be certified Diamond. There have been only 28 Diamond-Certified songs in country music history. And keep in mind that the RIAA doesn’t just keep a running tab on these awards and hand out plaques; an artist’s label will actively pursue certification by applying, submitting statistics, and paying a few hundred dollars to undergo an audit to verify the sales. And then… You must purchase a plaque for each person involved. Well, only if you want to…
As for what constitutes a “unit,” there are distinctions between sales regarding both singles and albums. Starting with singles, one paid download or 150 on-demand streams constitutes a unit. Albums, on the other hand, are a bit different. Given how popular streaming is in today’s age, there are three different ways an album can sell a single unit: 1) a permanent digital album or physical album sale, which basically means someone bought the record; 2) 10 permanent track downloads from the album, which laughably wouldn’t even be 1/3 of a Morgan Wallen album these days; or 3) 1,500 on-demand audio and/or video streams from the album. Of course, streaming is how a bulk of the units are earned these days.
Reflecting on his rise over the past two years, Shane Tarleton, Co-Head of Top’s label Leo 33, would call the Washington native the “finest that country music has right now.” He’d also praise how much Top’s music has connected with fans.
“He is the finest that country music has right now. Walking into a room surrounded by the people whose fingerprints are across these milestones is pretty incredible because every one of these plaques represents a song that found its way into somebody’s life. When you look at what Zach and this team have accomplished with these two albums and the ‘Cold Beer & Country Music Tour,’ you’re really looking at the story of how deeply fans have connected with his music. We’re incredibly proud of Zach, and even more excited to celebrate everything he’s built with the fans who made it possible.”
In response, the “There’s the Sun” singer would praise his team at Leo 33, thanking them for their work in support of him. Here, he’d reveal that he’s sold nearly a million tickets (921,820) throughout the Cold Beer & Country Music Tour so far.
“It takes an army, so thank you to each and every one of you. It means the world to me. We knew we’d played to a lot of folks, however someone doing the math and now knowing 921,820 people have bought a ticket to come hear us play these songs is humbling. I’m so grateful to the fans for sharing and loving country music. Here’s to a whole lot more years of this.”
Additionally, Top would also reflect on the massive support over the years. Touching on the fact that he never imagined how popular these songs would be while writing them with producer, Carson Chamberlain, he’d explain that the songs have now taken on a life of their own through his fans.
“These songs have taken on a life of their own. I hear people singing them in places I never could have imagined when Carson [Chamberlain] and I were making the record. That’s the coolest part of all of this — at some point, they stop being just your songs. They become part of somebody else’s story, too.”
Full List of New Zach Top RIAA Certification
- “I Never Lie” — 4x Platinum Single
- Cold Beer & Country Music — Platinum Album
- “Bad Luck” — Platinum Single
- “Sounds Like the Radio” — Platinum Single
- “Use Me” — Platinum Single
- “South of Sanity” — Gold Single
- “Cold Beer & Country Music” — Gold Single
- “Lonely for Long” — Gold Single
- “There’s the Sun” — Gold Single
“I Never Lie”
“Use Me”
