1.
Single (music)
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In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record, an album or an EP record. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats, in most cases, a single is a song that is released separately from an album, although it usually also appears on an album. Typically, these are the songs from albums that are released separately for promotional uses such as digital download or commercial radio airplay and are expected to be the most popular, in other cases a recording released as a single may not appear on an album. As digital downloading and audio streaming have become prevalent, it is often possible for every track on an album to also be available separately. Nevertheless, the concept of a single for an album has been retained as an identification of a heavily promoted or more popular song within an album collection. Despite being referred to as a single, singles can include up to as many as three tracks on them. The biggest digital music distributor, iTunes, accepts as many as three tracks less than ten minutes each as a single, as well as popular music player Spotify also following in this trend. Any more than three tracks on a release or longer than thirty minutes in total running time is either an Extended Play or if over six tracks long. The basic specifications of the single were made in the late 19th century. Gramophone discs were manufactured with a range of speeds and in several sizes. By about 1910, however, the 10-inch,78 rpm shellac disc had become the most commonly used format, the inherent technical limitations of the gramophone disc defined the standard format for commercial recordings in the early 20th century.26 rpm. With these factors applied to the 10-inch format, songwriters and performers increasingly tailored their output to fit the new medium, the breakthrough came with Bob Dylans Like a Rolling Stone. Singles have been issued in various formats, including 7-inch, 10-inch, other, less common, formats include singles on digital compact cassette, DVD, and LD, as well as many non-standard sizes of vinyl disc. Some artist release singles on records, a more common in musical subcultures. The most common form of the single is the 45 or 7-inch. The names are derived from its speed,45 rpm. The 7-inch 45 rpm record was released 31 March 1949 by RCA Victor as a smaller, more durable, the first 45 rpm records were monaural, with recordings on both sides of the disc. As stereo recordings became popular in the 1960s, almost all 45 rpm records were produced in stereo by the early 1970s
2.
Lipps Inc.
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Lipps Inc. was a band from Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. The group was best known for the chart-topping 1980 worldwide hit single Funkytown, the group originally consisted of lead vocalist Cynthia Johnson and a changing lineup of session musicians, including guitarist David Rivkin, guitarist Tom Riopelle and bassist Terry Grant. Steven Greenberg, the creator of the act, wrote and produced most of the groups music, Lipps Inc. s first release was a 1979 single, Rock It, on Greenbergs own Flight imprint. The act released its debut album Mouth to Mouth in late 1979, the second single from this album, Funkytown, spent four weeks at #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play charts in the United States. The 7 single sold two million copies within a few months and was awarded a platinum record within the same year of its release. It reached #2 in the United Kingdom and was a hit throughout the world. Lipps Inc. s later singles failed to match the initial success, however, more dance hits were released throughout the 1980s, including How Long. in 1981. After the third album, Designer Music, Johnson left the band and was replaced by Margie Cox, Lipps Inc. released its final album,4, in 1983 before disbanding two years later. S. Dance chart Photo gallery of Lipps, Inc
3.
A-side and B-side
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The terms A-side and B-side refer to the two sides of 78,45, and 33 1/3 rpm phonograph records, whether singles, extended plays, or long-playing records. Creedence Clearwater Revival had hits with both A-side and B-side releases, others took the opposite approach, producer Phil Spector was in the habit of filling B-sides with on-the-spot instrumentals that no one would confuse with the A-side. With this practice, Spector was assured that airplay was focused on the side he wanted to be the hit side, the earliest 10-inch,78 rpm, shellac records were single sided. Double-sided recordings, with one song on side, were introduced in Europe by Columbia Records. There were no record charts until the 1930s, and radio stations did not play recorded music until the 1950s, in this time, A-sides and B-sides existed, but neither side was considered more important, the side did not convey anything about the content of the record. The term single came into use with the advent of vinyl records in the early 1950s. At first, most record labels would randomly assign which song would be an A-side, under this random system, many artists had so-called double-sided hits, where both songs on a record made one of the national sales charts, or would be featured on jukeboxes in public places. As time wore on, however, the convention for assigning songs to sides of the record changed. By the early sixties, the song on the A-side was the song that the company wanted radio stations to play. It was not until 1968, for instance, that the production of albums on a unit basis finally surpassed that of singles in the United Kingdom. In the late 1960s stereo versions of pop and rock songs began to appear on 45s. The majority of the 45s were played on AM radio stations, by the early 1970s, double-sided hits had become rare. Album sales had increased, and B-sides had become the side of the record where non-album, non-radio-friendly, with the advent of cassette and compact disc singles in the late 1980s, the A-side/B-side differentiation became much less meaningful. With the decline of cassette singles in the 1990s, the A-side/B-side dichotomy became virtually extinct, as the dominant medium. However, the term B-side is still used to refer to the tracks or coupling tracks on a CD single. With the advent of downloading music via the Internet, sales of CD singles and other media have declined. B-side songs may be released on the record as a single to provide extra value for money. There are several types of material released in this way, including a different version, or, in a concept record
4.
Disco
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Disco is a genre of dance music containing elements of funk, soul, pop, and salsa. It achieved popularity during the mid-1970s to the early 1980s, Disco can be seen as a reaction against both the domination of rock music and the stigmatization of dance music by the counterculture during this period. It was popular with men and women, from many different backgrounds. The disco sound often has several components, a beat, an eighth note or 16th note hi-hat pattern with an open hi-hat on the off-beat. In most disco tracks, string sections, horns, electric piano, Orchestral instruments such as the flute are often used for solo melodies, and lead guitar is less frequently used in disco than in rock. Many disco songs use electronic synthesizers, particularly in the late 1970s, well-known 1970s disco performers included Donna Summer, the Bee Gees, Boney M. KC and the Sunshine Band, The Trammps, Sylvester, Village People, Gloria Gaynor and Chic. While performers and singers garnered much attention, record producers working behind the scenes played an important role in developing the disco sound. Many non-disco artists recorded songs at the height of discos popularity. Disco was the last mass popular movement that was driven by the baby boom generation. Disco was a phenomenon, but its popularity drastically declined in the United States in 1980. Disco Demolition Night, an anti-disco protest held in Chicago on 12 July 1979, is thought of as a factor in discos fast. By the late 1970s most major U. S. cities had thriving disco club scenes, Studio 54, a venue popular amongst celebrities, is a well-known example of a disco club. Popular dances included the Hustle, a suggestive dance. Discotheque-goers often wore expensive, extravagant and sexy fashions, Disco clubs were also associated with promiscuity. Disco was a key influence on the 1980s electronic dance style called house. The term is derived from discothèque, by the early 1940s, the terms disc jockey and DJ were in use to describe radio presenters. During WWII, because of restrictions set in place by the Nazi occupiers, eventually more than one of these jazz venues had the proper name discothèque. By 1959, the term was used in Paris to describe any of these type of nightclubs and that year a young reporter named Klaus Quirini started to select and introduce records at the Scotch-Club in Aachen, West Germany
5.
Funk
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Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid- 1960s when African American musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of soul music, jazz, and rhythm and blues. Like much of African-inspired music, funk typically consists of a groove with rhythm instruments playing interlocking grooves. Funk uses the same richly-colored extended chords found in jazz, such as minor chords with added sevenths and elevenths. Other musical groups, including Sly and the Family Stone and Parliament-Funkadelic, soon began to adopt, Funk samples have been used extensively in genres including hip hop, house music, and drum and bass. It is also the influence of go-go, a subgenre associated with funk. The word funk initially referred to a strong odor and it is originally derived from Latin fumigare via Old French fungiere and, in this sense, it was first documented in English in 1620. In 1784 funky meaning musty was first documented, which, in turn, in early jam sessions, musicians would encourage one another to get down by telling one another, Now, put some stank on it. At least as early as 1907, jazz songs carried titles such as Funky, as late as the 1950s and early 1960s, when funk and funky were used increasingly in the context of jazz music, the terms still were considered indelicate and inappropriate for use in polite company. According to one source, New Orleans-born drummer Earl Palmer was the first to use the word funky to explain to other musicians that their music should be made more syncopated, the style later evolved into a rather hard-driving, insistent rhythm, implying a more carnal quality. This early form of the set the pattern for later musicians. The music was identified as slow, sexy, loose, riff-oriented, a great deal of funk is rhythmically based on a two-celled onbeat/offbeat structure, which originated in sub-Saharan African music traditions. New Orleans appropriated the bifurcated structure from the Afro-Cuban mambo and conga in the late 1940s, New Orleans funk, as it was called, gained international acclaim largely because James Browns rhythm section used it to great effect. Funk creates an intense groove by using strong guitar riffs and bass lines, like Motown recordings, funk songs used bass lines as the centerpiece of songs. Slap basss mixture of thumb-slapped low notes and finger popped high notes allowed the bass to have a rhythmic role. In funk bands, guitarists typically play in a style, often using the wah-wah sound effect. Guitarist Ernie Isley of The Isley Brothers and Eddie Hazel of Funkadelic were notably influenced by Jimi Hendrixs improvised solos, Eddie Hazel, who worked with George Clinton, is one of the most notable guitar soloists in funk. Ernie Isley was tutored at an age by Jimi Hendrix himself. Jimmy Nolen and Phelps Collins are famous funk rhythm guitarists who both worked with James Brown, on Browns Give It Up or Turnit a Loose, Jimmy Nolens guitar part has a bare bones tonal structure
6.
Casablanca Records
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Casablanca Records is an American recording label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. The label became most successful as a label in the 1970s. Casablanca was founded in 1973 by former Buddah Records executive Neil Bogart and he partnered with Cecil Holmes, Larry Harris and Buck Reingold in 1973, and was based in Los Angeles. The label was formed after they left Buddah and secured financing by Warner Bros. Records to start the venture. Casablanca became one of the most successful labels of the 1970s, signing and releasing albums by acts as Kiss, Donna Summer, Village People, Cher, Lipps Inc. In 1977, PolyGram acquired a 50 percent stake of Casablanca for $15 million, in 1980, in 1980, one of the labels biggest acts, Donna Summer, departed for another record label as she and Casablanca failed to agree on her musical direction for the future. That same year, PolyGram pushed Bogart out of Casablanca due to what it viewed as the labels overspending and accounting irregularities, the film division was separated from the label and renamed PolyGram Pictures. The label was shut down by PolyGram with some of the artist roster and catalogue absorbed into sister label. In 1999, PolyGram was purchased by Seagram and then merged with Seagrams MCA Music Entertainment Group to form the Universal Music Group, in 2000, the Casablanca Records name was revived for a joint venture between Universal Music Group and Tommy Mottola. In a Billboard article, Mottola said that he chose the name as a homage to the original label, Casablanca is currently a dance and electronic label under Republic Records headed by GM, Brett Alperowitz. Bogart was the head of Buddah Records, which was owned by the Viewlex Corporation, also employed at Buddah Records were Holmes, Harris, and Reingold. Bogart had an approach to the music business and he eventually grew tired of answering and conforming to Viewlexs business mode. In 1973, he arranged financing through Warner Bros. Records whereas he could start his own record label, after much back and forth, the green light was eventually given by Warner and Bogart started the new label, bringing Harris, Holmes, and Reingold with him. Bogart called the label Casablanca as it was the name of his favorite film, also, since Warner Bros. owned the rights to the title of the film Casablanca, Bogart knew there would be no lawsuit against him regarding the name Casablanca Records. The labels first signing was the rock group Kiss, however, butter Boy by Fanny and The Hudson Brothers So You Are a Star proved to be Casablancas first Billboard Top 40 hits. Thus, Casablanca experienced lukewarm relations with Warner Bros. its parent company, Warner manufactured and distributed albums for its own acts, as well as for all its sudsidiary labels. Both Casablanca and Warner handled promotion for Casablanca artists, however, a few years later when Warner began experiencing manufacturing problems, it began focusing mainly on manufacturing albums by Warner acts and not so much the sudsidiaries. Thus, Casablanca found itself with only modest success with its releases as it had limited distribution, once Bogart realized this, he took the issue to Warner head Mo Ostin who had not been aware of the lack of attention being given to the sudsidiary labels
7.
Songwriter
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A songwriter is an individual who writes the lyrics, melodies and chord progressions for songs, typically for a popular music genre such as rock or country music. A songwriter can also be called a composer, although the term tends to be used mainly for individuals from the classical music genre. The pressure from the industry to produce popular hits means that songwriting is often an activity for which the tasks are distributed between a number of people. For example, a songwriter who excels at writing lyrics might be paired with a songwriter with a gift for creating original melodies, pop songs may be written by group members from the band or by staff writers – songwriters directly employed by music publishers. Some songwriters serve as their own publishers, while others have outside publishers. The old-style apprenticeship approach to learning how to write songs is being supplemented by university degrees and college diplomas, a knowledge of modern music technology, songwriting elements and business skills are necessary requirements to make a songwriting career in the 2010s. Several music colleges offer songwriting diplomas and degrees with music business modules, the legal power to grant these permissions may be bought, sold or transferred. This is governed by international copyright law, song pitching can be done on a songwriters behalf by their publisher or independently using tip sheets like RowFax, the MusicRow publication and SongQuarters. Skills associated with song-writing include entrepreneurism and creativity, songwriters who sign an exclusive songwriting agreement with a publisher are called staff writers. In the Nashville country music scene, there is a staff writer culture where contracted writers work normal 9-to-5 hours at the publishing office and are paid a regular salary. This salary is in effect the writers draw, an advance on future earnings, the publisher owns the copyright of songs written during the term of the agreement for a designated period, after which the songwriter can reclaim the copyright. In an interview with HitQuarters, songwriter Dave Berg extolled the benefits of the set-up, unlike contracted writers, some staff writers operate as employees for their respective publishers. Under the terms of work for hire agreements, the compositions created are fully owned by the publisher. In Nashville, young writers are often encouraged to avoid these types of contracts. Staff writers are common across the industry, but without the more office-like working arrangements favored in Nashville. All the major publishers employ writers under contract, songwriter Allan Eshuijs described his staff writer contract at Universal Music Publishing as a starter deal. His success under the arrangement eventually allowed him to found his own publishing company, so that he could. keep as much as possible, songwriters are also often skilled musicians. In addition to selling their songs and musical concepts for other artists to sing, songwriters need to create a number of elements for a song
8.
Record producer
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A record producer or music producer oversees and manages the sound recording and production of a band or performers music, which may range from recording one song to recording a lengthy concept album. A producer has many roles during the recording process, the roles of a producer vary. The producer may perform these roles himself, or help select the engineer, the producer may also pay session musicians and engineers and ensure that the entire project is completed within the record companies budget. A record producer or music producer has a broad role in overseeing and managing the recording. Producers also often take on an entrepreneurial role, with responsibility for the budget, schedules, contracts. In the 2010s, the industry has two kinds of producers with different roles, executive producer and music producer. Executive producers oversee project finances while music producers oversee the process of recording songs or albums. In most cases the producer is also a competent arranger, composer. The producer will also liaise with the engineer who concentrates on the technical aspects of recording. Noted producer Phil Ek described his role as the person who creatively guides or directs the process of making a record, indeed, in Bollywood music, the designation actually is music director. The music producers job is to create, shape, and mold a piece of music, at the beginning of record industry, producer role was technically limited to record, in one shot, artists performing live. The role of producers changed progressively over the 1950s and 1960s due to technological developments, the development of multitrack recording caused a major change in the recording process. Before multitracking, all the elements of a song had to be performed simultaneously, all of these singers and musicians had to be assembled in a large studio and the performance had to be recorded. As well, for a song that used 20 instruments, it was no longer necessary to get all the players in the studio at the same time. Examples include the rock sound effects of the 1960s, e. g. playing back the sound of recorded instruments backwards or clanging the tape to produce unique sound effects. These new instruments were electric or electronic, and thus they used instrument amplifiers, new technologies like multitracking changed the goal of recording, A producer could blend together multiple takes and edit together different sections to create the desired sound. For example, in jazz fusion Bandleader-composer Miles Davis album Bitches Brew, producers like Phil Spector and George Martin were soon creating recordings that were, in practical terms, almost impossible to realise in live performance. Producers became creative figures in the studio, other examples of such engineers includes Joe Meek, Teo Macero, Brian Wilson, and Biddu
9.
YouTube
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YouTube is an American video-sharing website headquartered in San Bruno, California. The service was created by three former PayPal employees—Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim—in February 2005, Google bought the site in November 2006 for US$1.65 billion, YouTube now operates as one of Googles subsidiaries. Unregistered users can watch videos on the site, while registered users are permitted to upload an unlimited number of videos. Videos deemed potentially offensive are available only to registered users affirming themselves to be at least 18 years old, YouTube earns advertising revenue from Google AdSense, a program which targets ads according to site content and audience. YouTube was founded by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim, Hurley had studied design at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and Chen and Karim studied computer science together at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Karim could not easily find video clips of either event online, Hurley and Chen said that the original idea for YouTube was a video version of an online dating service, and had been influenced by the website Hot or Not. YouTube began as a venture capital-funded technology startup, primarily from an $11.5 million investment by Sequoia Capital between November 2005 and April 2006, YouTubes early headquarters were situated above a pizzeria and Japanese restaurant in San Mateo, California. The domain name www. youtube. com was activated on February 14,2005, the first YouTube video, titled Me at the zoo, shows co-founder Jawed Karim at the San Diego Zoo. The video was uploaded on April 23,2005, and can still be viewed on the site, YouTube offered the public a beta test of the site in May 2005. The first video to reach one million views was a Nike advertisement featuring Ronaldinho in November 2005. Following a $3.5 million investment from Sequoia Capital in November, the site grew rapidly, and in July 2006 the company announced that more than 65,000 new videos were being uploaded every day, and that the site was receiving 100 million video views per day. The site has 800 million unique users a month and it is estimated that in 2007 YouTube consumed as much bandwidth as the entire Internet in 2000. The choice of the name www. youtube. com led to problems for a similarly named website, the sites owner, Universal Tube & Rollform Equipment, filed a lawsuit against YouTube in November 2006 after being regularly overloaded by people looking for YouTube. Universal Tube has since changed the name of its website to www. utubeonline. com, in October 2006, Google Inc. announced that it had acquired YouTube for $1.65 billion in Google stock, and the deal was finalized on November 13,2006. In March 2010, YouTube began free streaming of certain content, according to YouTube, this was the first worldwide free online broadcast of a major sporting event. On March 31,2010, the YouTube website launched a new design, with the aim of simplifying the interface, Google product manager Shiva Rajaraman commented, We really felt like we needed to step back and remove the clutter. In May 2010, YouTube videos were watched more than two times per day. This increased to three billion in May 2011, and four billion in January 2012, in February 2017, one billion hours of YouTube was watched every day
10.
Hung Up
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Hung Up is a song by American singer Madonna from her tenth studio album Confessions on a Dance Floor. It was written and produced by Madonna in collaboration with Stuart Price, initially used in a number of television advertisements and serials, the song was released as the albums lead single on October 17,2005. It has also made an appearance on her 2009 greatest hits album and it also became Madonnas first track to be released to the iTunes Store for digital download. Hung Up prominently features a sample from the introduction to ABBAs hit single Gimme. Gimme. for which Madonna personally sought permission from ABBAs songwriters Benny Andersson, musically the song is influenced by 1980s pop, with a chugging groove and chorus and a background element of a ticking clock that suggests the fear of wasting time. Lyrically the song is written as a dance number about a strong. Hung Up received critical praise from reviewers, who believed that the track would restore the singers popularity, critics suggested it was her best dance track to date and have compared it favorably to other Madonna tracks in the same genre. They also complimented the effective synchronization of the ABBA sample with the actual song, Hung Up became a worldwide commercial success, peaking atop the charts of 41 countries and earning a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. It was Madonnas 36th top 10 single on the Billboard Hot 100 and it also became the most successful dance song of the decade in the United States. Hung Up remains one of the singles of all time. The music video is a tribute to John Travolta, his movies, directed by Johan Renck, the clip starts with Madonna clad in a pink leotard dancing alone in a ballet studio and concludes at a gaming parlor where she dances with her backup troupe. Interspersed are scenes of people displaying their skills in a variety of settings, including a Los Angeles residential neighborhood, a small restaurant. It also features the physical discipline Parkour, Madonna collaborated with Patrick Leonard, Mirwais Ahmadzaï and Stuart Price to write new songs, Price being assigned to pen disco songs sounding like ABBA on drugs. However, Madonna found herself dissatisfied with the written by Besson. When she began composing Confessions on a Dance Floor, she decided to rework Hung Up, Hung Up was one of the first songs written for the album, along with Sorry and Future Lovers. It was inspired by the 1970s disco era, notably ABBA, Giorgio Moroder, Madonna imagined it to be a cross between the music played at Danceteria, the New York City night club she frequented in her early days, and the music of ABBA. Gimme. formed the basis of the song, in order to gain the rights to sample Gimme. Madonna had to send her emissary to Stockholm with a letter which begged them to allow her to sample the song, to the BBC she explained, hey never let anyone sample their music
11.
Cynthia Johnson
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Cynthia Johnson is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and producer. She is best known as the singer of the band Lipps Inc. with the worldwide smash hit Funkytown. Being also a saxophone player, Johnson utilized her saxophone talents in Flyte Tyme. Johnson also co-wrote some songs with band members Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Johnson completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota, Morris in 1978, and continued to perform with Flyte Tyme for a brief time. Shortly after she left Flyte Tyme, the band evolved into The Time, Johnson was the lead singer of the popular Minneapolis-based band Lipps Inc. best known for its 1980 song Funkytown. The song hit No.1 in 28 countries, sold more than 35 million copies worldwide, other singles include Designer Music and Rock It, but the group never matched the success of Funkytown, which continues to influence popular culture from the movie screen to the Olympics. The group received several awards, among them three Billboard Music Awards and Soul Record of the Year by the AMOA association, Johnson left the band after the groups third album Designer Music was released. She also has worked as a singer on commercials for products from 3M, Volkswagen, Nissan, Target, FedEx, Ford. She has also sung for U. S. presidents, Johnson was the host of the first episode of the FunkyTown TV series, produced by the Minneapolis-based production company, Megabien Entertainment. In addition to working with others, Johnson continues her career as a solo artist and her debut album, All That I Am, sums up a lifetime of vocal artistry, showing her talents as singer, songwriter and producer. The album was released on December 15,2013 on the Megabien Music label, johnsons next album will be produced by award-winning producer Mark Howard and Hans W. Stachowiak. 2013 All That I Am - Main Vocals, Songwriter, Producer 2003 Funkytown - Lipps, - Lead Vocals, Songwriter, Composer 1992 Funkyworld - Lipps, Inc. - Lead Vocals 1981 Designer Music - Lipps, Inc, - Lead Vocals, Songwriter 1980 Pucker Up - Lipps, Inc. - Lead Vocals 1979 Mouth to Mouth - Lipps, Inc. B, discos Littlest, Oddest Conglomerate, Turns Minneapolis into An Unlikely Funkytown TV show Funkytown Washington Post article Funkytown, Digging on the rise of soul music in 1980s Minneapolis
12.
Minneapolis
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Minneapolis is the county seat of Hennepin County, and the larger of the Twin Cities, the 16th-largest metropolitan area in the United States. As of 2015, Minneapolis is the largest city in the state of Minnesota, Minneapolis and Saint Paul anchor the second-largest economic center in the Midwest, after Chicago. Minneapolis lies on both banks of the Mississippi River, just north of the confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Saint Paul. It was once the worlds flour milling capital and a hub for timber, the city and surrounding region is the primary business center between Chicago and Seattle, with Minneapolis proper containing Americas fifth-highest concentration of Fortune 500 companies. As an integral link to the economy, Minneapolis is categorized as a global city. Noted for its music and performing arts scenes, Minneapolis is home to both the award-winning Guthrie Theater and the historic First Avenue nightclub. The name Minneapolis is attributed to Charles Hoag, the citys first schoolteacher, who combined mni, a Dakota Sioux word for water, and polis, Dakota Sioux had long been the regions sole residents when French explorers arrived around 1680. For a time relations were based on fur trading, gradually more European-American settlers arrived, competing for game and other resources with the Dakota. In the early 19th century, the United States acquired this territory from France, fort Snelling was built in 1819 by the United States Army, and it attracted traders, settlers and merchants, spurring growth in the area. The United States government pressed the Mdewakanton band of the Dakota to sell their land, the Minnesota Territorial Legislature authorized present-day Minneapolis as a town in 1856 on the Mississippis west bank. Minneapolis incorporated as a city in 1867, the rail service began between Minneapolis and Chicago. It later joined with the city of St. Anthony in 1872. Minneapolis developed around Saint Anthony Falls, the highest waterfall on the Mississippi River, forests in northern Minnesota were a valuable resource for the lumber industry, which operated seventeen sawmills on power from the waterfall. By 1871, the west river bank had twenty-three businesses, including mills, woolen mills, iron works, a railroad machine shop, and mills for cotton, paper, sashes. Due to the hazards of milling, six local sources of artificial limbs were competing in the prosthetics business by the 1890s. The farmers of the Great Plains grew grain that was shipped by rail to the citys thirty-four flour mills, a father of modern milling in America and founder of what became General Mills, Cadwallader C. Some ideas were developed by William Dixon Gray and some acquired through industrial espionage from the Hungarians by William de la Barre, pillsbury Company across the river were barely a step behind, hiring Washburn employees to immediately use the new methods. The hard red spring wheat that grows in Minnesota became valuable, not until later did consumers discover the value in the bran that Minneapolis
13.
New York City
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The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2015 population of 8,550,405 distributed over an area of about 302.6 square miles. Located at the tip of the state of New York. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has described as the cultural and financial capital of the world. Situated on one of the worlds largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, the five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898. In 2013, the MSA produced a gross metropolitan product of nearly US$1.39 trillion, in 2012, the CSA generated a GMP of over US$1.55 trillion. NYCs MSA and CSA GDP are higher than all but 11 and 12 countries, New York City traces its origin to its 1624 founding in Lower Manhattan as a trading post by colonists of the Dutch Republic and was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. It has been the countrys largest city since 1790, the Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the Americas by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a symbol of the United States and its democracy. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. Several sources have ranked New York the most photographed city in the world, the names of many of the citys bridges, tapered skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world. Manhattans real estate market is among the most expensive in the world, Manhattans Chinatown incorporates the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere, with multiple signature Chinatowns developing across the city. Providing continuous 24/7 service, the New York City Subway is one of the most extensive metro systems worldwide, with 472 stations in operation. Over 120 colleges and universities are located in New York City, including Columbia University, New York University, and Rockefeller University, during the Wisconsinan glaciation, the New York City region was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet over 1,000 feet in depth. The ice sheet scraped away large amounts of soil, leaving the bedrock that serves as the foundation for much of New York City today. Later on, movement of the ice sheet would contribute to the separation of what are now Long Island and Staten Island. The first documented visit by a European was in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine explorer in the service of the French crown and he claimed the area for France and named it Nouvelle Angoulême. Heavy ice kept him from further exploration, and he returned to Spain in August and he proceeded to sail up what the Dutch would name the North River, named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange
14.
Billboard Hot 100
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The Billboard Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for singles, published weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales, radio play and online streaming, the weekly sales period was originally Monday to Sunday, when Nielsen started tracking sales in 1991, but was changed to Friday to Thursday in July 2015. Radio airplay, which, unlike sales figures and streaming data, is available on a real-time basis. A new chart is compiled and officially released to the public by Billboard on Tuesdays, as of the issue for the week ending on April 15,2017, the Hot 100 has had 1,061 different number one hits. The current number one song is Shape of You by Ed Sheeran, prior to 1955, Billboard did not have a unified, all-encompassing popularity chart, instead measuring songs by individual metrics. At the start of the era in 1955, three such charts existed, Best Sellers in Stores was the first Billboard chart, established in 1936. This chart ranked the biggest selling singles in retail stores, as reported by merchants surveyed throughout the country, Most Played by Jockeys was Billboards original airplay chart. It ranked the most played songs on United States radio stations, as reported by radio disc jockeys, Most Played in Jukeboxes ranked the most played songs in jukeboxes across the United States. On the week ending November 12,1955, Billboard published The Top 100 for the first time, the Top 100 combined all aspects of a singles performance, based on a point system that typically gave sales more weight than radio airplay. The Best Sellers In Stores, Most Played by Jockeys and Most Played in Jukeboxes charts continued to be published concurrently with the new Top 100 chart. The week ending July 28,1958 was the publication of the Most Played By Jockeys and Top 100 charts. On August 4,1958, Billboard premiered one main all-genre singles chart, the Hot 100 quickly became the industry standard and Billboard discontinued the Best Sellers In Stores chart on October 13,1958. The Billboard Hot 100 is still the standard by which a songs popularity is measured in the United States, the Hot 100 is ranked by radio airplay audience impressions as measured by Nielsen BDS, sales data compiled by Nielsen Soundscan and streaming activity provided by online music sources. There are several component charts that contribute to the calculation of the Hot 100. Charts are ranked by number of gross audience impressions, computed by cross-referencing exact times of radio airplay with Arbitron listener data. Hot Singles Sales, the top selling singles compiled from a sample of retail store, mass merchant and internet sales reports collected, compiled. The chart is released weekly and measures sales of commercial singles. With the decline in sales of singles in the US
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Dance Club Songs
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The Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U. S. dance clubs. It is compiled by Billboard exclusively from playlists submitted by nightclub disc jockeys who must apply, the current number-one song on the Dance Club Songs chart for the issue dated April 15,2017, is Lick Me Up by Tony Moran and Dani Toro featuring Zhana Roiya. Dance Club Songs has undergone several incarnations since its inception in 1974, originally a top-ten list of tracks that garnered the largest audience response in New York City discothèques, the chart began on October 26,1974 under the title Disco Action. The chart went on to feature playlists from various cities around the country from week to week, Billboard continued to run regional and city-specific charts throughout 1975 and 1976 until the issue dated August 28,1976, when a thirty-position National Disco Action Top 30 premiered. During the first half of the 1980s the chart maintained eighty slots until March 16,1985 when the Disco charts were splintered and renamed, two charts appeared, Hot Dance/Disco, which ranked club play, and Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales, which ranked 12-inch single sales. Only Hot Dance Club Songs still exists today and these stations are also a part of the electronically monitored panel that encompasses the Hot 100. Radio airplay is not limited to that counted on the Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart, during this time, Billboard rival publication Record World was the first to compile a dance chart which incorporated club play on a national level. Noted Billboard statistician Joel Whitburn has since adopted Record Worlds chart data from the weeks between March 29,1975 and August 21,1976 into Billboards club play history. For the sake of continuity, Record Worlds national chart is incorporated into both Whitburns Dance/Disco publication as well as the 1975 and 1976 number-ones lists, with the issue dated August 28,1976, Billboard premiered its own national chart and their data is used from this date forward. For the full list of all 100 All Time Top Dance Club Artists, both Enrique Iglesias and Dave Aude are tied with 14 number-ones on the chart, the most among male artists. Iglesias, however, is the male vocalist to accomplish this feat, while Aude is the only producer to achieve this milestone. Four acts have attained thirteen number-one songs, Whitney Houston, Kylie Minogue, Yoko Ono, Kylie Minogue became the first act to have two songs in the top three on March 5,2011. Her song Better than Today was number-one while Higher, a song by Taio Cruz on which Minogue features, was number three, the first 12-inch single made commercially available to the public was Ten Percent by Double Exposure in 1976. The first number one on Billboards Disco Action chart was Never Can Say Goodbye by Gloria Gaynor in 1974, the first number one on Billboards National Disco Action Top 30 was You Should Be Dancing by the Bee Gees in 1976. Beginning with the February 23,1991 issue, the dance chart became song specific, in all scenarios this was due to the tracks being included in film soundtrack albums. In 1978, four tracks from Thank God Its Friday, in 1980, madonna holds the record for the most chart hits, the most top-twenty hits, the most top-ten hits and the most total weeks at number one. The Trammps are the act to replace themselves at number one. The longest running number-ones on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart are Bad Luck by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes2 in 1975, both entries spent eleven weeks in the top spot
16.
Jermaine Jackson
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Jermaine La Jaune Jackson is an American singer, bass guitarist, composer, and occasional film director. Jackson is mostly known for having in the past been a member of The Jackson 5, Jackson also produced and recorded duets with American singer Whitney Houston in her early years as a recording artist and was a producer for Bobby DeBarges band Switch. Jackson is the child of the Jackson family. Jackson was born December 11,1954 in Gary, Indiana and he is the fourth child born to Joseph and Katherine Jackson. His siblings are Rebbie, Jackie, Tito, La Toya, Marlon, Michael, Randy and his father Joseph had musical aspirations, playing guitar with his brother’s band, The Falcons, and Katherine was a passionate pianist and singer. But their large family and lack of money ended their dreams with Katherine becoming a housewife, and Joseph, while his father worked long hours as a crane operator, Jermaine and his brothers, Tito and Jackie, secretly practiced their own songs using their fathers guitar. Jermaine became the lead singer of the Jackson Brothers—an earlier incarnation of The Jackson Five—until 1966. Jermaine would continue to provide some leads over the years, Jermaine graduated from Birmingham High School in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California in 1973. Jermaine and his brothers first signed as The Jackson Five with Gordon Keith of Steeltown Records in November 1967, after the group recorded three more songs with the Steeltown label they were signed with Berry Gordy of Motown Records in 1968 and 1969. As the co-lead singer of The Jackson 5 after his brother Michael, Jermaine sang notable parts of I Want You Back, Ill Be There, The Love You Save, Dancing Machine, Jermaine performed as part of the group for six years. However, Jeremaine decided to stay with Motown Records, citing loyalty to the company as the reason, others argue that Jermaines marriage to Motown founder Berry Gordys daughter Hazel, whom he married in 1973, was the reason. Jermaine split from the Jackson 5 to start a career at Motown. Unbeknownst to the group, Gordy had trademarked the name The Jackson Five, once signed with Epic, the group became known as The Jacksons. Several years later, in 1983, Gordy asked the group to perform at the Motown 25, Yesterday, Today, after the success of the broadcast, Jermaine rejoined the band to record the album Victory which featured all six brothers on The Jacksons album cover. Jermaine also participated in the bands Victory Tour and he stayed with the group for their final album,2300 Jackson Street, in 1989. In 2001, he reunited with his brothers to perform for the 30th Anniversary Special, like Michael, Jermaine began a solo career while still a member of The Jackson 5, and had a hit with the 1972 Shep and the Limelites cover Daddys Home. It sold over one million copies by March 1973, and was awarded a gold disc, when The Jackson 5 left Motown, Jermaine left the group and stayed at Motown. Jermaine was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his 1980 album Lets Get Serious, a duet with his brother Michael, Tell Me Im Not Dreamin, hit No.1 on the dance chart in 1984
17.
Kent Music Report
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The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1988. After 1988, the Australian Recording Industry Association, who had been using the report under licence for a number of years, prior to the Kent Report, Go-Set magazine published weekly Top-40 Singles from 1966 and Album charts from 1970 until the magazines demise in August 1974. David Kent later publicised the Australian charts from 1940–1973 in a retrospective fashion using state by state chart data obtained from various Australian radio stations. Kent had spent a number of years working in the music industry at both EMI and Phonogram records and had developed the report initially as a hobby. The Kent Music Report was first released on a basis in July 1974 and was offered for subscription. The report data was based solely on radio station charts from around the country. These radio station charts were compiled using data collected from local record stores and. In 1976, as funding from subscriptions grew, Kent himself started collecting data from retail stores to supplement the radio station charts. His operation grew and staff were employed to assist with research, within a year or so, the major record companies started using the Report for their own marketing programs and it had established itself as the leading national chart publication. From 1982, retail sales data collected by Kent and his staff were used exclusively, some radio station chart data was used as supplementary information, however. At about the time, the Australian Recording Industry Association was established by the major record companies, being EMI, Festival Records, CBS, RCA, WEA. From 1983 until 1988 ARIA had an arrangement with Kent to use the Report under their own banner. The Kent Report continued however and in 1987 was rebadged as the Australian Music Report, in 1988 the arrangement with ARIA ended and the ARIA Charts were produced in-house by the Association. In April 1998, the AMR charts ceased publishing, leaving the ARIA charts as the nationally recognised chart publication. In 1993, David Kent published his Australian Chart Book 1970 -1992 and this was based on his chart data already published as the Kent Music Report from May 1974 onwards. He specially retro-calculated charts based on state-based Australian radio station available to him dated prior to May 1974. On this basis, he put together Australian national charts from 1940 -1969. Prior to 1949, radio music charts in Australia were only available on a monthly basis
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GfK Entertainment Charts
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The GfK Entertainment Charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment GmbH on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Following a lawsuit in March 2014 by Media Control AG, Media Control® GfK International had to change its name, dissemination of the charts is conducted by various media outlets, some of which include VIVA music channel, and the Swiss charts website. Other entities that present the charts are MusicLoad and MIX1, furthermore, GfK Entertainment also runs a dedicated website providing chart-related news and access to most of the charts. Charts have been published in Germany since 1959, in a magazine called Der Musikmarkt, since 1959, the growing desire to have a well-developed music program has made Bundesverband Musikindustrie work together with charts providers to improve the way the charts are determined. For this purpose, different research institutes were tested, out of which Media Control, hence, the first official charts were made available in the magazine Der Musikmarkt in September 1977. Initially, there used to be 50 positions only, which later in January 1980, was extended to 75 slots, since 1989, however, GfK Entertainment has adapted the international standards providing 100 positions, now called Offizielle Top 100 Charts. In 2001, the Top-100 singles charts was modified to reflect the sales of the singles, Media Control developed Music Video charts in 2001, which later, in 2004, was renamed as DVD charts. While music-videos have their own charts, in 2001, GfK Entertainment made it possible for the music-video singles to have the ability to enter the Top-100 singles chart. Similarly, in 2002, it was available for music-video albums to chart on the Top-100 album chart. If not, then, the DVD album could qualify for the DVD chart only, in the same vein, if an audio CD contains at least 50% of video recording, then, it could qualify to chart on the DVD chart. In 2003, Media Control joined forces with GfK, thus the name officially being changed to Media Control GfK International GmbH. In 2004, Germany became one of the first music markets wherein sales charts were reflected by online digital downloads, digital-only releases came into existence on 13 July 2007, for online downloads only, which also altered the way the sales figures were conducted up to that point. Consequently, chart positions would no longer be affected by the number of music downloads as before. Thus, the albums would not necessarily be the ones ending up in the number-one position on the charts. In March 2014, GfK announced that the official chart providers name in Germany will change from Media Control GfK International GmbH to GfK Entertainment, there are currently 3,000 outlets that report their sales on weekly bases in Germany. The weekly sales data is transmitted to GfK Entertainment via communication network channel and this is the list of categories, for each of which charts are provided by GfK Entertainment
19.
Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana
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The Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy. It was established in 1992, when major corporate labels left the previously existing Associazione dei Fonografici Italiani, during the following years, most of the remaining Italian record labels left AFI to join the new organization. As of 2011, FIMI represents 2,500 companies operating in the music business, FIMI is a member of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and of the Italian employers federation, Confindustria. Its main purpose is to protect the interests of the Italian record industry, starting in March 1995, the Italian Music Industry Federation began providing the Italian official albums chart. In January 1997, FIMI also became the provider of the Italian official singles chart, due to the decrease of CD singles sales in Italy, FIMI replaced its physical singles chart with a digital downloads chart—based on legal internet and mobile downloads—on 1 January 2008. In July 2011, Enzo Mazza was confirmed as FIMI chairman, the Italian Music Industry Federation compiled its first album chart in March 1995. Issued on 7 March 1995, it was based on sales between 23 February 1995 and 1 March 1995 and this period coincided with the first week of sales for the albums released by the 45th Sanremo Music Festival contestants, the most important music event in Italy. The first number-one album was Bruce Springsteens Greatest Hits, between 1995 and 2009, the FIMI Album Chart was based on data provided by Nielsen. From January 2010, the FIMI Album Charts positions have been derived from GfK Retail, in 1995, the chart was based on data digitally gathered by 130 sellers. The number of sellers was later increased and, as of 2011, starting from 14 October 2011, the FIMI Albums Chart also includes digital sales. In March 1995, alongside the FIMI Album Chart, the Italian Music Industry Federation also began the FIMI Compilations Chart and these albums are not included in the FIMI Album Chart. The first number-one was Sanremo 95, released by RTI Music, in January 1997, the Italian Music Industry Federation also started an official singles chart. The first number-one single was Depeche Modes Barrel of a Gun, compiled by Nielsen, the chart listed the best-selling physical singles in Italy, but on 1 January 2008 it was replaced by the Top Digital Download, listing the best-selling digital singles. The last number one on the physical FIMI Singles Chart was The Singles Collection by Vasco Rossi, the Italian DVD Chart was established by the Italian Music Industry Federation in October 2003. The first Italian DVD Chart listed only the first ten positions, as of July 2011, it lists the 20 best-selling music DVDs in Italy, and is compiled by ACNielsen. On 10 April 2006, FIMI published the first chart listing the best-selling digital singles in Italy, compiled by Nielsen SoundScan, the chart was based on data provided by 10 digital stores. The first number-one single was Sei nellanima by Gianna Nannini, due to the decrease of CD singles sales in Italy, on 1 January 2008 the Top Digital Download became the Italian official singles chart, replacing the chart based on physical sales. A certification system has existed in Italy since the mid 1970s, during that period, albums had to sell 500,000 units to qualify for a Silver status, while for Gold, the requirement was 1,000,000 units
20.
Dutch Top 40
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The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart compiled by Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. It started as a program titled Veronica Top 40, on the offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained The Veronica Top 40 until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting, joost den Draaijer was the initiator of the top 40 in the Netherlands. On January 2,1965, the first Top 40 was compiled, in 1974, the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40 bought the Top 40 and named it De Nederlandse Top 40. Currently, Radio 538 is airing the Dutch Top 40 on radio, jeroen Nieuwenhuize presents the program every Friday afternoon from 14.00 until 18.00. As of February 2014 the chart is a combination of airplay, streaming, the more often a song gets played on the radio, the higher its place in the Top 40. For year end chart positions, #1 position gets 40 points and this way you just count up all numbers and sort them from most points till least points. There is a set of rules, of some have existed since 1972. Some of these have been criticised as a hindrance, singles must remain minimal two weeks in the chart. If a single officially no longer belongs in the top 40, example, Missy Elliotts Lose Control, Remained two weeks on #40 in the chart, because it did not sell enough and also wasnt played enough on the radio. Singles that highly change position upwards are noted as having superstip status and these singles are not allowed to fall down in chart position the following week. Recent example, Guus Meeuwis Ik Wil Dat Ons Land Juicht, The song entered the chart at #11, the following week it was meant to drop in chart position, but remained on the #5 position. The following two weeks, it went from #5 to #39, because of this rule, this single is the biggest fall down in the Dutch Top 40. However this is not always the case, sometimes singles with a superstip do drop for some reason Re-entry only takes place when the single re-enters within the top 30, if differently, these re-entried singles are ignored. Example, Racoon recently re-entered the Dutch Top 40 at #31 though with the song Love You More, singles with double A-side are noted separately in the top 40, due the different number of airplay the two songs get. Example, Robbie Williams first single off his 2005 album Intensive Care was Tripping with the B-side being Make Me Pure, while Tripping topped the chart by peaking at #1, Make Me Pure peaked at #15 in the Top 40. This is a listing of significant achievements and milestones based upon the Dutch Top 40 charts. & Pharrell Williams — Blurred Lines Avicii — Wake Me Up Clean Bandit featuring Jess Glynne — Rather Be OMI — Cheerleader 10 weeks Heintje — Ich bau dir ein Schloß4 Non Blondes — Whats Up
21.
British Phonographic Industry
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The BPI Limited, commonly known as the British Phonographic Industry or BPI, is the British recorded music industrys trade association. Its membership comprises hundreds of companies including all three major record companies in the UK, and hundreds of independent music labels and small to medium-sized music businesses. It has represented the interests of British record companies since being formally incorporated in 1973 when the aim was to promote British music. In 2007, the legal name was changed from British Phonographic Industry Limited. It founded the annual BRIT Awards for the British music industry in 1977, the organizing company, BRIT Awards Limited, is a fully owned subsidiary of the BPI. Proceeds from both shows go to the BRIT Trust, the arm of the BPI that has donated almost £15m to charitable causes nationwide since its foundation in 1989. In September 2013, the BPI presented the first ever BRITs Icon Award to Sir Elton John, the BPI also endorsed the launch of the Mercury Prize for the Album of the Year in 1992. In September 2008, the BPI became one of the members of UK Music. The BRIT Trust is the music charity actively supporting all types of education across the entire spectrum of music. Through the projects it supports, which include Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy and the BRIT School, proceeds from the BRIT Awards and the Classic BRITs shows go to the BRIT Trust, which has donated almost £15m to charitable causes nationwide since its foundation. Opened in September 1991, the BRIT School is a joint venture between The BRIT Trust and the Department for Education and Skills, based at Selhurst in Croydon, the school is the only non fee-paying performing arts school in the UK. It teaches up to 1,100 students each year aged from 14–19 years in music, dance, drama, musical theatre, production, media and art & design. Students are from diverse backgrounds and are not required to stick to their own discipline, dancers learn songwriting. Nor do students have to work/perform in the evening to pay for the tuition, the BPI administers the Platinum, Gold and Silver awards scheme for music releases in the United Kingdom. The level of the award varies depending on the format of the release, member companies do, however, still have the option to certify titles based on shipment levels if they choose to. Since July 2014, audio streaming has also included for singles at a ratio of 100 streams equivalent to 1 unit. From June 2015, audio streams were added to album certifications, according to BPI, they would take the 12 most-streamed tracks from the standard version of an album, with the top two songs down-weighted in line with the average of the rest. The total of these streams will be divided by 1,000, additionally, personnel are also seconded to the City of London Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit top support anti-piracy operations
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Recording Industry Association of America
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The Recording Industry Association of America is a continental North and South American trade organization that represents the recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors, which the RIAA says create, the RIAA headquarters is in Washington, D. C. The RIAA was formed in 1952 and its original mission was to administer recording copyright fees and problems, work with trade unions, and do research relating to the record industry and government regulations. Early RIAA standards included the RIAA equalization curve, the format of the record groove and the dimensions of 33 1/3 rpm,45 rpm. Since 2001, the RIAA has spent $2 to $6 million each year on lobbying in the United States, the RIAA also participates in the collective rights management of sound recordings, and it is responsible for certifying Gold and Platinum albums and singles in the United States. Cary Sherman has been the RIAAs chairman and CEO since 2011, Sherman joined the RIAA as its general counsel in 1997 and became president of the board of directors in 2001, serving in that position until being made chairman and CEO. Mitch Glazier has been the RIAAs senior executive vice president since 2011 and he served as executive vice president for public policy and industry relations from 2000 to 2011. The past RIAA chairman and CEO is Mitch Bainwol, who served from 2003 to 2011 and he left in 2011 to become president and CEO of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. The board of directors consists of 26 members of the board, the RIAA operates an award program for albums that sell a large number of copies. The program originally began in 1958, with a Gold Award for singles, the criterion was changed in 1975 to the number of copies sold, with albums selling 500,000 copies awarded the Gold Award. In 1976, a Platinum Award was added for one million sales, the awards are open to both RIAA members and non-members. Since 2000, the RIAA also operates a program for Latin music sales. Currently, a Disco De Oro is awarded for 30,000 units, the RIAA defines Latin music as a type of release with 51% or more of its content recorded in Spanish. In 2006, digital ringtones were added to branch of certification. In the same year, the RIAA introduced the Latin Digital Award for digital recordings in Spanish and this release format includes DVD and VHS releases, and certain live albums and compilation albums. The certification criteria is different from other styles. Gold,50,000 Platinum,100,000 Multi-Platinum,200,000 copies The RIAA opposes unauthorized sharing of its music, studies conducted since the association began its campaign against peer-to-peer file-sharing have concluded that losses incurred per download range from negligible to moderate. The association has commenced high-profile lawsuits against file sharing service providers and it has also commenced a series of lawsuits against individuals suspected of file sharing, notably college students and parents of file sharing children
