Floater Style (1975 - 1981)

This style of Awards were manifactured from 1975 - 1981. So any Kiss albums, which have been certified by the RIAA by 1981 were originally manifactured in this style. You can check at the RIAA database to see exactly which album has been certified exactly when (go to www.riaa.com - gold & platinum - searchable database): Kiss (G), Hotter than hell (G), Dressed to kill (G), Alive! (G), Destroyer (G,P), Rock and Roll over (G,P), Love Gun (G,P), Alive II (G,P), Double Platinum (G,P), Gene Simmons (G,P), Paul Stanley (G,P), Ace Frehley (G,P), Peter Criss (G,P), Dynasty (G,P), Unmasked (G), Beth (G) and I was made for lovin' you (G). Of course, all these records may also be available on later style Awards. For example, there might also be a "strip-plate" or "Hologram" style Gold Award for any of these albums or singles. But the oldest available style is always the most valuable one to a collector.

The wooden frame came usually painted gold (for Gold Awards) or silver (for Platinum Awards). The record and the album cover seemed to be "floating" between the background and the glass. The plaque came in gold (for Gold Awards) or silver (for Platinum Awards). More details here.

some Floater style Awards:





Strip-Plate Style (1982 - 2/1985)

This style of Awards were manifactured from 1982 until February 1985. The plaque containing the dedication and the mini-cover appeared on the same strip of metal. It may also include a gold or silver plated casette. More details here. Albums which got certified during this period are Lick it up (G) and Animalize (G,P). Of course all albums that had been certified already before might also have been available in this format.

some strip-plate style Awards:





RIAA Hologram old Style (3/1985 - 1989)

This style of Awards were manifactured from March 1985 - 1989. The dedication and mini-cover appear on the same strip of metal or plastic. The RIAA logo on the plate is in a rainbow-like hologram. Most, if not all of these style Awards have a gold or silver plated CD. More details here. Kiss Albums or videos, which have been certified in this period are: Asylum (G), Crazy nights (G,P), Smashes thrashes & hits (G,P), Hot in the shade (G), Animalize live uncensored video (G), Exposed video (G,P). Of course all albums that had been certified already before might also have been available in this format.

Gold Award Hologram

Platinum Award Hologram

Gold Video Award Hologram

Gold Sales Award cassette

Platinum Sales Award cassette

The plaque for an "Asylum" Gold Award presented to XXX

The plaque for a "Crazy Nights" Platinum Award presented to XXX

The plaque for an "Animalize live uncensored" Gold Video Award presented to XXX

some Hologram old style Awards:

 



RIAA Hologram "R" Style (1990 - 1997)

This style of Awards were manifactured from 1990 - 1997. For this format, the traditional RIAA logo was replaced with a large "R" in a hologram pattern. All size and style restrictions were relaxed, giving the record companies more freedom in choosing a design for a particular Award. More details here. Kiss Albums or videos, which have been certified in this period are: Alive II (2 X P), Smashes thrashes & hits (2 X P), Lick it up (P), Revenge (G), Creatures of the night (G), Alive III (G), MTV Unplugged (G), You wanted the best you got the best (G), Crazy NIghts video (G), X-treme close up video (G,P), Konfidential video (G), MTV Unplugged video (G). Of course all albums that had been certified already before might also have been available in this format. Notice, that "Creatures of the night" has not been certified Gold until 1994, so the earliest format for this album is the Hologram "R" style! Also "Alive II" and "Smashes thrashes & hits" have been certified double platinum.

 
some Hologram "R" style Awards:






RIAA Hologram "new" Style (1997 - present)

This style of Awards are being manifactured since 1997. For this format, the RIAA hologram logo is numbered. All kind of frames, sizes and styles are possible.Kiss Albums or videos, which have been certified in this period are: Psycho Circus (G), Psycho Circus video (G), Box set (G), Kiss Symphony DVD (2 X P), 20th Masters DVD Collection (G), Kissology (5 X P). Of course all albums that had been certified already before might also have been available in this format.

The plaque for a "Psycho Circus" Gold Award (Platinum plaque not pictured here)

Gold Hologram "new" style (Platinum Hologram "new" style not pictured here)

some Hologram "new" style Awards:



The Deluxe Edition of the Box Set incuded also a Gold "Alive" RIAA Award, which was presented to "The Kiss Army":




Here is a complete list of which kind of Awards might be available from which album/single/video:

As this list shows, there are:

17 different Floater Gold Awards
10 different Floater Platinum Awards
19 different Strip-Plate Gold Awards
11 different Strip-Plate Platinum Awards
24 different Hologram old style Gold Awards
13 different Hologram old style Platinum Awards
35 different Hologram "R" style Gold Awards
14 different Hologram "R" style Platinum Awards
45 different Hologram new style Gold Awards
20 different Hologram new style Platinum Awards
total: 208 different Awards

Of course, that does not necessarily mean, that there really are 208 different Awards existing, but theoretically they could all have been manifactured and any of these 208 styles were theoretically possible. How many of those 208 different Awards really have been manifactured is unknown, but the number will be very close to 208.


Q&A

How can I recognize a fake Award?
First of all, the style should fit the title. A "Crazy Nights" (certified Gold in November 1987 as seen in the RIAA database - see www.riaa.com -> gold & platinum -> searchable database) Gold Award in Floater style (used 1975 - 1981) can not be a real authorized and authentic RIAA Award. Be aware, that it is important, when the title has been certfied by the RIAA, and not when the title has been released. For example: "Creatures of the night" was released 1982, but has not been certified Gold until 1994. So there will be no authorized RIAA Award in Floater, Strip-Plate, or in the old Hologram style.
Note, that the RIAA database is not up to date (as of May 2007). Meanwhile the "Rock the nation" DVD went double platinum and "Kissology Vol. 1" went 5 x platinum.
The reputation of the seller is also an important matter. If you get the Award directly from the original recipient will indicate, that the Award is most likely authentic and authorized by the RIAA. But if the seller is known for selling other Bootleg or self-made merchandise, you should check the Award very carefully. Most (but not all) of the old plaques do have the recipient, label and titel engraved later on, which you can tell by looking at it.
The Awards are done by a licensed RIAA frame maker. Most, but not all frame makers put a sticker with their name and address on the back of the Award. Such a sticker on the back of an award is an additional indication for the authenticity of an Award.
If you have a Hologram "new" style Award (this style is used since 1997), then you can be pretty sure, that the Award is an athentic licensed RIAA Award, because the RIAA are using specially numbered RIAA holograms since then. Here you read more details on specific Awards and styles.

What is the value of an RIAA Award?
Basically Floater style Awards are the most valuable ones. The oldest possible style for each title is always more valuable than a more recent one.
Awards presented to the band or band members should also be considered more valuable than those presented to someone outside of the band.
An old Floater style Award presented to a band member is the most valuable one. It may be worth several thousend Dollars.

Psycho Circus has never been released on vinyl, but the Award includes the vinyl album. Does it mean it is fake?
No! The Award may show a cassette, vinyl or CD, although it has never been released in this format!

Are the LPs used for the Awards really Kiss albums?
The records could have any artist on them. Actual gold or platinum records rarely match the artist with the label, since they are intended to be framed, not played. There are gold/platinum records 4, 5, 6  or even 7 songs on them and they may not even match with the number of songs on the label. The label may state 5 songs for example, but there may be more or less songs on the record. However, some Awards do indeed include the actual album. Here is an example of a "Smashes, thrashes & hits" Award, which states seven songs on the label, but a LP was used with only four songs on it:

The label usually shows the first side of the album, in some cases it may also show the second side. 

I have seen 2 of the same Awards, both presented to the same person. Does it mean, that one of it is fake?
No. Record companies often ordered multiple copies to present to everyone from the artist themselves to the Road Crew to the phone secretary. To save construction costs they would order up multiples under the company or bands name, sometimes in lots of 100.

Which album cover should the "Creatures of the night" Award show? The one with the make-up or the one without the make-up?
The "Creatures of the night" Awards may show any of the 2 covers.

There is no sticker on the back of my Award. Does it mean it is fake?
The Awards are done by a licensed RIAA frame maker. Most, but not all frame makers put a sticker with their name and address on the back of the Award. Depending on the sticker and the background used to seal the back of the Award, the sticker may also fall off. Here are some stickers from the most famous frame makers:



The frame is different. Does it mean it is fake?
Not necessarily. Record companies sometimes re-framed Awards in a style other than the prevailing format. This was often done to replace damaged frames or the requisite frame was unavailable at the time. But indeed, an unusual frame might be an indication, that the Award is not an authentic RIAA licensed Award.

Can records be awarded to a specific person post mortem?
Yes! It sounds strange, but a record can be awarded to someone, who already has passed away. A good example would be a "Psycho Circus" Gold Award presented to Eric Carr.

I have seen Kiss posing with a "Kiss Symphony" Award. How come it is not listed here?
	"Kiss Symphony" has never been certified Gold by the RIAA. In fact, according to Soundscan (who count the sales in the USA) this album is far away from being certified Gold. The Award they have been posing with at an in-store appearance shorty after the release of "Kiss Smphony" was not an authorized RIAA Award, in fact it was just a nice display most likely not mentioning any record sales.

Are there also certified Awards from the UK or Germany?
No! Awards from the UK would be certified by the BPI. A search on their website did not find any results for any certified titles from Kiss. "Crazy nights" (album) or "Crazy, crazy nights" & "God gave Rock 'n' Roll to you" (singles) might have reached the Gold status in the UK, but it even if they did, they have not been certified.
In Germany IFPI would certify the sales status. Although several albums definately met the Gold status for Germany, they most likely never have been certified by the IFPI and therefor no Kiss Awards do exist.

Alive! sold over 4 million copies. Does it mean it is platinum?
No! Alive! has only been certified Gold by the RIAA. It may have reached quadruple platinum sales status, but the record company has never asked the RIAA to get it certified for platinum or even multiple platinum.

Are there any multi-platinum Record Awards?
Yes! But in fact hardly any Kiss records have been certified multiple platinum by the RIAA. But in the Hologram "R" section you can see a double platinum Award for "Smashes, thrashes & hits".

Do the labels indicate anything about the authenticity of an RIAA Award?
Not really. For example you may find an "Alive" Award with beige or blue label. There were RIAA Awards made in the '80s with a blue label, although blue labels were only used until 1976 in the USA. Even the "Alive" Award that comes with the Deluxe Box Set from 2001 has a blue label, but in 1995 they released the "Alive" Awards with a beige label (see commercial Awards).

How many records do you have to sell to get a Gold Award?
The RIAA don't count record sales! They count the shipped units (minus returns) from the record company to the stores. You need to have 500.000 albums shipped to reach RIAA Gold status and 1.000.000 for Platinum status. However, this is for albums only. The numbers are different for singles and videos. More infos here. That does not mean, that all those albums have been sold. When Kiss received their Gold Award for "Psycho Circus" in fact not even 400.000 copies have been actually sold at that time.

Here is a quote from RIAA's website:
The audit calculates what product has been shipped for sale, net after returns, versus product used for promotional purposes, for the life of the release. When certifying audio and music video releases, the independent auditor is careful to survey the entire music marketplace. An artist's Gold® or Platinum® award represents sales through retail, record clubs, rackjobbers, and all other ancillary markets that legitimately distribute music. Once a title’s sales has been audited and verified as having reached requisite levels, a formal certification report is issued and sent to the title's record company.

We are often asked why we don’t just use sales figures from SoundScan. SoundScan measures over-the-counter sales at music retail locations, while the RIAA®'s certification levels are based on unit shipments (minus returns) from manufacturers to a wide range of accounts, including non-retail record clubs, mail order houses, specialty stores, units shipped for Internet fulfillment or direct marketing sales, such as TV-advertised albums. The other difference is that SoundScan's archive is only a few years old, while the RIAA® has tracked artists' sales levels for more than 40 years.

R.I.A.A. Awards

C.R.I.A. Awards

A.R.I.A. Awards

In House Awards

commercial Awards

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