Rush’s Clockwork Angels Certified Gold in Canada
Thanks to a head’s up from Ed at RushIsABand, who credits RushFanForever, we learn Rush’s Clockwork Angels album has been certified Gold in Canada.
With this latest certification, every single Rush studio album has been certified at least Gold in the band’s home country, which requires sales of at least 40,000 units.
As Ed points out, Rush hasn’t been certified in the U.S. for any of its albums since Test for Echo, which came out in 1996, although it’s had a few live albums and a compilation certified Gold since then. Different Stages, the 3-CD live set released in 1989, was certified U.S. Gold, and Rush in Rio, from 2003, was certified U.S. Platinum. Also, The Spirit of Radio: Greatest Hits 1974–1987, also released in 2003, went U.S. Gold. It requires sales of at least 500,000 units to be certified Gold in the U.S. Also, Rush has had some DVDs certified Gold.
To see which of Rush’s albums have been certified, whether in the U.S., Canada, or the U.K., go to the Rush discography page on Wikipedia.
Ed makes the point that Rush has recently applied for U.S. certification of its latest releases, so we might be hearing some news on that front fairly soon. With “all the reissues in recent years, including the Sector box sets, the recent Atlantic-era reissues (the digital version has already been released), and the deluxe editions of 2112 and Moving Pictures, it’s likely that sales of Rush’s back catalog have greatly increased in the past few years.”
Access U.S. certification rules from RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America).
Without a doubt, it’s harder for bands to get their work certified these days, given the ease at which listeners can get music for free, by fair ways and foul, online. No doubt that’s why bands today generate so much more collateral material for sale—T-shirts, special boxed sets, and collectibles. That can get to be a little annoying, but it’s certainly understandable. It’s notable that Rush can still generate significant sales of the one product that really counts—its music.—Rob Freedman, Rush Vault.
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