Sales leak takes shine off CD gongs. (The Age / Neil McMahon)

From the article: “Australian Idol winner Casey Donovan’s victory parade was marred when it had barely begun. Her debut single, Listen With Your Heart, was given double platinum status when it had sold fewer than a third of the CDs represented by the award.

The leaked first-week sales figures brought to light a little-known fact about the charts: while rankings reflect actual sales, the gold and platinum gongs accompanying them do not. The latter are based on the number of CDs shipped to stores, meaning a singer or band could theoretically be hailed as a multi-platinum artist without selling a copy.”

There is a lot of this sort of dodgy shenanigans that goes on inside the recording industry. If I were somehow able to take advantage of record company accounting methods I would be able to earn a days wages simply by thinking about going to work. Now that’s an interesting idea…