Kanye’s The Life Of Pablo Goes Platinum But Not Necessarily From Streaming Only

5:21 PM EDT on April 4, 2017

Kevin Mazur/WireImage

Nearly a year after releasing his eighth studio album The Life of Pablo, Kanye West has reason to celebrate. Today, Pablo achieved platinum status, according to a press release from the rapper's label Def Jam. A rep for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) confirmed the certification to Billboard. While the label says that the project is the first streaming-only album to go platinum, Billboard reported last April that TLOP was briefly available for sale on West's official site upon its release in February. TLOP -- which arrived as a Tidal exclusive -- managed to hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 after 70 percent of the album's debut earnings -- 94,000 equivalent album units -- were due to streaming. (TLOP was streamed over three billion times worldwide, per the release.) Additionally, West's site is currently selling digital downloads for $20. While it was unclear as of press time if the platinum status included the album's sales in addition to streams, a source says the RIAA does not break out the components of any certification. The platinum certification reflects a million equivalent album units, which blends traditional album sales, tracks sold from an album and on-demand audio and video streams. Billboard has reached out to West's rep for additional comment.