Eminem Becomes The Most Certified Artist (For Singles) In RIAA History

Did you know that artists who perform the Super Bowl halftime show do so basically for free? While the NFL covers the production costs for the performance, it does not pay the artists directly for agreeing to perform on the most-watched event of the year. However, that doesn’t mean artists don’t get anything out of the arrangement. The visibility that the performers receive often results in increased catalog sales in the … ahem … aftermath of the show, with a ton of future opportunities waiting as brands scramble to work with them and take advantage of the publicity.

Case in point, after performing this year’s halftime show, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg’s “Still D.R.E.” video became their first to reach a billion views on YouTube, while all of Dre’s co-stars — Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Blige, and Snoop — all saw an increase in streams overall. However, it turns out the biggest beneficiary — at least in terms of accolades — might well be Eminem, who saw his catalog spawn 73.5 million new units, making him The Recording Industry Association of America’s most-certified singles artist in history. The RIAA tweeted about the achievement today, congratulating Eminem on the awards, which include “Lose Yourself” (naturally), “Love The Way You Lie” featuring Rihanna, “Not Afraid,” and nearly 50 other Platinum records, as well over 30 Gold ones.

Even before performing at the Super Bowl, Eminem reached streaming distinctions that almost no other artist can boast. In December, every Eminem album crossed the one billion streams threshold on Spotify,
lending weight to his comment earlier this year that “no one ever really gets canceled.” Eminem is living proof after spending his whole career setting people off — even doing so by kneeling during the halftime show (at least this time it was the right people getting rankled) — and if nothing else, you can say it paid off big for him.