There was a time when Gold and Platinum status were reserved for the most elite albums and singles, and nothing more. But times have changed drastically, and The CRIA [Canadian Recording Industry Association] has decided to go with the flow and will now be awarding Gold and Platinum status to ringtone downloads.

In order to qualify for Gold status, a ringtone must be downloaded 20,000 times. Platinum status is awarded when sales double Gold, at 40,000. Interestingly enough, for an album to go Gold, it must still sell 50,000 copies and for Platinum, 100,000. When the CRIA began recognizing MP3 sales in a similar fashion, they chose the 20,000/40,000 model that they have applied to ringtones, as well.

Some people wonder why on earth the CRIA would choose to recognize the sale of ringtones in this way. It is a fair question with a simple answer: in 2007, 45% of the digital music sales in Canada were ringtones. The other 55% were MP3 sales. It is entirely possible that by the end of 2008, we'll see ringtone sales surpass MP3 sales.

It is not surprising that ringtones sell as well as they do. Ringtones, which were never readily available over peer to peer networks, as MP3s have been, have always been a file that people bought. When it comes to adapting to new technology, much of the way it sells is determined by habit. And people are in the habit of paying for ringtones, far more so than they are for individual songs or albums. This accounts for the staggering numbers of ringtone sales.

In the first week of certification, the CRIA awarded 43 ringtones Platinum status and 17 ringtones were certified Gold. And it goes well beyond that -- Akon's hit song "Smack That" was certified 8x Platinum, with over 320,000 downloads to date.

With sales like that and official chart and Gold/Platinum designations, one thing is for certain: ringtones are here to stay.