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For examples, see the references section. Unsourced or unreliably sourced additions will be removed immediately.
The list is frequently edited in good faith; however, sales figures published by reliable sources may need to be verified with certification databases to avoid inflated figures.
Artists without sufficient certifications to support published claimed figures may not be added to the list.
Editors should expect all artists' claimed figures to be supported by the following specified percentage of certified units.
To be on this list, artists who began charting:
before 1975 are required to have their available claimed figures supported by 20% in certified units.
between 1975–1990 are required to have their available claimed figures supported by 20-45% in certified units. (That is 1.66% for each additional year after 1975)
between 1990–2000 are required to have their available claimed figures supported by 45-75% in certified units. (That is 1.5% for each additional year after 1990)
between 2000-present are required to have their available claimed figures supported by 75-80% in certified units. (That is 0.35% for each additional year after 2000)
The eras above are based on when certification-databases of each music market began, and the market-share each country represents. More information about when each music market started issuing certifications can be read on the main page.
Whilst we encourage editors to be bold, it is highly recommended to discuss changes on this talk page before editing.
