Submitted by: kirkland on Thursday October 28th, 2004 at 12:07 PM EST

Hip-hip duo OutKast have taken top honours as the recording industry handed out its first awards for music sold through Internet-music services like Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes.

The flamboyant Atlanta duo's "Hey Ya!" collected a multi-platinum award on Wednesday for downloads of at least 400,000, while "The Way You Move" and "Roses" won platinum awards for sales of more than 200,000 each.

Hip-hop artists D12 and rockers Maroon 5 and Hoobastank also received platinum awards, while Beyonce Knowles, Black Eyed Peas and Usher earned multiple gold awards for sales of over 100,000 each. The Recording Industry Association of America handed out 45 gold awards in all.

But the RIAA had a hard time figuring out how to represent a digital recording that may never take tangible form, an official said.

"We considered a gold mouse, a gold keyboard, or a gold microchip, but those ideas didn't cut it," said John Henckel, who oversees the RIAA's award program.

The new awards will instead display a shiny abstract design over the recording's cover art, according to a prototype.

The trade group plans to roll out awards for digital album sales, Henckel said, but developing criteria could be tricky as consumers can commonly choose to buy only a few songs rather than an entire album.

» Read full story @ Reuters