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Recording Industry Association of America

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"RIAA" redirects here. For RIAA equalization, see RIAA equalization.
The RIAA Logo.

The Recording Industry Association of America (or RIAA) is a trade group that represents the recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of a large number of private corporate entities such as record labels and distributors, which the RIAA claims "create, manufacture and/or distribute approximately 90% of all legitimate sound recordings produced and sold in the United States."[1]

The RIAA was formed in 1952 primarily to administer the RIAA equalization curve, a technical standard of frequency response applied to vinyl records during manufacturing and playback. The RIAA has continued to participate in creating and administering technical standards for later systems of music recording and reproduction, including magnetic tape, cassette tapes, digital audio tapes, CDs and software-based digital technologies. The RIAA also participates in the collection, administration and distribution of music licenses and royalties, and is responsible for certifying gold and platinum albums and singles in the USA.

According to its website, the RIAA also works to protect intellectual property rights worldwide and the First Amendment rights of artists, performs research about the music industry, and monitors and reviews relevant laws, regulations and policies.[1]

Company structure and sales

The RIAA is led by Mitch Bainwol, who has been Chairman and CEO since 2003. He is assisted by Cary Sherman, the President of the Board of Directors. The board of directors consists of 26 members of the board, drawn mostly from the big four members of the RIAA.[2] The association represents over 1,600 member labels, which are private corporate entities such as record labels and distributors, and which collectively create and distribute about 90% of recorded music sold in the US. The largest and most influential of the members are the "Big Four": EMI, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group. The total annual net income from members of the RIAA in 2006 was reported as $11.5 billion, reflecting a decline from $12.5 billion in 1996.[3]

Sales certification

Main article: RIAA certification

The RIAA operates an certification system for albums which sell larges number of copies. The program originally began in 1958, with a Gold award for singles and albums which reach US$ 1 million sales. The criteria was changed in 1975 to be based on the number of copies sold, with singles and albums selling 500,000 copies awarded the Gold award. In 1976, a Platinum award was added for one million sales, and in 1999, a Diamond award, for ten million sales. In 2004, the RIAA added a branch of certification for digital sales, such as files downloaded via iTunes. In 2006, digital ringtones were added to this branch of certification.[4] A searchable database of gold and platinum certifications is available at the RIAA website. The RIAA also operates a similar system for Spanish language music sales, called Los Premios De Oro y Platino.[5]

Efforts against file-sharing

Main article: RIAA efforts against file-sharing

The RIAA opposes copyright infringement through file-sharing, saying that music distributed via the internet using peer-to-peer software results in a reduction of profits of around $4.2 billion for the music industry worldwide, harming consumers, record labels, retailers and artists.[6] It sees lawsuits as one way to combat the problem of internet-based copyright infringement. RIAA president Cary Sherman's view has been that the large number of lawsuits filed has "arrested the growth of a runaway solution that would have grown worse and worse."[7] The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a non-profit advocacy and legal organization, says that the RIAA has "filed, settled, or threatened" legal actions against more than 20,000 people on this issue.[8]

High-profile lawsuits

In October 1998, the Recording Industry Association of America filed a lawsuit in the Ninth U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco claiming the Diamond Multimedia Rio PMP300 player violated the 1992 Audio Home Recording Act. The Rio PMP300 was significant because it was the second portable consumer MP3 digital audio player released on the market. The three judge panel ruled in favor of Diamond, paving the way for the development of the MP3 portable player market.[9] The RIAA has also filed suit in 2006 to enjoin digital XM Satellite Radio from enabling its subscribers from playing songs it has recorded from its satellite broadcasts.[10] It is also suing several Internet radio stations.[11]

The "work made for hire" issue

In 1999, Stanley M. Glazier, a Congressional staff attorney, inserted, without public notice or comment, substantive language into the final markup of a "technical corrections" section of copyright legislation, classifying many music recordings as "works made for hire," thereby transferring some copyright interests from artists to their record labels. Shortly afterwards, Glazier was hired as Senior Vice President of Government Relations and Legislative Counsel for the RIAA, which supported the change when it came to light. The battle over the disputed provision led to the formation of the Recording Artists' Coalition, which successfully lobbied for repeal of the change.[12]

Legislation and regulation today

As of 2006 the RIAA was supporting several pieces of legislation in the United States which it believes help it to prevent copyright infringement. Proposed legislation included in this support would, according to PublicKnowledge and the EFF, prevent new ways to use media content, and could prevent customers from recording music, even if covered by fair use. This would effectively create a radio broadcast flag rule. The RIAA has supported legislation in the past which also attempted to introduce a radio broadcast flag.[13][14]

The RIAA is also involved in opposing legislation which involves the free speech rights of artists, such as restrictions on sales of recordings which might be considered controversial or which have the Parental Advisory label.[15]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b ""Who We Are"". RIAA website.
  2. ^ Board of the RIAA RIAA website.
  3. ^ 2006 Year-End Manufacturers’ Unit Shipments and Dollar Value charts on the RIAA website
  4. ^ "History Of The Awards", RIAA website.
  5. ^ "What We Do", RIAA website.
  6. ^ "Anti-Piracy", RIAA Website
  7. ^ Declan McCullagh, "RIAA's next moves in Washington", ZDNet, 26 May 2006.
  8. ^ Unknown author, "RIAA v. People", EFF website, undated. Accessed March 8, 2008.
  9. ^ Elizabeth Clampet, "Court OKs Diamond Rio MP3 Player", InternetNews, 16 June, 1999. Accessed March 8, 2008.
  10. ^ Joseph Palenchar, "XM Faces The Music In RIAA Copyright Suit", TWICE, 22 May, 2006. Accessed March 8, 2006.
  11. ^ Unknown author, "RIAA sues Internet radio stations", Out-Law.com, July 2001. Accessed March 8, 2008.
  12. ^ Brad King, "Rule Reversal: Blame It on RIAA", Wired, August 10, 2000.
  13. ^ Alex Curtis, "'New and Improved' Draft Broadcast Flag Bill: This Time for TV and Radio", PublicKnowledge, 20 January 2006.
  14. ^ Fred von Lohmann, "New Senate Broadcast Flag Bill Would Freeze Fair Use", EFF Deep Links, 20 January, 2006. Accessed 8 March, 2008.
  15. ^ "Freedom of Speech", RIAA website.

External links

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