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Recording Industry Association of America

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Recording Industry Association of America
AbbreviationRIAA
Formation1952; 72 years ago (1952)
TypeLicensing and royalties, technical standards
HeadquartersWashington, D.C., U.S.
Location
  • United States
Chairman and CEO
Mitch Glazier
Websiteriaa.com

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/or distribute approximately 85% of all legally sold recorded music in the United States".[1] RIAA is headquartered in Washington, D.C.[2][3]

RIAA was formed in 1952.[4] Its original mission was to administer recording copyright fees and problems, work with trade unions, and do research relating to the record industry and government regulations.[5] Early RIAA standards included the RIAA equalization curve,[6] the format of the stereophonic record groove and the dimensions of 33 1/3, 45, and 78 rpm records.[7]

RIAA says its current mission includes:[1]

  1. to protect intellectual property rights and the First Amendment rights of artists
  2. to perform research about the music industry
  3. to monitor and review relevant laws, regulations, and policies

Between 2001 and 2020 RIAA spent between $2.4 million and $6.5 million annually on lobbying in the United States.[8] RIAA also participates in the collective rights management of sound recordings, and it is responsible for certifying gold and platinum albums and singles in the United States.

Company structure and sales

Mitch Glazier has been the RIAA's chairman and CEO since 2019. Glazier joined the RIAA 20 years ago and has played a role in the music industry's transition to streaming and "anywhere, anytime" access to music. He was the RIAA's senior executive vice president from 2011 to 2019 and served as executive vice president for public policy and industry relations from 2000 to 2011.

The 26-member board of directors is composed of these record executives:[9]

  • Mitch Glazier (Recording Industry Association of America)
  • Michele Ballantyne (Recording Industry Association of America)
  • Michele Anthony (Universal Music Group)
  • Glen Barros (Exceleration Music)
  • Michael L. Nash (Universal Music Group)
  • Eric Berman (Universal Music Group)
  • David Bither (Nonesuch Records)
  • Ken Bunt (Disney Music Group)
  • John Esposito (Warner Music Nashville)
  • Victor Gonzalez (Universal Music Latin Entertainment)
  • Camille Hackney (Atlantic Records)
  • Rani Hancock (Sire Records)
  • Jeff Harleston (Universal Music Group)
  • Terry Hemmings (Provident Music Group/Sony Music Entertainment)
  • Kevin Kelleher (Sony Music Entertainment)
  • Sheldra Khahaifa (Sony Music Entertainment)
  • Dennis Kooker (Sony Music Entertainment)
  • Eric Chopra (Sony Music Entertainment)
  • Annie Lee (Interscope Geffen A&M)
  • Gabriela Maartinez (Warner Music Latina)
  • Deirdre McDonald (Sony Music Entertainment)
  • Paul Robinson (Warner Music Group)
  • Tom Silverman (Tommy Boy Entertainment)
  • Julie Swidler (Sony Music Entertainment)
  • Will Tanous (Universal Music Group)
  • Zena White (Partisan Records)

The RIAA represents over 1,600 member labels, which are private corporate entities such as record labels and distributors, and collectively create and distribute about 90% of recorded music sold in the United States. The largest and most influential of the members are the "Big Three":

Within the major three music groups, it represents high-profile record labels such as Atlantic, Capitol, RCA, Warner Bros., Columbia, and Motown.[10]

The RIAA reports that total retail value of recordings sold by their members was $10.4 billion[11] at the end of 2007, a decline from $14.6 billion in 1999. Estimated retail revenues from recorded music in the United States grew 11.4% in 2016 to $7.7 billion.[12]

Sales certification

Main article: RIAA certification

The RIAA operates an award program for albums that sell a large number of copies.[13] The award was launched in 1958;[14] originally, the requirement for a Gold single was one million units sold and a Gold album represented $1 million in sales (at wholesale value, around a third of the list price).[15] In 1975, the additional requirement of 500,000 units sold was added for Gold albums.[15] Reflecting growth in record sales, the Platinum award was added in 1976, for albums able to sell one million units, while singles qualify upon selling two million units.[15][16] The Multi-Platinum award was introduced in 1984, signifying multiple Platinum levels of albums and singles.[17] In 1989, the sales thresholds for singles were reduced to 500,000 for Gold and 1,000,000 for Platinum, reflecting a decrease in sales of singles.[18] In 1992, RIAA began counting each disc in a multi-disc set as one unit toward certification. Reflecting additional growth in music sales, the Diamond award was instituted in 1999 for albums or singles selling ten million units.[14] Because of these changes in criteria, the sales level associated with a particular award depends on when the award was made.

Since 2000,[19] the RIAA also operates a similar program for Latin music sales, called Los Premios de Oro y De Platino. Currently, a "Disco De Oro" (Gold) is awarded for 30,000 units, and a "Disco De Platino" is awarded for 60,000 units. Further, the "Album Multi-Platino" honor is awarded at 120,000, and "Diamante" requires 10 times as many units as "Platino" (600,000).[20] The RIAA defines "Latin music" as a type of release with 51% or more of its content recorded in Spanish.

"Digital" single certification

US Representative Martha Roby, and Miranda Lambert, who was the RIAA's 2019 Artist of the Year, at an RIAA event in Washington, DC, in 2019.

In 2004, the RIAA added a branch of certification for what it calls "digital" recordings, essentially referring to "recordings transferred to the recipient over a network" (such as those sold via the iTunes Store) yet excluding other obviously digital media such as those on CD, DAT, or MiniDisc. In 2006, "digital ringtones" were added to this branch of certification. Starting in 2013, streaming from audio and video streaming services such as Spotify, Napster, YouTube and the likes also began to be counted towards the certification, using the formula of 100 streams being the equivalent of one download; thus, RIAA certification for singles no longer reflects actual sales.[21][22] In the same year, the RIAA introduced the Latin Digital Award for digital recordings in Spanish.[20] As of 2016, the certification criteria for these recordings are:[23]

Digital awards:

  • Gold: 500,000 units
  • Platinum: 1,000,000 units
  • Multi-Platinum: 2,000,000 units (increments of 1,000,000 thereafter)
  • Diamond: 10,000,000 units

The units are defined as:

  1. A permanent digital download counts as 1 unit
  2. 150 on-demand audio and/or video streams count as 1 unit

Latin digital awards:

  • Disco de Oro (Gold): 30,000 copies
  • Disco de Platino (Platinum): 60,000 copies
  • Disco de Multi-Platino (Multi-Platinum): 120,000 copies

Album certification

In February 2016, RIAA updated its certification criteria for album-level awards to combine streaming and track sales using the formula for album-equivalent unit.[24]

  • Gold: 500,000 units
  • Platinum: 1,000,000 units
  • Multi-Platinum: 2,000,000 units (increments of 1,000,000 thereafter)
  • Diamond: 10,000,000 units

For certification purposes, each unit may be one of:[25]

  1. sale of a digital album or physical album
  2. 10 track downloads from the album
  3. 1,500 on-demand audio and/or video streams from the album

Video longform certification

Along with albums, digital albums, and singles, another classification of music release is called "video longform". This release format includes DVD and VHS releases. Further, certain live albums and compilation albums are counted. The certification criteria are slightly different from other styles.[26]

  • Gold: 50,000 copies
  • Platinum: 100,000 copies
  • Multi-Platinum: 200,000 copies

Criticism

Main article: Criticism of anti-file sharing efforts

RIAA is heavily criticized for both policy and for their method of suing individuals for copyright infringement. Particularly strong critic-advocates are Internet-based, such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Students for Free Culture.[27] To date, RIAA has sued more than 20,000[28] people in the United States suspected of distributing copyrighted works. Of these, approximately 2,500 were settled pre-trial. Brad Templeton of the Electronic Frontier Foundation has called these types of lawsuits spamigation and implied they are done merely to intimidate people.[29]

Executive leadership of RIAA

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Who We Are". RIAA. Archived from the original on November 12, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  2. ^ "Privacy Policy Archived September 24, 2015, at the Wayback Machine." Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved on September 13, 2011. "RIAA, 1025 F Street NW, 10th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20004."
  3. ^ "RIAA Archived December 31, 2015, at the Wayback Machine." Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved on September 13, 2011. "We are located at 1025 F ST N.W., 10th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20004."
  4. ^ "RIAA News Room - RIAA Celebrates 50 Years Of Gold Records - Aug 11, 2008". Riaa.com. August 11, 2008. Archived from the original on August 18, 2008. Retrieved July 17, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. ^ "New Disk Trade Org To Swing Into Action", Billboard Magazine, September 22, 1951, pages 13 and 20
  6. ^ "RIAA phono equalization article by Don Hoglund". graniteaudio.com. Archived from the original on May 11, 2013. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  7. ^ "RIAA Standards For Stereophonic Disc Records". aardvarkmastering.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2006. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  8. ^ "Recording Industry Assn of America: Summary". Lobbying Spending Database. OpenSecrets. Archived from the original on November 16, 2017. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  9. ^ "Board & Executives - RIAA". RIAA. Archived from the original on March 5, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  10. ^ [1] Archived November 12, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, What We Do, The Recording Industry Association of America® (RIAA)
  11. ^ "RIAA - About". www.riaa.com. November 2, 2015. Archived from the original on March 7, 2011. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  12. ^ "2016 RIAA Shipment and Revenue Statistics | RIAA - RIAA". RIAA. Archived from the original on September 28, 2017. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
  13. ^ RIAA Website. "Gold and Platinum (Index)". Recording Industry Association of America. Archived from the original on March 8, 2007.
  14. ^ a b "History Of The Awards". RIAA.com. Archived from the original on July 1, 2007.
  15. ^ a b c White, Adam (1990). The Billboard Book of Gold & Platinum Records. Billboard Books. p. viii. ISBN 978-0711921962.
  16. ^ Grein, Paul (November 30, 2012). "Chart Watch Extra: Where "Thriller" Ranks". Chart Watch. Yahoo Music. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
  17. ^ Rock and Roll: An Introduction (2nd ed.). Thomson Schirmer. 2008. p. 308. ISBN 9781111794538. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  18. ^ White, Adam (1990). The Billboard Book of Gold & Platinum Records. Billboard Books. p. 3. ISBN 978-0711921962.
  19. ^ "RIAA News Room – RIAA Launches "Los Premios de Oro y De Platino" to Recognize Top Latin Artists". riaa.com. January 25, 2000. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
  20. ^ a b "RIAA Updates Latin Gold & Platinum Program". RIAA. December 20, 2013. Archived from the original on March 11, 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
  21. ^ "RIAA Adds Digital Streams To Historic Gold & Platinum Awards". RIAA. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  22. ^ Alex Pham (May 9, 2013). "Exclusive: On-Demand Streams Now Count Toward RIAA Gold & Platinum". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
  23. ^ "RIAA AND GR&F Certification Audit Requirements: RIAA Digital Single Award" (PDF). RIAA. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 22, 2018. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  24. ^ "RIAA Debuts Album Award with Streams". RIAA. February 1, 2016. Archived from the original on February 2, 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  25. ^ "RIAA AND GR&F Certification Audit Requirements" (PDF). RIAA. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 22, 2018. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  26. ^ "Billboard.com Latest Video Longform Certifications". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 19, 2008. Retrieved May 14, 2008.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) Retrieved on May 14, 2008
  27. ^ "Stop the RIAA! petition", EFF; "RIAA Free", FreeCulture.org.
  28. ^ "How to Not Get Sued For File Sharing" Electronic Frontier Foundation.
  29. ^ Blankenhorn, Dana (August 2008). "Spamigation and How to Fight It". danablankenhorn.com. Accessed 08-25-2006.
  30. ^ "Goddard Lieberson Named Head of Record Association". The New York Times. January 22, 1964. Archived from the original on July 23, 2018. Retrieved August 25, 2012. Goddard Lieberson, head of Columbia Records, was elected president of the Record Industry Association of America yesterday. ...
  31. ^ "Stanley Gortikov, Former President Of The RIAA, Dies". Celebrityaccess.com. June 30, 2004. Retrieved November 16, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  32. ^ "Stanley M. Gortikov Dead At 85". Billboard. June 28, 2004. Retrieved November 16, 2021.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  33. ^ Sandler, Adam (May 15, 1998). "Berman departs RIAA for IFPI role in London". Variety. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  34. ^ "Cary Sherman Bio". RIAA. Archived from the original on February 13, 2014. Retrieved March 3, 2014.
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