One of the most influential associations in the growth of my company has been learning about the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) which is a trade organization designed to give the much needed support and promotion of creative and financial vitality of the major music companies of our day. In addition RIAA strives to protect the intellectual property and first amendment rights of its artists and music labels; they conduct consumer, industry, and technical research as well as monitor and review state & federal law, regulations and policies. There are four main services that RIAA provides beginning with the technical services which includes things like watermark payload specifications, Global Release Identifier also known as GRid, and Digital Data Exchange. A second service RIAA provides is the Dual Disc; a product sought after by many in the music industry for the mere reason that it is both a CD and DVD in one- allownig an artist to deliver audio, video, and computer content all on a single two-sided disc to the anxious consumer fan. One side of the disc is CD while the other side of the same disc is DVD... in this way their is more interactive content in the album as a whole thus allowing the artist to offer more appealing features and bonuses to its fans. Not everybody can obtain a DualDisc product. Record labels are required to obtain a license to use the Dual Disc logo on its products.
A third service RIAA provides is the International Standard Recording Code (ISRC) which is the internationally recognized identification tool for sound and music video recordings. It is used by major download sites, digital distribution companies and collecting societies as a tool to manage digital repertoire and track commerce. The fourth and most important service RIAA provides is the FBI Anti-Piracy Seal & Warning (FBI Seal) which is important to artists and record labels in the protection of their material. As a result of substantial losses to the recording industry due to constant piracy, the RIAA worked closely with the FBI to devlop a new government seal & warning for placement on copyrighted music products in order to increase anti-piracy awareness. If you weren't aware infringement can cost you up to $250,000 in fines and up to 5 years jail time. You can't use the mark unless your a member of the RIAA. Companies must join this program in order to use the marks.
The RIAA specifically states in their site that takes an uncompromising stand against censorship and for the first amendment rights of the artists to create freely. There for you can be a member, submit what ever artistic material and there will be no bias against it. They work to protect not to hinder.
RIAA currently has two programs the Gold and Platinum program which was luanched in 1958 to honor artists outstanding achievements and create a standard by which to measure sales of a sound recording.
Gold Album award = 500,000 copies sold
Platinum Album award = 1,000,000 copies sold and was created in 1976
later the Multi-Platinum award was created in 1984.
In 1999, the RIAA launched the Diamond Awards honoring sales of 10 million copies or more of an album or single.
50 years the Gold, Platinum, and Multi-Platinum and now Diamond award programs are the longest running objective measure of achievement for sound recordings in the United States, and it also provides an unmatched historical perspective on the success of countless recording artists.
Lastly, In connection with the RIAA, The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) issues a silver, gold, platinum, and diamond award category for a number of countries including the US (IFPI has members in 70 countries and 5 continents)
The RIAA is important to our industry because it has sought to protect the work of artists and labels through out the years and continues to do so in the most meticulous and genius way. Not only do they offer services to the music industry in the US but they also take it over seas internationally as well. Piracy happens all over the world and the RIAA is protecting its current artists and incoming artists that aren't educated on the demands of the industry and all the legalities involved in keeping their careers safe and intact. I can definitely see my company eventually becoming a member of this association in the future. As a manager protecting the talents and their creative material is extremely important to me and the company I run. RIAA helps facilitate that in a more legitimate way. There are a lot of legalities involved in managing talents and I feel that RIAA has educated me on a lot of details I didn't know about. This inturn helps clarify the direction and decisions I need to take in insuring the success of my talents.
Reference:
The official site of RIAA
(2011). Retrieved from http://www.riaa.com/index.php
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