The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization representing the United States recording industry. Its members include major record labels and distributors, which the RIAA states "create, manufacture, and/or distribute approximately 85 percent of all legally sold recorded music in the United States". The RIAA is headquartered in Washington, D.C."Privacy Policy ." Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved on September 13, 2011. "RIAA, 1025 F Street NW, 10th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20004.""RIAA ." 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."
The RIAA was formed in 1952. 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."New Disk Trade Org To Swing Into Action", Billboard Magazine, September 22, 1951, pages 13 and 20 Early RIAA standards included the RIAA equalization curve, the format of the stereophonic record groove and the dimensions of 33 1/3, 45, and 78 rpm records.
The RIAA says its current mission includes protecting intellectual property rights and the First Amendment rights of artists; performing research about the music industry; and monitoring and reviewing relevant laws, regulations, and policies for the purpose of advocacy.
Between 2001 and 2020, the RIAA spent between $2.4 million and $6.5 million annually on lobbying in the United States. The organization ramped up its lobbying efforts in 2025, partly in response to artificial intelligence.
The 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, a system that was the first of its kind in the global music industry and set the standard for music recording certification worldwide.
Company structure and sales Mitch Glazier has been the RIAA's chairman and CEO since 2019. Glazier joined the RIAA in 2000 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.
As of 2018, the RIAA's 26-member board of directors is composed of these record executives:
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": Sony Music Universal Music Group Warner Music Group
Within the major three music groups, it represents high-profile record labels such as Atlantic, Capitol, RCA, Warner, Columbia, and Motown. , What We Do, The Recording Industry Association of America® (RIAA)
The RIAA reports that total retail value of recordings sold by their members was $10.4 billion 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.
Sales certification
The RIAA operates an award program for albums that sell a large number of copies. The award was launched in 1958; 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). In 1975, the additional requirement of 500,000 units sold was added for Gold albums. 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. The Multi-Platinum award was introduced in 1984, signifying multiple Platinum levels of albums and singles. 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. In 1992, the 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. Because of these changes in criteria, the sales level associated with a particular award depends on when the award was made.
Since 2000, 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). The RIAA defines "Latin music" as a type of release with 51% or more of its content recorded in Spanish.
"Digital" single certification
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. In the same year, the RIAA introduced the Latin Digital Award for digital recordings in Spanish. , the certification criteria for these recordings are:
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: A permanent digital download counts as 1 unit 150 on-demand audio 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, the RIAA updated its certification criteria for album-level awards to combine streaming and track sales using the formula for album-equivalent unit. 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: sale of a digital album or physical album 10 track downloads from the album 1,500 on-demand audio 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. Retrieved on May 14, 2008 Gold: 50,000 copies Platinum: 100,000 copies Multi-Platinum: 200,000 copies
Efforts against alleged infringement of members' copyrights
Efforts against file sharing
The RIAA opposes unauthorized sharing of its members' music. Studies conducted since the association began its campaign against peer-to-peer file-sharing have concluded that losses incurred per download range from negligibleA Heretical View of File Sharing , by John Schwartz, The New York Times, April 5, 2004 to moderate.Siwek, Stephen E. The True Cost of Sound Recording Piracy to the U.S. Economy (2007) IPI Policy Report 188, 2007, 6–10.
The association has commenced high-profile lawsuits against file-sharing service providers. Likewise, it has sued individuals suspected of file sharing, notably college students, parents of file-sharing children and at least one dead person. It is accused of employing techniques such as peer-to-peer "decoying" and "spoofing" to combat file sharing.
In late 2008, they announced they would stop their lawsuits, and instead attempt to work with ISPs to persuade them to use a three-strike system for file sharing involving issuing two warnings and then cutting off Internet service after the third strike.
Selection of defendants The RIAA names defendants based on ISP identification of the subscriber associated with an IP address, and as such do not know any additional information about a person before they sue. After an Internet subscriber's identity is discovered, but before an individual lawsuit is filed, the subscriber is typically offered an opportunity to settle. The standard settlement is a payment to the RIAA and an agreement not to engage in file sharing of music. Such suits are also usually on par with statutory damages of $750 per work, with the RIAA choosing the number of works it deems "reasonable". For cases that do not settle at this amount, the RIAA has gone to trial, seeking statutory damages from the jury, written into The Digital Theft Deterrence and Copyright Damages Improvement Act of 1999 as between $750 and $30,000 per work or $750 and $150,000 per work if "willful".
The Electronic Frontier Foundation and Public Citizen oppose the ability of the RIAA and other companies to "strip Internet users of anonymity without allowing them to challenge the order in court". In the past, U.S. courts have declared that an IP address is not a person nor personal identifier. This weakened the RIAA's ability to sue individuals.
The RIAA's methods of identifying individual users had, in some rare cases, led to the issuing of subpoenas to persons dead or otherwise incapable of file-sharing. Two such examples include: a then-recently deceased 83-year-old womanI sue dead people , Ars Technica, February 4, 2005. an elderly computer novice, and a family reportedly without any computer at all.RIAA sues computer-less family , by Anders Bylund, Ars Technica, April 24, 2006.
Settlement programs