Inside The RIAA

When I am browsing through billboard.com and other music sites I often see this when an artist reaches a certain level of success in sales “RIAA certified”. I already knew what a gold, platinum, or diamond record but I never cared to know who certifies an album and why; until now.

The RIAA (Recorded Industry Association of America) is an organization that supports major music companies in promoting artist content and promotes financial strength within the industry.  According to RIAA.com “RIAA members create, manufacture and/or distribute approximately 85% of all legitimate recorded music produced and sold in the United States”.  In a nutshell the RIAA protects artist from intellectual property theft such as illegal downloading. The RIAA also conducts research across music channels and makes information available for its members.

The RIAA Gold & Platinum Awards Program tracks album sales and landmark achievements for associated artists. The RIAA awards artist with gold certifications for selling 500,00 units of a song or album. Platinum certifications are awarded to artists who surpass 1,000,000 copies sold. With the evolution of music the RIAA has added on a digital music certification category in 2004, and a ringtone certification category in 2006.

The RIAA also works with federal authorities to curb the digital piracy epidemic that have taken over. Their website goes into extensive detail in explaining copyright laws, describing what online piracy is and even gives their take on what the scope of the problem is.

Membership to the RIAA is open to legitimate record companies that sell music legally within the US. They do not offer any individual memberships but you can access their research database of gold and platinum record subscriptions for a $100 fee for the year.  Once a member of the association you will be protected by RIAA’s anti-piracy staff.

When your ready to really create music legally the RIAA is a membership any legitimate record company should have.