I was just talking to my girlfriend, and for some reason the RIAA came up... And I started to wonder, what exactly does the RIAA do? I know they make a percentage off most CD sales, and they sue people who download music, and they also give out Platinum + Gold records to artists... but what is their function? Why do bands pay them money? I dont get it...


BTW, I'm in europe right now (Granada, Spain)... I noticed the forum is not updating on the main page (with the new posts and such) but seems like the forum is working otherwise... I'll try and get that fixed as soon as possible.

id never even heard of it!  id be fascinated to know the answer tho.

Record Industry Association of America: The umbrella organization that represents the interests of record labels and producers in the USA (but they have often acted to protect their interests beyond the US borders). (in)famous for their legal action against music piracy, and as such given a somewhat unfair reputation.

http://bandfoundry.draftlight.net/resources/dictionary.php

Interests of record labels and producers: to have their rightful share of the winnings of a recording.

Music piracy is Bad. Sharing your music with others for free is Not Bad.

The difference is the $$$ and where it goes, but I'm no expert in the field.

What's the difference between lending a CD to a friend who puts it in his mp3 library and putting the same CD availble for download via Limewire or so, so anyone else can put it in their mp3 library?

Should the friend be disallowed to lend your CD?

I've had problems getting *my own* stuff on the turntable at an alt. bar because it was a CDR and I was told that they don't play CDR's because of the risk of getting caught playing illegally copied music (and no this was not just a subtle way of saying my music basically sucks a$$)

Now THAT's what I call heading in a wrong direction!

Hmm.... So, basically, record labels give them a percentage of their earnings to protect their interests? They are basically just there to hire lawyers and sue people?

It seems like record labels would do just fine without paying the RIAA to "protect their interests"... Does anyone know what kind of percentage the RIAA takes on the sales of music?

If there was no RIAA, the whole copyright system wouldn't function for a bit.

You could produce an album and have it released but never see a penny of the sales royalties, and you wouldn't stand a chance of getting them either.

Like, your band writes a super hit, and the big corp says: "Nice, f*ck you very much, we'll put some gullible pretty boys on stage with your song so more people will come see the show, redirect the cash flow towards our already stuffed pockets and all you and the pretty boys get is a brief glance at our middle fingers. And, BTW, if you look at your contract - it says you have to produce another super hit song or we get to fine you, big time. Have a nice day."

If there wouldn't be a watchdog barking all the time, this is exactly what will happen... again... and again...

So the watchdog tries to stay sharp and therefore roams the frontier of copyright infringement, which would be the Vast Expanses of the World Wide Web. I don't think I mind too much... Except when dj's get so scared at even seeing a CDR in their vicinity, so innocent unsigned artists like me are getting an even harder time to be heard ANYWHERE outside their own homes, coz that *really* ticks me off...

I thought that just as we have the PRS and MCPS for the collection & distribution of royalty fees in the UK, you have the BMI and ASCAP in the States. RIAA sounds like more of the same. Reading between the lines from the blurb on their web site you can tell that they represent the Recording Industry and as such only indirectly work for you the Artist.
The following links should explain all.....
http://www.prs.co.uk/
http://www.bmi.com/
http://www.ascap.com/index.html
http://www.riaa.com/default.asp

Hmmm no, they're bigger / more than that, it's more sort of a union - for copyright owners I guess -, and when it comes to copyrights, they function as watchdogs. But I'm not deeply into it either so I think I'll shut up now...