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CHANGING STRATEGY
IN THE
MUSIC INDUSTRY


The Recording Industry…
The RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) was formed in 1952, to represent recording companies in the United States. The Association describes its mission as one that is meant to foster a “business and legal climate” that supports and promotes their members' creative and financial vitality. RIAA members (record companies) create, manufacture and/or distribute approximately 90% of all legitimate sound recordings produced and sold in the United States. The RIAA works primarily to protect copyrights worldwide and the First Amendment rights of artists. It also certifies Gold®, Platinum®, Multi-Platinum™, and Diamond sales awards, as well as Los Premios De Oro y Platino™, an award celebrating Latin music sales.
Over 1600 record labels and distributors are represented by the RIAA. The largest and most influential of the members is most often referred to as the Big Four. The Big Four is made up of the EMI Group, Sony BMG Entertainment Group, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group. The EMI Group is a British company that combines the London-based record company EMI Music with the New York based company EMI Music Publishing. Since August 2007, EMI has been owned by Terra Firma Capital Partners. Terra Firma bought EMI after a dramatic decline in sales. In 2004, a 50/50 joint venture between Sony Music Entertainment, and Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) resulted in the formation of the Sony BMG Music Entertainment Group. Universal Music Group (UMG) is the largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry. Not only does UMG own the largest publishing business in the world, but it also has some of the biggest artists in the world signed to its labels. Warner Music Group (WMG) is the third-largest of the Big Four. WMG was founded as a division of Warner Bros. movie studios in 1958.

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