Mitch Glazier

Mitch Glazier

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Mitch Glazier & Michele Ballantyne Begin 2019 As RIAA's New Leaders

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Glazier rises to Chairman/CEO of the major label trade association and Ballantyne is promoted to COO
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Jan 2, 2019 - 1:16 pm

Change is in the air for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the trade body comprising the major music labels. Following the Dec. 31 retirement of its Chairman/CEO Cary Sherman, on Jan. 2 the RIAA welcomed its new leadership — Mitch Glazier is now Chairman/CEO and Michele Ballantyne is the new Chief Operating Officer.

The RIAA certifies Gold and Platinum sales achievements, such as recognition for Twenty One Pilots' Blurryface being all Gold singles. They also engage in national advocacy work and pursue litigation to protect not only record companies' interests but intellectual property and copyright law more broadly.

"I am honored to lead the RIAA during these exciting times as we fight for a music ecosystem that works for everybody," said Glazier, "from artists and fans to labels and publishers and songwriters and music services alike. That will require that we both embrace digital music innovations and protect what has always made music great — keeping the dream alive for the next generation of artists and music creators."

Glazier began his intellectual property work as a senior staffer on the Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. He steps into his new roles having served previously as the RIAA's president.

The new chief operating officer, Michele Ballantyne served as Senator Tom Daschle's General Counsel, as Special Assistant for President Bill Clinton, and as Special Counsel for John Podesta while he was serving as White House Chief of Staff.

"By staying true to music and its creators even as we embrace change, we can help the men and women of the music industry achieve great things," said Ballantyne. "I look forward to advocating on behalf of our great community."

RIAA Chairman/CEO Cary Sherman, A Music Champion, To Retire

Edison Record Of Charlie Kerr's Ochestra

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RIAA's Mitch Glazier On Why Record Labels Matter In 2019

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The jobs labels do have grown and changed, and a recent collection of interviews tells how it's working
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Jan 10, 2019 - 3:43 pm

Interviews with more than 50 label leaders by Professor Larry Miller of NYU's Music Business program reveal a positive picture of the current state of labels, enough so to raise a response from the Recording Industry Association of America's new Chairman/CEO Mitch Glazier. In his Jan. 10 column on Medium, Glazier outlines his condensed perspective, distilling Miller's work, and asserts, "The most listened-to artists are backed by labels."

Glazier compares the old-fashioned demands of being a record label with the multi-faceted teams of experts today, engaged in everything from A&R to data analytics. He encourages readers to download Miller's report — Same Heart. New Beat. — for themselves, which provides additional details. 

The wide scope of today's music business activities boil down to the success labels help artists achieve, year after year, and the passion their teams bring to make that happen. The RIAA also configured a Rebooting The Label web page on their site, tracking the analysis in the report, and they are encouraging use of the #LABELSATWORK hashtag.

Today's key players at labels are using "radically new means to support artists," Glazier explains. "The result is a growing, vibrant, and vital music ecosystem driven by label investment and action  —  one in which more artists are creating and more fans are listening. Labels have licensed hundreds of digital services around the world, delivering music to listeners virtually anytime, anywhere."

He refers to breaking, boosting and amplifying as independent activities, giving a sense of the perspective that draws labels' teams together toward the different challenges posed by new names, established stars, and artists with sustained followings. Larger labels means greater infrastructure to supporthe new marketing mechanics of the ever-changing music business.

Glazier goes on to cite the statistic of 658 new artists signed to major labels in 2017 as showing more than 12 percent growth from the 589 signed in 2014.

"As this report details, labels are seizing the moment," he said, "investing more in A&R, marketing and other artist support activities (like data insights) than ever before, and beefing up their teams to support a vastly more complex, personal, and fast-paced music economy."

Perhaps the key takeaway from today's perspective is "personal." Whether old-fashioned or newfangled, the challenges of being in the music business can distract an artist from what they do best, which includes being more personal than ever with fans online who desire personal access and connection. Keeping music business mechanics off an artist's back and helping with online communications is all ultimately meant to allow the an artist's art and artistry to break through.

Mitch Glazier & Michele Ballantyne Begin 2019 As RIAA's New Leaders

Amy Winehouse

Amy Winehouse Best New Artist winner for 2007 | Photo: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

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How Does An Artist Qualify For The Best New Artist GRAMMY Category?

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Take a closer look at the Recording Academy's qualification rules to determine which artists can be considered in the Best New Artist category
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Dec 8, 2018 - 8:59 am

Each year the selection of GRAMMY nominees is the result of careful consideration and voting by Recording Academy members, who must both follow hard-and-fast rules as well as exercise their expert musical judgement. The Best New Artist category highlights newcomers — whether a solo artist, duo or group — but since "new" is a relative term, let's take a closer look at how making the cut is determined.

First of all, eligible artists must have achieved a breakthrough into the public consciousness and impacted the musical landscape during the year's eligibility period. This speaks to the essence of why Best New Artist is one of the most-anticipated categories each year, honoring exciting new talent in the music world. But sometimes rising stars take a while to reach this point, so numerical limits also help define the criteria for being "new" in this category.

The first numerical rule boils eligibility down to the number of an artist's releases. The minimum required is five singles or tracks or a complete album. The maximum is either three albums or a total of 30 singles or tracks previously released. Having more than this number of releases results in being ineligible even when an artist breaks through into public consciousness and impacts the musical landscape in a given eligibility period.

However, even if this numerical release criterion is met, an artist may still be deemed ineligible if the artist achieved previous prominence, meaning the artist came into prominence prior to the current eligibility year.

Another numerical limit is that an artist cannot have been considered more than three times previously for Best New Artist. This also applies to solo artists who emerge from having performed as a member in previous groups. That's right, being previously considered three times either as a solo artist, in a previous band, or some mixture of the two means an artist is not eligible for Best New Artist consideration.

For more valuable and illuminating information on all things GRAMMY Awards process, head over to GRAMMY101.com, or reach out to the Awards Help Desk at 877.637.6816, and don't forget to tune in Feb. 10.

See The Full List Of Nominees For The 61st GRAMMY Awards

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RIAA: Paid Subscriptions Pass $4 Billion In 2017 Music Revenue

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Streaming music paid subscriptions became "the largest recorded music format by value" in 2017, according to industry statistics
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Mar 22, 2018 - 3:39 pm

On March 22 the RIAA released its 2017 year-end music industry revenue report, including the good news that digital premium subscriptions surpassed $4 billion for the first time. In a "Music On The Move" essay on Medium, RIAA Chairman/CEO Cary Sherman celebrated this and other news of growth while warning that continued change is needed to sustain this and return the recording industry to its revenue levels before internet piracy.

Sherman also hailed breakthrough songs and artists who achieved platinum levels of sales success as a sign growth helps emerging artists, most notably Khalid for both his album American Teen LP and his song "Location," which were nominated for the 60th GRAMMY Awards. Other breakthrough platinum-level songs and artists include Cardi B's "Bodak Yellow" and Julia Michaels' "Issues."

Overall, the U.S. music industry revenues grew 16.5 percent at retail to $8.7 billion, the first time this century the industry has experienced two consecutive strong years of growth. Paid subscriptions ended 2017 with more than 35 million customers, up from 22 million the year before. Streaming revenues overall now account for 65 percent of total industry revenue.

As much as this is good news, it is also evidence of a changing landscape in which physical sales and paid downloads are in decline.

Calling attention to "reform legislation advancing," Sherman also endorsed the CLASSICS Act and called for copyright modernization. The music industry was cut in half by internet piracy in the early 2000s and now years of strong growth have returned it to 60 percent of its previous size. A modernized legislative approach should help digital's ability to give music creators their fair share.

With the good news coming out of 2017, time will tell if 2018 can make it three strong years in a row for the music industry.

Catching Up On Music News Powered By The Recording Academy Just Got Easier. Have A Google Home Device? "Talk To GRAMMYs"

iPhone recording performance

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International Stream-Ripping Site Shut Down

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International action by leading music rights organizations takes notorious infringing website Youtube-mp3.org off the internet
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Sep 7, 2017 - 5:14 pm

Britain's British Phonographic Industry, America's RIAA and international music organization IFPI announced on Sept. 7 that legal action on two continents has resulted in an agreement with top stream-ripping site Youtube-mp3.org that has shut it down permanently.

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Operating from Germany, the top infringing site had traffic estimated at 60 million visitors per month and "generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in advertising revenue per month, often from major brands."

Unfortunately, stream ripping has become massive and it's growing. An Ipsos survey for IFPI found that 53 percent of all 16–24 year-olds use stream-ripping sites or rip streams themselves.

Chance The Rapper has been the outstanding example of an artist quickly catapulted by streaming to international stardom, GRAMMY wins and philanthropy. While millions of infringing copies of his work online did not stop his rise, protecting creators' streaming revenues will be increasingly vital in music's online ecosystem.

"Most fans understand that getting music from a genuine site supports the artists they love and allows labels to nurture the next generation of talent," said BPI Chief Executive Geoff Taylor. "Music stands on the cusp of an exciting future in the streaming age, but only if we take resolute action against illegal businesses that try to siphon away its value."

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