Recording Industry Association of Japan
The Recording Industry Association of Japan (Japanese日本 レコード 協会, Nihon Rekōdo Kyōkai ), short RIAJ, is a Japanese company founded in April 1942, which represents all the major music companies and record labels in Japan, comparable to the American RIAA. The RIAJ is a member of IFPI since 1957.
Information
CEO of RIAJ is currently (as of 2013) Naoki Kitagawa of Sony Music Entertainment Japan. The seat is located in Minato / Tokyo. Overall, the RIAJ has 20 members, including the largest international music companies EMI, Universal, Warner and Sony / BMG, as well as national companies such as Avex or Sony Music Entertainment Japan.
Tasks
The main tasks include the RIAJ claims to:
- The distribution, sales and marketing of CDs
- Implementation of copyright
- Research in the field of sound recording
- Evaluation and publication of various information in the music industry ( sales figures)
- Management of royalties and fees for CD- lender (in Japan can be borrowed CDs as films in their own shops )
- Opinion research
Awards
The RIAJ awards the following awards for certain shipments:
- Gold ( G) - 100,000 copies
- Platinum ( P) - 250,000 copies
- Double Platinum ( PP) - 500,000 copies
- Tripelplatin (PPP ) - 750,000 copies
- Million (M) - 1,000,000 copies
- 2 million (2M) - 2,000,000 copies
- 3 million (3M) - 3,000,000 copies
- 4 million ( 4M ) - 4,000,000 copies
- 5 million (5M) - 5,000,000 copies
- Etc.
With the " 7 million" is the album "First Love" by Utada Hikaru the most successful Japanese CD release of all time.
Gold Disc Awards
Since March 1987, the RIAJ organized annually by the Japan Gold Disc Awards (Japanese日本 ゴールド ディスク 大賞, Nihon Gōrudo Disuku Taishō ) is one of the largest and most important Japanese music award ceremonies. The cost is usually awarded in the spring and always based on the sales figures of individual artists. In addition, the RIAJ awards in the ceremony, the gold, platinum and Million awards in the form of processed records, as is common in the West.