RIAA

Recording Industry Association of America, Washington, DC, www.riaa.com  A membership association of music recording companies. Its goal is to promote the record label industry and protect the rights of copyright owners. It was a major contributor to the SDMI digital distribution system. Spanning more than a half century, RIAA's Gold, Platinum, Multi-Platinum and Diamond awards for successful albums are coveted marks of achievements by musical artists. Exports outside the U.S. are not included in this certification process. The IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) is the European affiliate to RIAA (www.ifpi.org).

Not Happy About File Sharing

Although an institution in the music industry, the RIAA was not a household word until the late 1990s when it plunged into the music swapping copyright fray along with the record companies. It was involved with lawsuits directly against the music swapping services such as Napster, and in 2003, it began to file hundreds of lawsuits against users who made their copyrighted music available to others.

(source Answer.com)