hihello Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 The RIAA continues to reduce its workforce, which has been slashed in half in just five years. According to the organization's latest tax return the RIAA now employs 55 people. The group's top three executives account for a quarter of all salaries paid, including several sizable bonuses. The RIAA has just submitted its latest tax filing to the IRS, covering the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014. Time for us to see where the music industry’s anti-piracy arm stands. In previous years the RIAA reported a massive decline in revenue after the record labels cut back on their membership dues, but this trend now appears to have stopped. Total revenue according to the latest filing is $24.2 million, a slight increase from $24.1 million the year before. Despite the stabilizing income, which mostly comes from the record label’s membership dues, the RIAA continues to trim employees. Over the past five years the number of employees at the RIAA has been slashed in half, dropping from 117 to just 55. In its most recent filing the RIAA lists 55 people on the payroll compared to 58 the year before. In total these employees earned $11.7 million of which more than 25% went into the pockets of three top executives. Interestingly, while more than half of the organization’s workers have been let go, the RIAA’s top employees have enjoyed salary increases year after year, including some healthy bonuses. The top earner in the year ending March 2014 was CEO Cary Sherman with a $1.6 million a year payout for a working week of 50 hours. Sherman’s base salary is a cool million dollars, but that was boosted with a half million bonus and other compensation. Other high income employees were Mitch Glazier (Senior Executive VP), Steve Marks (General Counsel) and Neil Turkewitz (EVP International) with $776,616, $728,959 and $657,952 respectively, including over a quarter million in bonuses. RIAA top earners While these incomes are significant, they are relatively modest compared to other industry groups. For example, MPAA boss Chris Dodd earns $3.3 million, while its former General Counsel Henry Hoberman earned close to a million. Looking at other expenses reported in the tax return we see that the RIAA spent $2.3 million on lobbying, a figure that has remained relatively stable over time. The same cannot be said for the group’s legal fees, which dropped from $16.50 to $1.28 million in a few years. In part, this is because the expensive lawsuits against individual file-sharers and services such as Limewire have ended. Most recently the RIAA started another lawsuit, this time targeting the music linking site MP3Skull, so perhaps the amount spent will increase again in future years. The full 2013/2014 filing is available here. Source:TorrentFreak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CODYQX4 Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 You shouldn't get a bonus if the only way you can make a quarter not look bad is to fire everyone and claim savings.Humanity is screwed if everything is short-term gain at the expense of the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dMog Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 You shouldn't get a bonus if the only way you can make a quarter not look bad is to fire everyone and claim savings.Humanity is screwed if everything is short-term gain at the expense of the future.in total agreement with you...but that IS the way every executive has and will continue to run the any entity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CODYQX4 Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 You shouldn't get a bonus if the only way you can make a quarter not look bad is to fire everyone and claim savings.Humanity is screwed if everything is short-term gain at the expense of the future.in total agreement with you...but that IS the way every executive has and will continue to run the any entityOf course, I mean they aren't there when the company folds right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funkyy Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 It seems that some people are making a lot of money from "Piracy"....and it ain't the downloaders!!!! :duh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dMog Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 You shouldn't get a bonus if the only way you can make a quarter not look bad is to fire everyone and claim savings.Humanity is screwed if everything is short-term gain at the expense of the future.in total agreement with you...but that IS the way every executive has and will continue to run the any entityOf course, I mean they aren't there when the company folds right?they are there just before the door closes to take out the final $$$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steven36 Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 It seems that some people are making a lot of money from "Piracy"....and it ain't the downloaders!!!! :duh:The whole world is crap .. riaa makes money the piracy sites make money aka the uploaders and the legal music sites make money . But that's the way its always been everyone but the consumer gains . Back in the old days instead of ads it was radio commercials and mixed and bootleg tapes . Now days its ads , mp3. flac and Itunes . Its called business is all . You know why the riaa keeps getting cut its really not a big priority is why . Do you think they want piracy to end? no if it did they would have no job at all .. :PRight now riaa are working on making free services obsolete so many legal users will resort to piracy again and they will have job security . ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karlston Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Snouts in the trough. Only bosses would reward themselves for mismanaging so badly they have to sack workers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steven36 Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Snouts in the trough. Only bosses would reward themselves for mismanaging so badly they have to sack workers.All business are like this people lose there Jobs everyday in this case its Govt funding cutbacks . But in other business they just move the jobs somewhere were there's no labor laws and pay them peanuts . What you expect from USA business. Everything been downsizing since Bill Clinton left office . The high ups keep there job always and USA Govt lets them get away with it. Sooner are latter no one will have money to buy there products and they will have to do something . All the riaa does is represent the Artist for a fat paycheck . they keep doing away with jobs everywhere they will be no one doing nothing. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funkyy Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 There are only two kinds of people in the world....those with too much money and those with not enough. Add to that a pinch (a big pinch) of greed and "f*** you Jack, I'm alright", and you have the sad mess we are living in today. :pissed: :pissed: :pissed: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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