Music Industry Lobbyist Rosen to Leave
Jeff Wall
NEW YORK - Hilary Rosen, the U.S. recording industry's head lobbyist who waged
a high-profile battle against Napster and music piracy, is resigning at the
end of the year.
Rosen cited personal reasons for leaving the Recording Industry Association of
America (news - web sites), where she has served as chief executive since
1998.
"During my tenure here, the recording industry has undergone dramatic
challenges and it is well positioned for future success. I have been extremely
proud to be a part of this industry transition," Rosen said Wednesday. "But I
have young children and I want to devote more of my time to them."
She said the RIAA board will conduct a formal search for a replacement.
David Munns, chairman and chief executive of EMI Recorded Music North America,
called Rosen "a tremendous advocate" who has been "extremely influential in
both transforming the music industry in the digital age and in fighting
piracy."
The recording industry has been struggling with declining sales, which Rosen
has blamed on illegal downloading over Napster and successors like Kazaa.
Album sales declined for the second straight year in 2002, down 10.7 percent
from the previous year.
Within the past few weeks, top executives at Sony Music and Vivendi
Universal's MCA Records also said they were leaving.
Rosen's departure comes as the organization sought to soften its image among
Internet consumers, many of whom viewed the RIAA - and Rosen personally - with
antipathy over incessant pressure for crackdowns on sharing digital music over
the Internet.
On Tuesday, Rosen's group won a closely watched lawsuit seeking Internet
providers' cooperation in tracking down individual computer users who
illegally download music. Verizon Communications Inc. had resisted, citing
privacy concerns.
The RIAA recently set aside a simmering dispute with leading technology
companies by agreeing to oppose any government efforts to build locking
controls into future generations of entertainment devices.
Technology companies have complained that such controls, which would hamper
consumers' efforts to share movies and music, are too expensive and complex.
The recording industry also has been promoting its own, for-fee online music
services, but consumers have largely rejected them because of usage
restrictions and limited selections.
Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., a leading advocate of consumer rights to copyright
works, said it was too early to tell whether Rosen's departure would
fundamentally change the industry's stance toward the Internet.
"I do not think that she has been a spiritual champion of the industry
embracing the Internet as a distribution medium," Boucher said. "I think the
industry clearly needs to do that. It's the only way that the industry has to
compete with peer-to-peer" file-sharing services like Kazaa.
Others praised her tenure and said she would be missed.
"Hilary has been a valiant, brave leader for the U.S. music industry," said
Jack Valenti, president and chief executive of the Motion Picture Association
of America. "I confess that I am an ardent admirer of her skills, her tenacity
and her integrity. She'll be a hard act to follow."
Even her adversaries had praise.
"While we don't always see eye to eye, I think that she's extremely good at
her job," said Joe Kraus of Digitalconsumer.org, which promotes greater "fair
use" rights to songs and movies. "Hilary's had a big influence in the way that
members of Congress view the issue."
But ultimately, he said, the recording industry is broader than any one
person, so her resignation may not profoundly change attitudes.
Rosen was an independent consultant before joining the RIAA in 1987. She also
is a founding board member of Rock the Vote, an organization aimed to get
younger people more politically involved.