There is a big difference between the music industry and the recording industry, but the way the record labels and the RIAA tell the story, they are the same. But the truth is; the music industry is very different to the recording industry.

The Music Industry is everything, like recording (vinyl, CD’s and mp3’s fall under this), streaming, licensing, touring, merchandise, publishing, musical instruments (sellers, manufacturers and buyers), music hardware, music software, video production and many more.

People might have come across the RIAA name, a lobby/bribery association whose sole purpose is to fight for the major record labels in Washington. RIAA stands for the Recording Industry Association of America. Notice how there is no music term in their name.

But the RIAA have a lot of creative writers who write fake news. Like these headlines;

• The U.S. Music Industry Just Had its Best Year Since 1998
  This is a brilliant piece of fakery, but god damn, the RIAA has done a brilliant job over the last 30 years selling the recording industry as the music industry and people now lap it up as true. The true headline should read, the U.S Recording Industry Just Had It’s Best Year Since 1998.
• State of The Music Business: What The Numbers Tell Us
  A story about revenue earned from recorded music, which portrays the recording business as the music business.
• RIAA Reports Strongest Music Industry Revenue Growth Since 90’s
  A nice story about the release of the RIAA’s (Recording Industry Association of America) 2016 mid-year revenue report. Of course, a website not affiliated with the RIAA has been hooked line and sinker to their faker.
• Music Industry Majors Sue Hip Hop Streaming Site Spinrilla
  It’s a nice story about the RIAA filing suit against a website on behalf of the major record labels but due to the creative writers and the fakery involved, its pitched as the music business instead of the recording business. The fact that the Hollywood reporter has bought in to the fake news of the record labels being the music industry is proof of how effective their fakery is.
• The Music Industry Is Finally Making Money on Streaming
  Another nice story of how the record labels (portrayed as the music industry) are finally making some serious money from streaming.

It’s important to note a few important things here;

• The Recording Industry is a section of the “music industry.”
• The Recording Industry is in the business of making money from music recordings.
• The Recording Industry is not the Music Industry.
• The Recording Industry likes to sell and market itself as the Music Industry.

So next time you read a story about the music industry, make sure it’s not a piece of fakery about the recording business.