The is an

industry trade group A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. An industry trade association partici ...

composed of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

ese corporations involved in the

music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...

. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association, and adopted its current name in 1969. The RIAJ's activities include promotion of music sales, enforcement of copyright law, and research related to the Japanese music industry. It publishes the annual ''RIAJ Year Book'', a statistical summary of each year's music sales, as well as distributing a variety of other data. Headquartered in

Minato Minato (港 or 湊) is Japanese for 'harbor', and may refer to: Places * Minato, Tokyo or Minato City, a special ward in Tokyo, Japan * Minato-ku, Nagoya, a ward of Nagoya, Japan * Minato-ku, Osaka, a ward of Osaka, Japan * Minato (湊), a neig ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

, the RIAJ has twenty member companies and a smaller number of associate and supporting members; some member companies are the Japanese branches of

multinational corporation A multinational company (MNC), also referred to as a multinational enterprise (MNE), a transnational enterprise (TNE), a transnational corporation (TNC), an international corporation or a stateless corporation with subtle but contrasting senses, i ...

s headquartered elsewhere. The association is responsible for certifying gold and platinum albums and singles in Japan.

RIAJ Certification

In 1989, the Recording Industry Association of Japan introduced the

music recording certification Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

systems. It is awarded based on shipment figures of compact disc or cassette tape which was reported by record labels. In principle, the criteria are limitedly applied to the materials released after January 21, 1989.

Certification awards

Currently, all music sales including singles, albums, digital download singles are on the same criteria. Unlike many countries, the highest certification is called "Million".

Old criteria (until June 2003)

Before the unification of criteria and introduction of music videos category in July 2003, a separate scale had been used for certification awards.

Digital certifications

Certifications for songs and albums released digitally began on September 20, 2006, using download data collected since the early 2000s. From 2006 until 2013, there were three categories for certifications: , (i.e. a download to a cellphone) and for songs purchased on services such as

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mu ...

. On February 28, 2014, the Chaku-uta Full and PC categories were merged to create the category. While digital album certifications are possible, only a few albums have received this certification since the RIAJ began awarding it, including the 2011 '' Songs for Japan'' charity album, and

Hikaru Utada , who is also known by the mononym Utada, is a Japanese-American pop singer, songwriter and producer. By 2010, Utada had become one of the most influential, and best-selling, musical artists in Japan. Born in the United States to Japanese parent ...

's sixth studio album '' Fantôme''. In 2021, Ayumi Hamasaki's '' A Complete: All Singles'' (2008) became the first album released in the 2000s to receive digital certification.

Streaming only

As of April 2020, RIAJ has begun to certify songs for streaming, just how it does for physical shipments and digital download sales. Unlike physical shipments and digital download sales, the streaming certifications have their own levels, due to the higher amount of streams compared to the other formats.

Members

Main members

* Avex Group¹ **

Avex Entertainment is a Japanese entertainment conglomerate led by founder Max Matsuura and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1988, the company manages J-pop talents like Ayumi Hamasaki and internet sensation PikoTaro. It has also shifted into other busi ...

** Avex Digital (supporting member) *

Being Inc. Being Incorporated, d.b.a. Being Giza Group, is a Japanese private entertainment conglomerate based in Tokyo's Roppongi district, founded on November 1, 1978 by musician Daiko Nagato. Being Inc. and its subsidiaries are the main supplier of the ...

* Dreamusic Incorporated * For Life Music *

Geneon Universal Entertainment (abbreviated as NBCUEJ) is a Japanese music, anime, and home entertainment production and distribution enterprise headquartered in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo. It is primarily involved in the production and distribution of anime within Japan. The ...

¹ * King Records¹ ** Bellwood Records (supporting member) ** King Records International (supporting member) *

Nippon Columbia , often pronounced ''Korombia'', operating internationally as , is a Japanese record label founded in 1910 as Nipponophone Co., Ltd. It affiliated itself with the Columbia Graphophone Company of the United Kingdom and adopted the standard UK ...

** Columbia Marketing (supporting member) * Nippon Crown¹ *

Pony Canyon , also known by the shorthand form , is a Japanese mass media publishing company founded on October 1, 1966. The company publishes mainly physical home media on compact discs, including music, films and TV shows and video games. It is affi ...

¹ ** Exit Tunes (associate member) *

Sony Music Entertainment Japan , often abbreviated as SMEJ or simply SME, and also known as Sony Music Japan for short (stylized as ''SonyMusic''), is a Japanese music arm for Sony. Founded in 1968 as CBS/Sony, SMEJ is directly owned by Sony Group Corporation and is oper ...

¹ ** Ariola Japan (supporting member) ** DefStar Records (supporting member) **

Epic Records Japan Epic Records Japan is a Japanese record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Its founder was Shigeo Maruyama. Between 1978 and 1988 the label operated as a wholly owned subsidiary: Epic/Sony Inc. () was established in August 1978

(supporting member) ** Ki/oon Records (supporting member) ** SME Records (supporting member) ** Sony Music Artists (supporting member) ** Sony Music Associated Records (supporting member) ** Sony Music Direct (supporting member) ** Sony Music Distribution (supporting member) **

Sony Music Japan International , often abbreviated as SMEJ or simply SME, and also known as Sony Music Japan for short (stylized as ''SonyMusic''), is a Japanese music arm for Sony. Founded in 1968 as CBS/Sony, SMEJ is directly owned by Sony Group Corporation and is oper ...

(supporting member) **

Sony Music Records , often abbreviated as SMEJ or simply SME, and also known as Sony Music Japan for short (stylized as ''SonyMusic''), is a Japanese music arm for Sony. Founded in 1968 as CBS/Sony, SMEJ is directly owned by Sony Group Corporation and is oper ...

(supporting member) * Teichiku Entertainment¹ * Tokuma Japan Communications¹ *

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

¹ **

EMI Music Japan , formerly , was one of Japan's leading music companies. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of British music company EMI Group Ltd. on June 30, 2007, after Toshiba sold off its previous 45% stake. Its CEO and president was Kazuhiko Koike. When ...

¹ * VAP Inc.¹ * Victor Entertainment¹ *

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and th ...

¹ * Yamaha Music Communications * Yoshimoto R&C

Associate members

* Amuse Soft Entertainment * HATS Unlimited * Johnny and Associates **

J Storm is a Japanese music and film company owned by Johnny & Associates. It was established on November 12, 2001, initially as a label for the Johnny's group, Arashi, after which it was named. Aside from producing and releasing CDs and DVDs, the c ...

Johnny's Entertainment is a Japanese talent agency, formed by Johnny Kitagawa in 1962, which trains and promotes groups of male entertainers known as . History 1962–1989 In 1962, Kitagawa launched his first group, Johnnys. In its early days, Kitagawa's agency rente ...

Konami Digital Entertainment , is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machines, slot machines, and arcade cabinets. Konami has cas ...

* Bandai Visual ** Lantis (main member) * LD&K Records *

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 1 ...

* Pryaid Records¹ * Stardust Records * Space Shower Networks * Spiritual Beast * Venus Records * Village Again Association * NBC Universal Entertainment Japan * KISS Entertainment * Rambling Records * Gambit * Croix

Supporting members

* Aniplex (subsidiary of

) * Crown-Tokuma Music (joint venture of Nippon Crown and Tokuma Japan Communications) * Free Board * Holiday Japan * Jei One * NPPDevelop * T-Toc Records * TV Asahi Music * Ward Records * Toys Factory * Aceforce Entertainment * Kino Music ¹Member,

International Federation of the Phonographic Industry The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 1 ...

References

External links

Recording Industry Association of Japan
- in English {{Authority control Organizations established in 1942 1942 establishments in Japan Music organizations based in Japan