Mitch Glazier (born 1966) is an American lawyer and lobbyist. He is the Chairman and CEO of the
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA).
Education and career
Glazier received a B.S. in social policy from
Northwestern University
Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...
in 1987 and a J.D. from
Vanderbilt University Law School. He has been admitted to the Illinois and Washington, D.C., bars. He served as law clerk to the Judge
Wayne Andersen of the
US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Glazier practiced law at Chicago law firm Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg as a commercial litigator. He previously served on the boards of the
American Association of People with Disabilities, the Internet Education Foundation, and is Chairperson Emeritus of Musicians on Call.
Chief Counsel to House Judiciary
He was chief counsel to the
United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property. He played a role in drafting the
No Electronic Theft Act
The United States No Electronic Theft Act (NET Act), a federal law passed in 1997, provides for criminal prosecution of individuals who engage in copyright infringement under certain circumstances, even when there is no monetary profit or comm ...
, the
Digital Millennium Copyright Act
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a 1998 United States copyright law that implements two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). It criminalizes production and dissemination of technology, devices, or ...
, and the
Copyright Term Extension Act
The Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act – also known as the Copyright Term Extension Act, Sonny Bono Act, or (derisively) the Mickey Mouse Protection Act – extended copyright terms in the United States in 1998. It is one of several ac ...
.
Work for hire
In 1999, Glazier, a Congressional staff attorney, inserted, without public notice or comment, substantive language into the final markup of a "technical corrections" section of copyright legislation, classifying many music recordings as "
works made for hire", thereby stripping artists of their copyright interests and transferring those interests to their record labels. Shortly afterwards, Glazier was hired as Senior Vice President of Government Relations and Legislative Counsel for the RIAA, which vigorously defended the change when it came to light. The battle over the disputed provision led to the formation of the
Recording Artists' Coalition, which successfully lobbied for repeal of the change.
RIAA
In 2000, Glazier was hired by the Recording Industry Association of America where he handled the organization's government relations. In August 2011, he was named senior executive vice president. In January 2019, he was named Chairman and CEO.
The Capitol Hill Film Classic
In 2018, Glazier was appointed and presided over as the first Head of Jury for the
Capitol Hill Film Classic, a
short film
A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...
competition in Washington, D.C.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glazier, Mitch
1966 births
Living people
American lobbyists
Copyright activists
Northwestern University alumni
Vanderbilt University Law School alumni