Hilary Rosen
Encyclopedia
Hilary Beth Rosen is a partner in the political communications firm, SKDKnickerbocker with offices in DC and New York. Prior to joining SKDK, she was the managing partner of the DC office of the Brunswick Group, a London based PR and communications strategy firm. She joined Brunswick in December 2008. She is also currently an on-air Contributor for CNN
. She was formerly Washington Editor at Large for The Huffington Post
and was the online site's Political Director during the 2008 election. She was with the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA) from 1987 to 2003 and served first as President and then chairman and chief executive from 1994 to 2003. And she was President of a start up website, OurChart.com from 2006 to 2008.
Rosen presided over the RIAA during the period of the music industry that coincided with the rise of internet technology. She was a major lobbying force on Capitol Hill and a regular presence on behalf of the industry in the media. She raised RIAA's profile from a little known trade group to the most visible and influential music industry voice in Washington and around the country. Her longtime close relationship with Democratic members of Congress led to the passage of several pieces of legislation. During her tenure, the RIAA achieved a number of victories in the United States, including:
Rosen also launched initiatives to encourage industry-wide standards of new digital copyright protection technologies, including copy protected CDs
and a number of digital rights management
-enabled media formats for personal computers. Copy-protected CDs have not been popular with consumers because they cannot be played in most car CD players or on PCs, and only a few pilot titles were ever distributed with the technology. RIAA advanced a legal and public relations campaign to limit the digital file swapping of copyright
ed music, a practice whose popularity increased dramatically with improved personal computer
multimedia
capabilities and expanded broadband
Internet
access.
Rosen left RIAA before the start of a controversial program to sue individuals for file swapping. RIAA was the enforcement arm of the industry. Many say that despite Rosen's public loyalty to the industry, much of her last few years were spent privately encouraging the member companies to embrace internet distribution. The slow pace resulted in her ultimate frustration and desire to leave and in the industry being unable to catch up with the phenomenon of free file sharing.
On January 22, 2003, Rosen announced that she would resign as head of the RIAA at the end of 2003, in order to spend more time with her partner, Elizabeth Birch
, and the couple's twins (a boy and a girl). She began a television commentator career first with CNBC and then with MSNBC. She signed with CNN in early 2008. Rosen and Birch separated in 2006.
On November 30, 2004, Rosen became the interim director for the Human Rights Campaign
, a leading GLBT lobbyist organization, following the ouster of Cheryl Jacques
. Hilary's partner, Elizabeth, was the executive director of HRC for eight years prior to Jacques' assumption of the post. In December 2006 Rosen founded a consulting firm specializing in digital media and the entertainment industry with Jason Berman, former Chairman of the International Recording Industry Association (IFPI) called Berman Rosen Global Strategies. That firm closed when Rosen joined Brunswick. In January 2007, she launched OurChart.com with business partner Ilene Chaiken
, creator of the L Word. OurChart.com was a social networking and entertainment site targeted to lesbians and their friends based on the Showtime series, The L Word. Showtime Networks was a financial partner in the website and now controls its content through the L Word TV show website. Her activities with Showtime, coincided with her career in political communications.
Rosen was born and raised in West Orange, NJ. She received her BBA degree from George Washington University.
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
. She was formerly Washington Editor at Large for The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
and was the online site's Political Director during the 2008 election. She was with the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
(RIAA) from 1987 to 2003 and served first as President and then chairman and chief executive from 1994 to 2003. And she was President of a start up website, OurChart.com from 2006 to 2008.
Rosen presided over the RIAA during the period of the music industry that coincided with the rise of internet technology. She was a major lobbying force on Capitol Hill and a regular presence on behalf of the industry in the media. She raised RIAA's profile from a little known trade group to the most visible and influential music industry voice in Washington and around the country. Her longtime close relationship with Democratic members of Congress led to the passage of several pieces of legislation. During her tenure, the RIAA achieved a number of victories in the United States, including:
- The dismantling of the NapsterNapsterNapster is an online music store and a Best Buy company. It was originally founded as a pioneering peer-to-peer file sharing Internet service that emphasized sharing audio files that were typically digitally encoded music as MP3 format files...
and AudiogalaxyAudiogalaxyAudiogalaxy is an audio placeshifting service which enables an individual's smartphone or other device to search & play MP3 and AAC files stored on that person's separate, Internet-connected computer, with the help of special software installed on both devices...
Internet file-trading services. Rosen has publicly expressed regret at the result of the Napster litigation. Not from a legal perspective, which she defended, but for the way it limited the debate over online music. - Passage of the controversial Digital Millennium Copyright ActDigital Millennium Copyright ActThe Digital Millennium Copyright Act is a United States copyright law that implements two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization . It criminalizes production and dissemination of technology, devices, or services intended to circumvent measures that control access to...
. - Initiating the Grokster lawsuit on which the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the record industry
- Passage of the Performance Rights ActPerformance Rights ActOn February 4, 2009, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, 111th Congress. TheBill was referred to the and on December 14, 2010, it was placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 405...
creating a public performance right for the first time for sound recordingsTo administer the Act, Rosen created the Sound Exchange, anon-profit collective for performing artists and record companies who receive money from webcasting and other digital music services. As of 2010, Sound Exchange had collected over $350 million dollars on behalf of its members. - Passage of the Record Rental Act providing additional rental protection for sound recordings
- Passage of numerous trade treaties providing increased protection for US intellectual property abroad
Rosen also launched initiatives to encourage industry-wide standards of new digital copyright protection technologies, including copy protected CDs
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
and a number of digital rights management
Digital rights management
Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
-enabled media formats for personal computers. Copy-protected CDs have not been popular with consumers because they cannot be played in most car CD players or on PCs, and only a few pilot titles were ever distributed with the technology. RIAA advanced a legal and public relations campaign to limit the digital file swapping of copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
ed music, a practice whose popularity increased dramatically with improved personal computer
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
multimedia
Multimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
capabilities and expanded broadband
Broadband
The term broadband refers to a telecommunications signal or device of greater bandwidth, in some sense, than another standard or usual signal or device . Different criteria for "broad" have been applied in different contexts and at different times...
Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
access.
Rosen left RIAA before the start of a controversial program to sue individuals for file swapping. RIAA was the enforcement arm of the industry. Many say that despite Rosen's public loyalty to the industry, much of her last few years were spent privately encouraging the member companies to embrace internet distribution. The slow pace resulted in her ultimate frustration and desire to leave and in the industry being unable to catch up with the phenomenon of free file sharing.
On January 22, 2003, Rosen announced that she would resign as head of the RIAA at the end of 2003, in order to spend more time with her partner, Elizabeth Birch
Elizabeth Birch
Elizabeth Birch is an American attorney and former corporate executive who chaired the board of directors of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force from 1992-1994...
, and the couple's twins (a boy and a girl). She began a television commentator career first with CNBC and then with MSNBC. She signed with CNN in early 2008. Rosen and Birch separated in 2006.
On November 30, 2004, Rosen became the interim director for the Human Rights Campaign
Human Rights Campaign
The Human Rights Campaign is the United States' largest LGBT advocacy group and lobbying organization; according to the HRC, it has more than one million members and supporters...
, a leading GLBT lobbyist organization, following the ouster of Cheryl Jacques
Cheryl Jacques
Cheryl Ann Jacques is a United States politician who, beginning in January 2004, served for 11 months as president of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender, or LGBT, advocacy organization...
. Hilary's partner, Elizabeth, was the executive director of HRC for eight years prior to Jacques' assumption of the post. In December 2006 Rosen founded a consulting firm specializing in digital media and the entertainment industry with Jason Berman, former Chairman of the International Recording Industry Association (IFPI) called Berman Rosen Global Strategies. That firm closed when Rosen joined Brunswick. In January 2007, she launched OurChart.com with business partner Ilene Chaiken
Ilene Chaiken
Ilene Chaiken is an American television producer, director and writer. Chaiken is best known as being the co-creator, writer and executive producer of the television series The L Word...
, creator of the L Word. OurChart.com was a social networking and entertainment site targeted to lesbians and their friends based on the Showtime series, The L Word. Showtime Networks was a financial partner in the website and now controls its content through the L Word TV show website. Her activities with Showtime, coincided with her career in political communications.
Rosen was born and raised in West Orange, NJ. She received her BBA degree from George Washington University.
See also
- CopyrightCopyrightCopyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
- George Washington UniversityGeorge Washington UniversityThe George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
- Human Rights CampaignHuman Rights CampaignThe Human Rights Campaign is the United States' largest LGBT advocacy group and lobbying organization; according to the HRC, it has more than one million members and supporters...
- Intellectual propertyIntellectual propertyIntellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
- Recording Industry Association of AmericaRecording Industry Association of AmericaThe Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...