Rosen Gets Top Record Group Post

Hilary Rosen has been promoted to chief executive of the Recording Industry Assn. of America, the Washington-based trade group that represents the nation’s largest record conglomerates.

Rosen, the first woman to assume such a powerful position at the trade group, is highly regarded among competing record chiefs for her front-line role in the organization’s recent anti-drug and anti-censorship efforts. The outspoken executive is expected to take over the reins at the recording association in January when Jason Berman, the group’s longtime chairman, retires.

Rosen, who got her start as a Washington lobbyist in the early 1980s, joined the trade group 10 years ago. Her lobbying efforts helped the music industry to obtain an amendment to the Copyright Act that provided a performance right for sound recordings.

Since her elevation to president and chief operating officer in 1994, Rosen has pioneered the association’s efforts to develop protection systems for music recordings in the digital age. Last year, she created the association’s technology division to address future concerns about digital piracy and distribution of copyrighted recordings.

The group’s members--which include Warner Music Group, Sony Music, Universal Music Group, Bertelsmann Music Group, EMI Music and PolyGram Music Group--manufactured and distributed more than 90% of the $12 billion worth of music recordings sold last year in the U.S.