Steven Marks is Chief, Digital Business and General Counsel for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Marks oversees industry-wide digital business initiatives focusing on growing the digital music marketplace and developing new revenue streams for the industry. Marks is responsible for the organization’s business affairs, legal, litigation and technology departments. Marks led the creation of the license for Internet radio and other services now administered by SoundExchange and serves as Chair of SoundExchange’s Licensing Committee and on its Board of Directors. Marks has also led efforts to establish historic agreements with music publishers, songwriters, digital music services, and mobile phone companies that set new royalty rates for cutting-edge digital music models to expand consumer access to legitimate music.
Marks was instrumental in launching whymusicmatters.com, a first of its kind online guide for authorized music services in the United States. Marks also helped lead negotiations that resulted in the groundbreaking agreement with ISPs to create the Center for Copyright Information, a platform to educate consumers about online uses of music and movies. Marks has served as Vice Chair of CCI since its creation.
Before joining RIAA, Marks was in private practice. He graduated from Duke Law School where he was Articles Editor of the Duke Law Journal. He served as a law clerk to the Honorable Mary M. Schroeder of the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit. Marks received his B.A. from Duke University. Marks is an amateur musician and serves on the boards of Debbie’s Dream Foundation and the regional board of the Anti-Defamation League.