Recording Industry Association of America
Formation	1952
Type	Technical standards, licensing and royalties
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Location	United States
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer	Cary Sherman
Website	riaa.com

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors, which the RIAA say "create, manufacture and/or distribute approximately 85% of all legally sold recorded music in the United States."^[1] RIAA has its headquarters in Washington, D.C.^[2][3]

The RIAA was formed in 1952^[4] primarily to administer the RIAA equalization curve,^{[citation needed]} a technical standard of frequency response applied to vinyl records during recording. The RIAA participates in the collective rights management of sound recording. The association is also responsible for certifying Gold and Platinum albums and singles in the USA.

The RIAA lists its goals as:^[1]

1. to protect intellectual property rights and the First Amendment rights of artists;
2. to perform research about the music industry;
3. to monitor and review relevant laws, regulations and policies;

Company structure and sales[link]

Cary Sherman has been the RIAA's chairman and CEO since 2011. Sherman joined the RIAA as its general counsel in 1997 and became president of the board of directors in 2001, serving in that position until being made chairman and CEO.

Mitch Glazier has been the RIAA's senior executive vice president since 2011. He served as executive vice president for public policy and industry relations from 2000 to 2011.

The past RIAA chairman and CEO is the Mitch Bainwol, who served from 2003 to 2011. He left in 2011 to become president and CEO of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers.

The board of directors consists of 26 members of the board, drawn mostly from the big four members of the RIAA.^[5] The board is currently made up of:

• Cary Sherman - RIAA
• Colin Finkelstein - EMI Recorded Music
• Bill Hearn - EMI Christian Music Group
• Deirdre McDonald - Sony Music Entertainment
• Terry Hemmings - Provident Music Group/Sony Music Entertainment
• Kevin Kelleher - Sony Music Entertainment
• Thomas Hesse - Sony Music Entertainment
• Julie Swidler - Sony Music Entertainment
• Luke Wood - Interscope Records
• Jeff Harleston - Universal Music Group
• Zach Horowitz - Universal Music Group
• Mel Lewinter - Universal Motown Republic Group
• Craig Kallman - The Atlantic Group
• Paul Robinson Warner Music Group
• Bob Cavallo - Buena Vista Music
• Glen Barros - Concord Music Group
• Mike Curb - Curb Records
• Michael Koch^{[disambiguation needed ]} - Entertainment One U.S.
• Tom Silverman - Tommy Boy Entertainment
• Steve Bartels - Island Records

The RIAA represents over 1,600 member labels, which are private corporate entities such as record labels and distributors, and collectively create and distribute about 90% of recorded music sold in the United States. The largest and most influential of the members are the "Big Four" that include:

• EMI
• Sony Music Entertainment
• Universal Music Group
• Warner Music Group

The RIAA reports that total retail value of recordings sold by their members was $10.4 billion^[6] at the end of 2007, a decline from $14.6 billion in 1999.

Sales certification[link]

The RIAA operates an award program for albums that sell a large number of copies.^[7] The program originally began in 1958, with a Gold Award for singles and albums that reach 1,000,000 in sales. The criteria was changed in 1975 to the number of copies sold, with albums selling 500,000 copies awarded the Gold Award. In 1976, a Platinum Award was added for one million sales. In 1989 it changed again with a "Gold Award" for singles that reach 500,000 in sales and a "Platinum Award" for singles that reach 1,000,000 in sales, and in 1999 a Diamond Award for ten million sales.^[8] The awards are open to both RIAA members and non-members.^[9]

Since 2000,^[10] the RIAA also operates a similar program for Spanish language music sales, called Los Premios de Oro y De Platino. Currently, a Disco De Oro (Gold) is awarded for 50,000 units and a Disco De Platino is awarded for 100,000 units, with Album Multi-Platino at 200,000.^[11] To be eligible for this award, sound recordings must contain more than 50% Spanish language content.^[10]

"Digital" sales certification[link]

In 2004, the RIAA added a branch of certification for what it calls "digital" recordings, meaning roughly "recordings transferred to the recipient over a network" (such as those sold via the iTunes Store), and excluding other obviously-digital media such as those on CD, DAT, or MiniDisc. In 2006, "digital ringtones" were added to this branch of certification. As of 2007^[update], the certification criteria for these recordings are as follows:

• Silver: 100,000 copies
• Gold: 500,000 copies
• Platinum: 1,000,000 copies
• Multi-Platinum: 2,000,000 copies
• Diamond: 10,000,000 copies

Video Longform certification[link]

Along with albums, digital albums, and singles there is another classification of music release called "Video Longform." This release format includes DVD and VHS releases, and certain live albums and compilation albums. The certification criteria is slightly different from other styles.^[12]

• Gold: 50,000
• Platinum: 100,000

Efforts against infringement of members' copyrights[link]

Efforts against file sharing[link]

The RIAA opposes unauthorized sharing of its music. Studies conducted since the association began its campaign against peer-to-peer file-sharing have concluded that losses incurred per download range from negligible^[13][14] to substantial.^[15]

The association has commenced high profile lawsuits against file sharing service providers. It has also commenced a series of lawsuits against individuals suspected of file sharing, notably college students and parents of file sharing children. It is accused of employing techniques such as peer-to-peer "decoying" and "spoofing" to combat file sharing.^[16][17]

As of late 2008 they have announced they will stop their lawsuits,^[18] and instead are attempting to work with ISPs who will use a three-strike warning system for file sharing, and upon the third strike will cut off Internet service all together.^[19] However as of 2009 no major ISPs have announced they are part of the plan, and Verizon has publicly denied any involvement with this plan.^[20]

Selection of defendants[link]

The RIAA names defendants based on ISP identification of the subscriber associated with an IP address,^[21] and as such do not know any additional information about a person before they sue. After an Internet subscriber's identity is discovered, but before an individual lawsuit is filed, the subscriber is typically offered an opportunity to settle. The standard settlement is a payment to the RIAA and an agreement not to engage in file-sharing of music and is usually on par with statutory damages of $750 per work, with the RIAA choosing the number of works it deems "reasonable." For cases that do not settle at this amount, the RIAA has gone to trial, seeking statutory damages from the jury, written into The Digital Theft Deterrence and Copyright Damages Improvement Act of 1999 as between $750 and $30,000 per work or $750 and $150,000 per work if "willful." In the case RIAA v. Tenenbaum, the jury awarded the RIAA $22,500 per song shared by Joel Tenenbaum resulting in a judgment of $675,000 for the shared 30 tracks (this was later reduced to $67,500 by the judge) and in the case RIAA v. Jammie Thomas-Rasset, the jury awarded $80,000 per song, or $1.92 million for 24 tracks^[22][23] (this award was later reduced by the judge to $54,000,^[24] though the final amount of damages has not been determined).

The Electronic Frontier Foundation and Public Citizen oppose the ability of the RIAA and other companies to "strip Internet users of anonymity without allowing them to challenge the order in court."^[25][26]

The RIAA's methods of identifying individual users had, in some rare cases, led to the issuing of subpoena to a recently deceased 83-year-old woman,^[27] an elderly computer novice,^[28] and a family reportedly without any computer at all.^[29]

Settlement programs[link]

In February 2007 the RIAA began sending letters accusing Internet users of sharing files and directing them to web site P2PLAWSUITS.COM, where they can make "discount" settlements payable by credit card.^[30] The letters go on to say that anyone not settling will have lawsuits brought against them. Typical settlements are between $3,000 and $12,000. This new strategy was formed because the RIAA's legal fees were cutting into the income from settlements.^[31] In 2008, RIAA sued 19-year-old Ciara Sauro for allegedly sharing ten songs online.^[32]

The RIAA also launched an "early settlement program" directed to ISPs and to colleges and universities, urging them to pass along letters to subscribers and students offering early settlements, prior to the disclosure of their identities. The settlement letters urged ISPs to preserve evidence for the benefit of the RIAA and invited the students and subscribers to visit an RIAA website for the purpose of entering into a "discount settlement" payable by credit card.^[33] By March 2007, the focus had shifted from ISPs to colleges and universities.^[31][34][35]

In October 1998, the Recording Industry Association of America filed a lawsuit in the Ninth U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco claiming the Diamond Multimedia Rio PMP300 player violated the 1992 Audio Home Recording Act. The Rio PMP300 was significant because it was the second portable consumer MP3 digital audio player released on the market. The three judge panel ruled in favor of Diamond, paving the way for the development of the portable digital player market.^[36]

In 2003, the RIAA sued college student developers of LAN search engines Phynd and Flatlan, describing them as "a sophisticated network designed to enable widespread music thievery."^[37][38][39]

In September 2003, the RIAA filed suit in civil court against several private individuals who had shared large numbers of files with Kazaa. Most of these suits were settled with monetary payments averaging $3,000. Kazaa publisher Sharman Networks responded with a lawsuit against the RIAA, alleging that the terms of use of the network were violated and that unauthorized client software was used in the investigation to track down the individual file sharers (such as Kazaa Lite). An effort to throw out this suit was denied in January 2004, however, that suit was settled in 2006. Sharman Networks agreed to a global settlement of litigation brought against it by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the International Federation of Phonographic Industry (IFPI), and the RIAA. The creators of the popular Kazaa file-sharing network will pay $115 million to the RIAA, unspecified future amounts to the MPAA and the software industry, and install filters on its networks to prevent users from sharing copyrighted works on its network. ^[40] Michael L. Williams 15:31, 17 December 2011 (UTC)

RIAA has also filed suit in 2006 to enjoin digital XM Satellite Radio from enabling its subscribers from playing songs it has recorded from its satellite broadcasts.^[41] It is also suing several Internet radio stations.^[42]

On October 12, 2007, the RIAA sued Usenet.com seeking a permanent injunction to prevent the company from "aiding, encouraging, enabling, inducing, causing, materially contributing to, or otherwise facilitating" copyright infringement. This suit, the first that the RIAA has filed against a Usenet provider, has added another branch to the RIAA's rapidly expanding fight to curb the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials. Unlike many of the RIAA's previous lawsuits, this suit is filed against the provider of a service who has no direct means of removing infringing content. The RIAA's argument relies heavily on the fact the Usenet.com, the only defendant that has been named currently, promoted their service with slogans and phrases that strongly suggested that the service could be used to obtain free music.

On April 28, 2008, RIAA member labels sued Project Playlist, a web music search site, claiming that the majority of the sound recordings in the site's index of links are infringing. Project Playlist's website denies that any of the music is hosted on Project Playlist's own servers.^[43]

On June 30, 2009, The Recording Industry Association of America prevailed in its fight against Usenet.com, in a decision, that the U.S. District Judge Harold Baer of the Southern District of New York ruled in favor of the music industry on all its main arguments: that Usenet.com is guilty of direct, contributory, and vicarious infringement. In addition, and perhaps most important for future cases, Baer said that Usenet.com can't claim protection under the Sony Betamax decision. That ruling states, companies can't be held liable for contributory infringement if the device they create is "capable of significant non-infringing uses."^[44] Furthermore, the parties are now headed to federal court for damage assessments and awards, which could amount to many, many millions of dollars for the music industry. ^[45]

On October 26, 2010, RIAA members won a case against LimeWire, a P2P file sharing network, for illegal distribution of copyrighted works.^[46] On October 29, in retaliation, riaa.org was taken offline via denial-of-service attack executed by members of Operation Payback and Anonymous.^[47]

The "work made for hire" controversy[link]

In 1999, Mitch 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.^[48][49] 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.^[50] The battle over the disputed provision led to the formation of the Recording Artists' Coalition, which successfully lobbied for repeal of the change.^[51][52]

See also[link]

	Music portal
	United States portal

• Center for Copyright Information
• Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
• Global music industry market share data
• Intellectual Property trade groups
• International Intellectual Property Alliance IIPA
• List of RIAA member labels
• Music Canada CRIA
• Parental Advisory

References[link]

External links[link]

• RIAA official website

Synyster Gates
Synyster Gates live in Norway, 2011
Background information
Birth name	Brian Elwin Haner, Jr.
Also known as	Synyster Gates, Syn
Born	(1981-07-07) July 7, 1981 (age 30) Huntington Beach, California, United States
Genres	Heavy metal, hard rock
Occupations	Musician
Instruments	Guitar, vocals, piano
Years active	1998-Present
Labels	Good Life Recordings, Hopeless, Warner Bros., Bucktan
Associated acts	Avenged Sevenfold, Pinkly Smooth, Good Charlotte, Bleeding Through, Burn Halo, AxeWound
Website	www.avengedsevenfold.com
Notable instruments
Schecter Synyster Custom

Brian Elwin Haner, Jr. (born July 7, 1981), better known by his stage name Synyster Gates or simply Syn, is an American musician, best known for being the lead guitarist of the American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold.

Early life[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (December 2011)

He studied at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood as part of the Guitar Institute of Technology program, studying jazz and classical guitar. After a year or so of being there, he got a phone call from The Rev asking him if he wanted to join his band, as lead guitarist. Haner joined rather than continuing his education and became a studio musician. Up until that time he was primarily self-taught by watching music videos and reading books. His father, Brian Haner, Sr., also known as "Guitar Guy," is a songwriter, guitarist and comedian. Gates is of Spanish, Cherokee and German descent.

Avenged Sevenfold[link]

Live in Norway, 2011

Gates joined Avenged Sevenfold together with his best friend, The Rev, when they were 18 in 1999, right after the recording of the band's first album, Sounding the Seventh Trumpet. He was featured on the EP Warmness on the Soul which contains select songs from the first album as well as Synyster's new version of "To End The Rapture". His name on Avenged Sevenfold's debut album was "Synyster Gates", M. Shadows on the album was simply "M. Shadows".

Gates became the band's lead guitarist. Since Sounding the Seventh Trumpet, the band has released 4 studio albums: Waking the Fallen, City of Evil, Avenged Sevenfold, Nightmare and a live DVD/CD Live in the LBC & Diamonds in the Rough.

On the Avenged Sevenfold DVD All Excess, Gates claimed that his name was created on a drunken drive through the park with The Rev.

He has won numerous awards, including the 2006 Metal Hammer "Young Shredder" award and the 2006 Total Guitar Magazine "Guitarist of the Year."^{[citation needed]}

In the Avenged Sevenfold Special Edition of Revolver magazine that was released the same day as the Nightmare album, Gates stated that he originally started out writing the song "So Far Away" in honor of his grandfather. However, the song is now primarily about Gates' former band mate, The Rev, ^[1] who died in December 2009. On April 20, 2011, Gates won the Revolver Golden God award for Best Guitarist along with band mate, Zacky Vengeance. Avenged Sevenfold picked up numerous other awards and delivered the headlining performance of the night.^[2]

Pinkly Smooth[link]

Haner, along with The Rev, played in an avant-garde metal band named Pinkly Smooth. Formed in the summer of 2001 in Huntington Beach, California, the band featured ex-Ballistico members Buck Silverspur on bass and D-Rock on drums. The band has released one album, Unfortunate Snort on Bucktan Records, which features a crossover sound of mostly punk, ska and avant-garde. Former Avenged Sevenfold bassist Justin Meacham played keyboards and piano on the album. There was speculation that Pinkly Smooth was going to produce another record, but due to the death of The Rev, it is highly unlikely that they will produce any more material. However, Synyster Gates has said that he would consider remastering the tracks from Unfortunate Snort and re-releasing the album.^[3]

Featured guest appearances[link]

• Bleeding Through's "Savior, Saint, Salvation," track (with M. Shadows).
• Good Charlotte's "The River" track and music video (with M. Shadows).
• Burn Halo's "Dirty Little Girl" track and music video.
• Burn Halo's "Anejo" track.
• Brian Haner's "Blow-Up Doll" music video.
• The Jeff Dunham Show intro song (with his father).
• AxeWound's "Vultures" title track from EP.

Equipment[link]

Guitars[link]

Synyster Gates uses mainly Schecter Guitars. Schecter Guitar Research has been sponsoring him and he has signature Avenger models. He has also been seen using ESP guitars when A7X were recording Waking The Fallen and City Of Evil.

• Schecter Synyster Gates Signature Special model with Seymour Duncan SH-8 Invaders and Sustainiac neck pickup sustainer
• Schecter Synyster Gates Signature Custom models with Seymour Duncan SH-8 Invaders and Sustainiac neck pickup sustainer
• Schecters custom models with Rebel flag, American flag, German flag, Black with Red Stripes, Red with Black Stripes, White with Gold Stripes, one featuring Jack Nicholson's Joker art and color scheme, and one with Tune-O-Matic Bridge.
• Schecter Synyster Gates Custom with "REV" inlays on fret board instead of "SYN" featured on the So Far Away music video
• Schecter Synyster Gates Custom Prototype
• Schecter Synyster Special Prototype
• Schecter Synyster Deluxe Prototype
• Schecter Synyster Special
• Schecter Synyster Deluxe
• Schecter Avenger
• Schecter C-1 Classic - Transparent Blue
• Schecter Custom C-1 FR
• Schecter Omen-6 FR Prototype
• Schecter Hellraiser C-1 FR
• Schecter PT Fastback
• Schecter S-1 loaded with Seymour Duncan JBs
• Schecter Banshee
• Gibson Les Paul in arctic white, this was used in the video for Unholy Confessions
• Parker Fly
• Ibanez - S Prestige
• Fender - Squier Stratocaster

Amplifiers and effects unit[link]

He has used Bogner, Marshall, Mesa/Boogie and many more amps in the studio, but until late, has been mostly seen with Bogner live.

• Marshall JCM800 (for Nightmare)
• Krank Distortus Maximus^[4]
• Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive
• Boss CS-3 Compresser Sustainer(2)
• Boss RV-5 Digital Reverb
• Boss BF-3 Flanger
• Boss PH-3 Phase Shifter
• Boss GT 8
• Boss GT 10
• Frantone "The Sweet" Distortion
• DigiTech Whammy Pedal
• Dunlop Crybaby from Hell
• Dunlop Crybaby RackWah
• Budda Custom Wah
• MXR Custom Audio Electronics MC-401 Boost Pedal
• MXR Carbon Copy Delay
• MXR Custom Comp
• Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier
• Visual Sound H20 Chorus & Echo^[5]
• Ernie Ball Wah Pedal^[6]

• Sustainiac Stealth Pro Sustainer

• Bogner Uberschall
• Bogner Uberschall Twin Jet
• Mesa Boogie Rectifier
• Marshall JCM 800

• Mesa Boogie 4x12 Cabinets
• Marshall 4x12 Cabinets

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. No cleanup reason has been specified. Please help improve this article if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (January 2010)

This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

Zhang Liyin 张力尹
Zhang Liyin performing at SMTown Live '10 World Tour in Los Angeles
Chinese name	張力尹 (Traditional)
Chinese name	张力尹 (Simplified)
Pinyin	Zhāng Lìyǐn (Mandarin)
Jyutping	Jeung1 Lik6 Wan5 (Cantonese)
Birth name	Zhang Liyin
Ancestry	Han Chinese
Origin	Chengdu, Sichuan, China
Born	(1989-02-28) February 28, 1989 (age 23) Chengdu, Sichuan, China
Occupation	Singer
Genre(s)	Pop, R&B
Instrument(s)	Singing, violin, piano
Label(s)	SM Entertainment, Avex Trax
Years active	2006–present
Associated acts	SMTown
Influences	Celine Dion, Coco Lee, Whitney Houston
Official Website	http://zhangliyin.smtown.com/
Awards See Awards

Zhang Liyin (born February 28, 1989), better known in South Korea as Jang Ri-in, is a Chinese solo singer active in China and South Korea. Subject to much publicity, Zhang has been nicknamed the "Chinese BoA" and the next leader of the Korean wave. She speaks both Mandarin, which is her first language, and moderate Korean, and has released singles in both Korea and China, singing in both languages. Her fan club color is Gold and her fans call themselves "Chocolate".^[1]

Zhang has released only one studio album since her debut in 2006, but its singles carried a few top ten titles, such as "Timeless," which was a #1 hit, as well as "I Will". She is also the first foreign artist to win Best New Solo Artist at the M.net Asian Music Awards. Her first album, I Will has sold over 260,000 copies since its release in March 2008.^[2]

Life and music career[link]

Early life[link]

Zhang was born in Sichuan, China as a native from Chengdu. Her parents took her to their classical concerts and exposed her to a variety of music. At three years old, she began to learn the violin. Zhang was so accustomed to classical, American, and European pop music that she claims she never sang children's songs when she was a child. She also developed the ability to sing a song after hearing it only once.^[3] When she was nine years old, she showed her musical ability when she sang Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On".^[3]

As she grew older, Zhang became more absorbed into pop music than classical music. She secretly listened to pop music because her parents were against it. When she was twelve, she was accepted into a middle school affiliated to Sichuan Conservatory of Music after scoring the highest with her violin talents, but she opted to become a singer instead. Eventually, her parents began to support her dream to become a singer and she gained confidence when she was selected as the top 10 adult singers in a national singing competition under the sponsorship of Shanghai.

Zhang was discovered after Beijing partners informed the head of South Korean talent agency SM Entertainment of a young talent. In 2003, she moved to South Korea and started training at the age of fourteen. She received two years of special singing and dance training under SM Entertainment. Under the direction from producer Lee Soo Man, Zhang discovered her R&B voice.^[3]

2006–2007: Early commercial success[link]

Zhang's debut was anticipated not only in South Korea, but all of Asia, due to SM Entertainment's advertising of her being the "Chinese BoA" as well as Lee Soo Man himself stating he was training her to be the next leader of the Korean wave. Before her official debut, it was already known that her first song was a duet with popular TVXQ member Xiah, which generated even more interest in her. Before the official release of her single, "Timeless" was available for free download between August 31 and September 6 on her official website.^[4] "Timeless" is a South Korean cover of the original single by Kelly Clarkson.

On September 8, 2006, "Timeless" was released. She made her stage debut on MBC's Music Core on September 9, 2006 singing "Timeless" with Xiah. The first day Zhang debuted she was ranked #2 on the famous Korean music website, Melon^{[citation needed]}; the following day she topped this chart and held her place respectively for two full weeks. The same day she also ranked #2 on the online charts of SBS's Popular Songs, just after popular boy band, Shinhwa's "Throw My Fist". "Timeless" was also placed first on Daum's Music Video chart as well as hitting the highest search number on the famous search engine, Naver.^{[citation needed]} The "Timeless" music video, which is a two-part installment starring Lee Yeonhee and Super Junior members Han Geng and Siwon, was ranked #1 on Melon's Video Chart for four full weeks. Within ten days of debuting, Zhang entered the "Take 7" chart on SBS's Popular Songs (complied from internet and industry statistics).

Zhang promoted the second track of her debut single, "Y (Why...)," in early 2007. SM Entertainment also released a "Timeless" documentary version of her "Y (Why...)" music video. This music video reveals her hardships during training; it also showed many behind the scenes clips of her promotion of "Timeless", including never-before-seen footage of her with Xiah. However, promotions for "Y (Why...)" ended quickly, and SM Entertainment announced that she would be on hiatus from the music industry throughout the rest of the year to prepare for her major debut in China in the end of the year. Zhang made a surprising guest appearance at TVXQ's second Asia tour concert in Seoul on February 23, 2007. She performed "TRI-ANGLE" with TVXQ, singing a part in the song that was previously performed by BoA. She made a second appearance with TVXQ on November 24, 2007 in Malaysia for the same concert, and was TVXQ's regular guest star for their "O" Asia tour until its finale in June 2008.

2008: Chinese market[link]

Zhang's first Mandarin album, I Will was originally announced to be released in late 2007, but the release date was pushed to early March 2008. The album was finally released in different regions of China starting March 3, 2008 and on March 28, 2008, I Will made its Asia-wide release. Before the release of the album, two music videos were released on February 27, 2008 to promote the album. Similar to "Timeless", the two music videos "I Will" and "The Left Shore of Happiness", are one story but separated to two parts. Han Geng, Choi Siwon, and Lee Yeonhee are also the cast for those two music videos.

After the album's release, Zhang received praise from various industry professionals. Golden Melody Award-winning Taiwanese-American singer-songwriter Leehom Wang complimented Zhang's singing and was surprised to hear such a strong voice coming from only a nineteen-year-old.^[5] During a radio broadcast, award-winning Hong Kong-based singer-songwriter, Hins Cheung compared her "soulful" vocals to well-known R&B vocalists such as Whitney Houston, Leona Lewis and Christina Aguilera. He was impressed at the "international-level music" of the release and said he felt there was a lot of "power in this nineteen-year-old."^[6]

On May 25, 2008, Zhang received her first award, following the release of her Chinese album, at the 5th Annual Music King Global Chinese Ultimate Song Chart Awards for Female Mainland Newcomer with Most Potential.^[7] In her speech, she expressed wishes for more financial support towards the Sichuan earthquake that had devastated home province two weeks earlier.^[8] Throughout the months of May and June, Zhang attended many online interviews and made numerous variety show appearances, as well as a short university tour to raise money for the Sichuan earthquake.^[9] A solo fan meeting for Zhang Liyin was held on July 5, 2008 in Beijing. Besides performing songs from I Will, she also covered songs from notable R&B female singers Whitney Houston and Christina Aguilera.

On September 13, 2008, fans first heard confirmed news of Zhang's repackage album, which would feature the track "Believe in Love", as well as plans for her second Chinese album.^[10] Despite this, the repackage album still has not been released and there has been no other announcements of it being sold in the future.

While Korea's M.NET/MK Music Festival was being held on the same night, Zhang Liyin attended the 6th Annual Southeast Music Ranking on November 15, 2008, winning the award for Best Mainland Newcomer.^[11] Her win was followed by numerous invitations to other award shows throughout the month of December, including the 2008 Starlight Grand Ceremony,^[12] BQ 2008 Celebrity Ranking,^[13] and the 1st Annual Mengniu New Music Festival.^[14]

2009–present: 2nd Chinese album[link]

The beginning of 2009 saw Zhang's Chinese activities come to an end as she started preparations for her second album. Activities for Chinese New Year brought her alongside Super Junior-M to many activities, including her first appearance on China’s biggest television broadcaster, CCTV, for the Dance & Music Spring Festival Gala.^[15] She was also in Shanghai on January 9 to film for a song collaboration between many popular Chinese pop artists, such as Show Luo, Fish Leong and BoBo.^[16]

On February 6, 2009, Zhang flew to Thailand for the second time in her career to attend the Bangkok concert stop in the SMTown Live '08 tour. For that weekend, her activity schedule was tight as she was required to fly throughout Asia for activities. Less than 10 hours after the end of the Bangkok concert, Zhang flew with members of SJM to Guangzhou, China to participate in the 8th Annual Future Star Competition,^[17] which also featured JJ Lin, Eric Tsang and Dicky Cheung. She returned to South Korea for album preparations on February 9, 2009.

Aside from a performance at the Descendants of the Dragon concert hosted by Jackie Chan,^[18] Zhang was relatively inactive as she remained in Korea to record her second single.

Finally, a year and a half after the release of her first album, a teaser for her upcoming song, "Moving On" was released on October 15. Four days later, the full music video was released through SM Entertainment and Sohu. The music video features Liyin reflecting back on her memories of the relationship between Donghae (of Super Junior) and herself before they break up. Despite fans' general disappointment towards the music video being only a slideshow of photos, it was highly anticipated.^[19] On October 23, a week before the single's release across China, a joint press conference was held for both Liyin and SJM for them to officially announce their new releases to the Chinese media.^[20]

After three short months of promotions for "Moving On", Zhang announced on her Cyworld that she would be returning to Korea on January 24 to prepare for her second Chinese album.^[21]

Notable events[link]

Visa[link]

Like label mate Han Geng, Zhang holds an E-6 (Entertainment industry) passport, for foreigners in South Korea. Foreign artists carrying out promotional activities have limitations in terms of location and other factors. Han's passport only allows him to work under SBS and KBS, while Zhang's allows her to work only with SBS and MBC, which is why she only performs on the two stages. On August 1, 2008, the Korean government's law of restrictions on foreigners were lifted, and foreign entertainers in Korea are now allowed to perform in every station. However, Zhang was unable to perform on MBC due to the channel's conflict with SM Entertainment. As of late 2008, MBC has removed the ban of SM Entertainment's artists on their channel.^{[citation needed]}

Discography[link]

Awards[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• (Korean) Zhang Liyin's Official Site
• (Korean) SM Entertainment's Official Site
• (Chinese) Zhang Liyin's Avex Site