Years ago, one of the most significant challenges faced by music artists was the way they released their music. Now with platforms like CD Baby its easier than ever to self release your music using the internet.
Traditionally musicians only had access to physical distribution channels. For example through brick and mortar stores. In the form of Vinyl Records, CDs, and tape cassettes.
These physical distribution channels had their limitations for smaller independent musicians. There was a limit to the number of fans that could be reached without the right connections.
Then there was the cost of physical distribution. The expenses of distribution in its physical form were somewhat expensive for an upcoming artist. If you were just establishing your music career, you might produce too many units, this would eat into your profit. Or worse, not enough! Meaning fans who wanted to buy couldn't!
This is where CD Baby comes in.
In this new age of the internet and DIY musicians. The music industry has witnessed major advancements
One is the introduction of digital music distributors, such as CD baby which we'll talk about here in this article.
These music distributors act as the link between the newly released songs and your fans and followers.
CD Baby is a digital music distributor. This means they will take your songs and distribute them to platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, Tidal, and many more.
We're gonna be giving you all the need to know about CD Baby. By the end of this article, you will know how it can work for your music career.
Let's get to it!
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CD Baby is a digital music distribution platform through which artists can publish, promote, and sell their songs directly to their followers and target audiences in different parts of the world.
They are one of the largest distributors of music to Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, Amazon, and many of the other significant streaming platforms all over the world.
The digital music distributor provides its music distribution services to both signed and unsigned artists alike.
Established in March 1998 by Derek Sivers, CD Baby has gone on to be one of the leading digital music distributor companies operating in the world.
The company's headquarters are situated in Portland, Oregon, in the United States of America.
CD Baby is known for providing quality services in music publishing and digital distribution.
They have more than 850 music genres they cater for.
As a company, they have more than 750,000 indie artists that sell their music through their digital online music distribution platform.
It's also worth mentioning, indie artists have made more than $650 million dollars through this digital music distributor platform to date.
The process of becoming an established musician with a successful longstanding career always begins with good music.
After you get your song recorded, comes the uphill task of finding people who will listen to your music and hear your sound.
Here's where a digital music distributor like CD Baby can help you.
By using CD Baby's services you essentially will be getting your music out to all streaming platforms. This means listeners can find you on their preferred platform.
As an artist with CD Baby, you can promote and push forward your album to various digital and physical marketing platforms.
The company currently has over 150 digital distribution partners from different parts of all around the world.
CD Baby is also one of the licensed and recognized music distributors through which you can get your music published and added to the Spotify for Artist playlist.
It doesn't matter if you are signed, unsigned, have a record label or not, you can use CD Baby's services to provide you with digital music distribution services.
If you want to learn more about using Spotify for Artists and How it can help you as a music artist just click here to read.
If you want to take your music career to the next level, you must prioritize the act of data collection.
CD Baby can contribute to your developing music career by helping you to progress in terms of growing a fanbase.
CD Baby delivers detailed geographic and demographic information about your music and who is consuming it.
They provide you with information such as the section of people that are listening, following, and purchasing your music.
This helps you in evaluating your marketing strength, and what is trending amongst your target audience.
Licensing your music is an important step.
CD Baby can do this for you before you proceed to distribute your music.
Making good music is just the first step towards becoming a successful musician or music artist.
The channels through which CD Baby can help you to promote your music include Bandzoogle, which allows the artist to build a user-friendly website for their music.
They also have Show.co, a platform where you can launch your Spotify campaign, and Merchly, a platform that makes custom merch that can feature you or your band's logo or artwork.
CD Baby also has a DIY musician blog where fans get updates about songs and artists plus a DIY musician podcast through which followers and fans can listen to music.
Music is a profession where you need to earn a living.
As a music artist, releasing your songs can generate revenue beyond downloads, album sales, and streaming.
CD Baby is a digital music distributor company that can help you to generate more revenue through various channels.
These channels include video monetization on Facebook and YouTube, synchronization licensing, and publishing royalty collection.
CD Baby offers its services at affordable prices to artists willing to subscribe to their services.
Quality service delivery always requires a financial commitment and CD Baby offer two types of subscription plans:
CD Baby's standard subscription plan is fair and affordable to both signed and unsigned artists.
You are required to pay $9.95 for a single and $29 for an album.
When you subscribe to this plan, you enjoy worldwide digital distribution, worldwide CD distribution, Sync licensing, and generate revenue from streaming channels.
CD Baby will take a commission on this subscription plan.
The commission includes a $4 cut on physical sales, 9% from streaming and download revenue, and 30% of Facebook, YouTube, and IG collection, and 15% cut on the publishing royalty access.
All of the above is subject to change at any time and you should check out the official website for real-time pricing info.
CD Baby Pro subscription comes at the cost of $29.95 for a single and $69 for an album.
When you subscribe to this plan, you enjoy worldwide CD distribution, worldwide digital distribution, generate income on YouTube, Sync licensing for film, games, and TV, and song registration with recognized agencies.
You also get worldwide publishing royalty collections and affiliation with organizations.
CD Baby will take a commission on this subscription plan.
The commission includes $4 cut on physical sales, 9% from streaming and download revenue, and 30% of Facebook, YouTube, and IG collection, and 15% cut on the publishing royalty access.
All of the above is subject to change at any time and you should check out the official website for real-time pricing info.
The pricing system for CD Baby can be viewed directly on their website or in the table below:
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Subscription Plans | Costs | Benefits | Commissions |
CD Baby Standard | Album-$29 Single-$9.95 | 1. Sync licensing for film, games, and TV. 2. Generate income on YouTube. 3. Worldwide CD distribution. 4. Worldwide digital distribution. | 1. 9% from streaming and download revenue. 2. $4 cut on physical sales. 3. 30% of Facebook, YouTube, and IG collection. |
CD Baby Pro | Album-$69 Single-$29.95 | 1. Sync licensing for film, games, and TV. 2. Generate income on YouTube. 3. Worldwide CD distribution 4. Worldwide digital distribution. 5. Affiliation with organizations. 6. Worldwide publishing royalty collections. | 1. 9% from streaming and download revenue. 2. $4 cut on physical sales. 3. 30% of Facebook, YouTube, and IG collection. 4. 15% cut on the publishing royalty access. |
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CD Baby offers Global Music Distribution where your music will be heard by listeners on Spotify, Apple Music, Instagram Stories, YouTube, Amazon Music, Pandora, Deezer, Facebook, and many other music streaming platforms around the world so be sure to subscribe to their services and set your music career on the right path.
Here on Indiy, you can find and securely hire music professionals who can also help you progress in your music career.
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Search Indiy today and build the professional music support team you need.
Get your music heard and build your audience with us, head to our home page to take a look at some of the amazing services being offered.
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Andrea graduated from Roehampton University and The BRIT School, whose globally recognized alumni include Adele, Katy B, Ella Eyre, FKA Twigs, Jessie J, Leona Lewis, Katie Melua, Kate Nash and the Rizzle Kicks. She takes her love of the arts and entertainment industry to provide useful information to upcoming musicians, helping them navigate the industry and avoid making costly mistakes. She actively mentors our current contributors. Andrea has qualifications in Content Marketing and also manages our collaborative playlists for independent artists
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