JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum Talk to me about CD Baby

and those sites that distribute, for a price, independent artists. "The good the bad the experiences you've had."

Douglas

Ive toyed with releasing an album on cd baby many, many, many

I don't think there are any negatives really. You really don't have any other way to release an album aside from selling it directly from your site.

The only side effect of using cdbaby, is the same side effect of trying to sell music anywhere, you won't be able to sell enough recording to make any money.

If the goal is to have an album up on iTunes and other sites, to add abit of professionalism to your resume, and paying 39 bucks to get started don't bother you, no reason not to

But as with most businesses, the hard part is not having the business, it's having customers who want to buy your product.

Douglas,

CD Baby is a tool with a cost. So what is it you need to do? What are your expectations? More info would help decide the best tools or options for your needs.

Brian

Thank you, Brian. I am self-producing CDs, have created 3 so far and using Distrokid to distribute them to sites like Spotify for individual sales or as a complete CD. It is my understanding that these sales are not followed for royalties and so wondered if places like CD Baby and the like would be a good investment [even though as I write this I realize I am putting the cart before the horse,] I guess I am looking for future advice.

Hope this helps.

Douglas

How are the grandkids or is it only the one right now?

Douglas,

One of the things you need to remember is that unless you are getting a LOT of widespread AIRPLAY, most notable on TERRESTRIAL RADIO, you are probably not going to get a lot of royalties. If you were to lisence your songs in film or television or anything that pays real money, you might do quite well, although those even pay less and less all the time. You are really using these sites as a way to PROMOTE yourself, your shows, etc. A vast majority of the modern music era is PUBLICITY and royalties of any kind are getting fewer and farther between as more and more music is given away for free.
STREAMING is the main way most people are paid (or not being paid) in this day and age. And again, that is like getting a LOT of airplay. You have to run up HUGE NUMBERS of STREAMS in order to really make any money.

In any of these sites, you will post your music, pay any costs they ask for and if you sell a lot of copies, you are paid.

Too many songwriters and artists always seem to overlook that little detail. You have to SELL PRODUCT. Without that, there is NOTHING TO COLLECT. People often feel they just put it out there and suddenly the money comes rolling in. NOPE. GOTTA HAVE CUSTOMERS.

Without that, you are just putting your stuff on platforms like millions of other people are doing.
Good luck to you.

MAB

Here's a hard dose of some reality...

I'm not sure what you mean that "these sales are not followed for royalties". If you're saying that you won't get paid for each stream that you get, you'd be way wrong. You currently get your Master Royalty from DistroKid, but you'd get your writer's, publisher's, mechanicals and performer's royalties from your PRO (SESAC, ASCAP, BMI), Harry Fox, Music Reports, and SoundExchange. Will it be very much if you're only getting about 100 streams a month? No.

DistroKid is a great service for digital releases - but they don't do physical media. That being said, unless you're garnering 100s of thousands to millions of streams a year, you'll end up spending more for the distribution than you'll make in a year as they charge a per year fee. Which means you'll be throwing away money.

My advice is this: cancel your DistroKid account. Then release your CDs via CD Baby and make them available for digital distribution thru CD Baby when you release your CDs. Why? Because, they charge a 1 time fee up front. Then they take a 9% take on any sale or stream after that. Most artists with no PR and no marketing will ever surpass that deal, period.

p.s. - you have to be registered which each of the PRO organizations I mentioned above in order to see any money from any of them.

p.p.s. - I don't recommend using CD Baby Pro for PRO registrations. You can do the same work in a few hours and save yourself a bunch of money.

Thank you, Jody, Marc, and Brian. Great help! One of the reasons I stayed over the years on JPF. Since I have already paid for a year I will stay with Distrokid and begin really working on, 'live performances' in my area, hounding my friends and family to at least hound a few of theirs and explore what is out there in cyber land that can help as well. Thank you again.

Douglas

When you say "Huge Numbers", that description, isn't enough. I received approximately 70,000 spins in latin america, and I made $7 royalties. You need not millions, but BILLIONS of spins world wide on 10s of thousands of radio stations being played in heavy rotation.

When you put a song on CDbaby, a number of other websites are going to carry that tune, as well, and CDbaby will put it on YouTube, the full song, showing only your CD cover as a visual. It's like in the fine print, or something.

When it goes on YouTube, hacking sites from russia and china download it and offer it for free. The good news on that front is that Google is no longer indexing them in any big way like they used to.

On a more positive note, CDbaby takes a much smaller cut than does Itunes. (I think, I haven't checked on it in a few years ).

Jody really answered your question Douglas. Distrokid is a bad investment as is CD Baby Pro. But using CD Baby to get your stuff on all the digital sites makes total sense. You should do that. Jody is as knowledgeable as anyone on this stuff, trust his advice.

Brian

PS: My granddaughter is awesome, thanks for asking! =)

That I know Brian. Thank you for the input.

Douglas

P.S. Yes! Grand-kids are great!

Interesting topic, Doug:

I've used CDBaby for digital distribution. Great service at a reasonable cost. There was only one problem... my songs were not "ready for prime time" and after all was said and done, I did not even break even. Unless you are getting rave reviews from a myriad number of sources and directions... save your money. (I know, you are already invested into Distrokid.... so there's no backing down at this point.)

I ended up "taking down" my albums because a few years later, my more experienced "ears" demanded that I stop "airing my dirty laundry" in public.

Choose your songs and their track location carefully... putting your best up front. Be prepared for a "long siege" and if you are not ready for some shameless self promotion... fold your tent and steal silently into the desert! LOL!

Best of luck to you. ----Dave

That s also great advice Dave and in my excitement, and I do not have any regrets, of making those three so far [find them a good example of what I do BUT maybe not the best way they can be] I see and 'hear' where they can be improved. I think of an exercise in creating they are learning experience AND I am having fun!

Douglas

I'm willing to bet if you asked DistroKid for a refund, they would give it to you. If not, then stick the year out. But going forward, you're not going to be able to beat CD Baby for your distribution needs.

I will approach them on the subject and if not I am learning as I go and will take that and apply it to my demos and learning more about the web and everything it can offer. Thank you very much for your comments and feedback Jody much appreciated.

I am back to work Monday after recuperating from my second heart attack and whatever is going on with my right eye so now will have to work out a schedule for writing, recording, and learning. Looking forward to all.

Douglas