“CD Baby News” Articles

2 New Look Sessions from SXSW: Hey Marseilles and Voxhaul Broadcast

May 11, 2012{ No Comments }

Yesterday, Hypebot posted this article about CD Baby’s partnership with Look Sessions to shoot video of over 2 dozen bands playing intimate arrangements of their songs during the 2012 SXSW festival in Austin, TX. Thanks to Clyde Smith for covering the story. Click here to read about Andrea Alseri’s method and mission for these “one mic, one camera, one take” collaborations.

Have you ever shot a “takeaway show” (a live, usually stripped-down performance caught on video in a strange location like a bus station, a soup kitchen, the back seat of a taxi, etc.)? How did it go? Let us know– and send us links– in the comments section below.

Oh, and here’s another of the latest Look Sessions for your ears and eyes to feast upon: Read more »

CD Baby Partners with Alliance Entertainment to Expand Distribution for Artists

May 8, 2012{ 5 Comments }

gI 95825 cdbabywarehouse CD Baby Partners with Alliance Entertainment to Expand Distribution for Artists

Your music will soon be available for purchase through the largest wholesale distributor of entertainment products in the United States.

We are thrilled to announce a new partnership with Alliance Entertainment, the largest wholesale distributor of home entertainment audio, video, and software in the United States. Our catalog of almost 400k titles from over a quarter million artists around the world will now be available for purchase at all online and brick & mortar retail outlets affiliated with Alliance– including independent retailers, big box retailers, .com sites, and vendor managed accounts in the US.

In the first phase of this partnership, we’ve delivered over 5000 of our top-selling titles to Alliance, but this is just the beginning; the scope of the partnership is set for major expansion. In the coming months, Alliance will offer CD Baby’s entire eligible, in-stock music catalog (more than 260k SKUs at any given time).

How our partnership with Alliance helps independent musicians

“The past 10 years has seen an explosion in music discovery options,” says CD Baby president Brian Felsen. Read more »

CD Baby Jingle-Writing Contest!

May 1, 2012{ 49 Comments }

iStock 000005582617XSmall CD Baby Jingle Writing Contest!We’re having a Jingle Contest!

Here’s what you need to do and what you can win:

1. Write a 30-second jingle about CD Baby (jingle must include “CD Baby” to be considered).

2. Post a link to your audio (and/or video) in the comments section of this blog post between 5/1 and 5/31.

3. We’ll pick the best jingle(s) and give away a prize-pack that includes: Read more »

CD Baby Artists Filmed at SXSW by Look Sessions

April 19, 2012{ 1 Comment }

Down in Austin for the South by Southwest music conference, CD Baby teamed up with the incredible crew from the Look Sessions to film 28 bands playing live in a hotel room in just 3 short days. The videos are going to start being released in the next few weeks, and we’re all on the edge of our seats with anticipation. In the mean time, you can check out the trailer to see all the details above.

And while you’re at it, peep the most recent “Look Session” with CD Baby artist Gregory Alan Isakov Read more »

CD Baby at SXSW 2012

March 12, 2012{ No Comments }

images CD Baby at SXSW 2012

South by Southwest, the music industry’s annual Bacchanal in Austin, TX, is almost in full-swing. The Interactive and Film portions of the SXSW festival are underway, and music starts tomorrow!

CD Baby will be in attendance, and two members from the lucky delegation will be speaking on panels. If you’re down at SXSW, hit us up on Twitter or come check out a panel. We’d love to say hi!

Beethoven + Social Media = Crowdfunding Patronage

Kevin Breuner, CD Baby’s Director of Marketing, will be discussing the growing trend of crowdfunding with RocketHub CEO Brian Meece, social media PR guru Ariel Hyatt, and other fine folks.

You can follow Kevin on Twitter @kbreuner

Cover Songs to Karaoke: Alternate Revenue Streams

Brian Felsen, CD Baby President, will be on a panel with reps from YouTube, Sony/ATV, and the Orchard talking about how artists can earn money by licensing cover songs. 

You can follow Brian @brianfelsen

Hope to see you deep in the heart of Texas; apparently it’s like a whole other country.

-Chris R. at CD Baby

P.S. Rumor has it that Al Gore will be beamed into the proceedings via that internet thing he invented.

Sell your music on iTunes in as little as 48 hours!

Google Music Becomes Google Play: A Cloud-Based Entertainment Destination

March 6, 2012{ 2 Comments }

TEMP Image 6 1 Google Music Becomes Google Play: A Cloud Based Entertainment Destination Android Market, Google Music and the Google eBookstore are now being integrated as part of Google Play, a cloud-based “digital entertainment destination where you can find, enjoy and share your favorite music, movies, books and apps on the web and on your Android phone or tablet.”

According to Google’s blog:

On your Android phone or tablet, we’ll be upgrading the Android Market app to the Google Play Store app over the coming days. Your videos, books and music apps (in countries where they are available) will also be upgraded to Google Play Movies, Google Play Books and Google Play Music apps. The music, movies, books and apps you’ve purchased will continue to be available to you through Google Play—simply log in with your Google account like always.

Google Play allows you to:

  • Store up to 20,000 songs for free and buy millions of new tracks
  • Download more than 450,000 Android apps and games
  • Browse the world’s largest selection of eBooks
  • Rent thousands of your favorite movies, including new releases and HD titles

If your music is currently being distributed to Google Music/Android Marketplace through CD Baby, it will automatically be included and integrated into Google Play, too! Read more »

CD Baby Now Comes With FREE iTunes Weekly Trending Reports

February 28, 2012{ 7 Comments }

article1 CD Baby Now Comes With FREE iTunes Weekly Trending ReportsCD Baby is pleased to offer all CD Baby members FREE  iTunes weekly trending reports.  The new trending reports are easily accessible from the accounting section in your CD Baby member account.

What is an iTunes trending report, and why should I care?

A trending report is a downloadable file that will give you a glimpse into your unofficial sales activity for all iTunes territories where your music is being sold. All sales in these reports are subject to change; they are merely a prediction of what your final monthly sales will be.

A trending report is exactly what it claims to be, a measure of trends. While you can view some detailed transaction information (tracks/albums downloaded, customer info, etc.), the trending reports will differ from official sales reports for several reasons, including:

1) iTunes customers may take advantage of the “complete my album” program at a later time (which is reported as full album sale following a refund for any purchased tracks).

2) iTunes customers may return a purchase.

3) Months are not divided evenly into weeks and iTunes accounting months do not match calendar months.

4) Weekly trending reports cover Monday through Sunday, while the Apple Fiscal Calendar covers Sunday through Saturday.

5) Trending reports are based on customer interactions (clicks to purchase) as opposed to settled financial transactions.

These reports are useful when you need real-time data on your iTunes sales to gauge the effectiveness of a particular radio or publicity campaign, or the impact of a certain high-profile review, Twitter endorsement (like when Taylor Swift tweeted about The Civil Wars), or sync placement.

To check out your trending reports, log into your CD Baby member account HERE.

The Music Biz Weekly Podcast Interview with CD Baby President Brian Felsen

February 20, 2012{ 9 Comments }

brian felsen 300x252 The Music Biz Weekly Podcast Interview with CD Baby President Brian FelsenMichael Brandvold and Brian Thompson recently interviewed CD Baby’s president Brian Felsen for episode #46 of The Music Biz Weekly Podcast.

In this conversation they discuss Brian’s thoughts on music marketing and distribution, what it takes to get noticed as an independent musician in a crowded field, details about CD Baby’s recent sync licensing partnership with Rumblefish, and where CD Baby is headed in the next few years!

Oh, and thanks to Michael B. and Brian T. for their praise of this here blog!

———————–

Take a listen to the full interview here:

Follow Brian Thompson on Twitter at http://wwww.twitter.com/thornybleeder and on his website at http://www.thornybleeder.com.

Follow Michael Brandvold on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/michaelsb and on his website at http://www.michaelbrandvold.com.

Sell music on iTunes, Amazon, Facebook, and more!

CD Baby’s 2011 Annual Stats [Infographic]

February 8, 2012{ 21 Comments }

Growth remains strong in independent music!

2011 was a banner year for indie music releases, and we’re pleased that CD Baby has continued to be the leader in independent music distribution.  Click on the image to see the full size infographic of our key stats for 2011.

CDBaby 2011 Stats Infographic 339x650 CD Babys 2011 Annual Stats [Infographic]

 Sell your music on iTunes, Facebook, Amazon, Spotify, Rhapsody, CD Baby, and more!

CD Baby Loves You More: Smart Music Distribution with Heart

February 7, 2012{ No Comments }

TEMP Image 6 1 CD Baby Loves You More: Smart Music Distribution with Heart

Get 50% off when you switch to CD Baby from Tunecore or Reverb Nation

Soon we’ll celebrate St. Valentine’s day, giving out tokens of love and dressing up in pink and red clothing (or “amorous array” as Leonard Cohen might say).

To show our appreciation for independent artists everywhere, we’re continuing our “CD Baby Loves You More” campaign, giving musicians 50% off  the price of an album or single song submission when they switch to CD Baby from their current distributor (Tunecore, Reverb Nation, etc.)

Why CD Baby is the smart choice for independent musicians:

1) No annual fees! (and no cancelation fees)

2) Sell your music in over 60 digital stores (iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc.)

3) Worldwide CD and vinyl distribution (to over 2000 brick and mortar record stores)

4) Sell your music on Facebook with our new MusicStore app.

5) Sell direct-to-fan (vinyl, CD, mp3, on your website or blog)

6) Make money when your music is used on YouTube!

Click HERE to get 50% off when you switch your distribution to CD Baby.

Screen shot 2012 02 06 at 2.17.51 PM 650x172 CD Baby Loves You More: Smart Music Distribution with Heart

 

 

 

 

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