During the American Association of Independent Music’s (A2IM) Indie Week, our president Molly Neuman sat down with Ari Herstand to discuss how CD Baby continues to evolve as the company approaches three decades in independent music distribution.
Molly and Ari discussed a variety of topics — from what it takes to build a fanbase to new initiatives CD Baby is exploring to better support artists. Here are four key takeaways from the conversation, with additional insights from Molly (edited for brevity).
You can listen to the full podcast at Ari’s Take.
1. Nearly 30 years in, and now a proud part of Virgin Music Group, CD Baby is still independent
The foundational CD Baby policies that millions of artists around the world trust have not changed. If you distribute your music with CD Baby, you retain full ownership of your copyrights and only grant us a license to distribute your music for a one-time fee and a 9% share of royalties — which aligns our success with yours. What artists decide to do with their catalog from there is up to them. That’s the kind of autonomy artists turn to CD Baby for in the first place.
2. CD Baby is focused on helping artists build a stable foundation in a rapidly changing industry
If you’re an independent artist, you want to spend your time writing great music and sharing it with fans — not entering music metadata. But getting it right matters more than you might think.
Clean, accurate metadata helps your music go live on time and ensures you get paid. Mistakes can delay your release or create problems long after it’s out.
That’s why CD Baby is focused on helping artists get the basics right from the start. Beyond a successful release day, we want our artists to be well-positioned for opportunities further down the road — from label conversations to publishing deals.
3. CD Baby is setting artists expectations: earning fans takes hard work
It’s easier than ever to get your music on top platforms — over 100,000 tracks are uploaded to DSPs every day. The hard part is getting heard.
According to data from Luminate, 88 percent of music released in the past year never reached more than 1,000 streams. There are two key takeaways from that number: first, reaching your first 1,000 streams is a genuine feat; second, many artists are releasing music without a plan for promoting it.
Though the industry has changed, the principles of building a fanbase remain the same. Today’s artists are still leaning into the same fan engagement, promotion, and creative world-building that launched careers decades ago — now with better tools.
It doesn’t take hundreds of fans to build momentum. Getting a small, sincere group of friends, family, and fellow people to care about your music can form the critical foundation you need. Artists who focus on getting that kind of earnest and intentional start will find what works and have realistic expectations.
4. CD Baby is investing in the next generation of independent artists
CD Baby has been invested in artist success since the beginning. Our royalty share model means we only earn when artists are earning. Most recently, our pay-per-release model has served as an additional commitment to intentional, quality releases.
This year, we’re going further. We’ve launched a new program called CD Baby Stages Selects which provides dedicated resources and support for a selected group of artists
Launched with Morgan Nagler’s debut album, I’ve Got Nothing to Lose, and I’m Losing It, (recently named to Consequence of Sound’s top albums of 2026), the program will support 10 artists throughout 2026 with packages of marketing and financial support. Through this program, we’re aiming to foster artist diversity and excellence across genre, geography, and generation.
Conclusion
As CD Baby approaches three decades in music distribution, our mission to empower artists to grow on their own terms remains the same. Molly’s conversation with Ari provides some further insight into how CD Baby plans to deliver on its mission in the future.
For artists making their debut in today’s industry, it’s essential to maintain ownership of your music, get your metadata right, and focus on building real connections with fans. CD Baby is here to help you with all of it.
Create a free CD Baby account today and distribute your music to over 150 platforms with no annual fees.