NOTE: The CD Baby Pro Publishing service was discontinued as of August 8th, 2023. Any paid release which was signed up for CD Baby Pro Publishing prior to August 8th, 2023 is considered a Legacy Pro release and will continue to receive Pro Publishing services. CD Baby now offers a new expanded suite of revenue amplifiers called “CDB Boost” instead.

Facebook music monetization for indie artists: What you need to know!

CD Baby has partnered with Facebook to monetize your music across the still-dominant social media platform, plus Instagram and Oculus. If you’re an independent artist, label, or songwriter, CD Baby has got you covered: you’ll earn money from all three of those platforms.

What do I need to do to earn money for my music on Facebook?

• For all new releases distributed by CD Baby, you will be asked to opt in or out of our Facebook Monetization program during the signup process.
• For previously-released albums and singles that are already participating in CD Baby’s YouTube Monetization program, that music will be automatically opted-in for Facebook Monetization per our Sync Licensing Terms.

If you would NOT like to participate in Facebook Monetization, you will need to opt out by 05/31/18. You can opt out HERE. (IMPORTANT: you will need to opt-out individually for every release.)

An important new revenue source from a platform that features lots of music

CD Baby clients have already seen enormous value in collecting royalties for their music on YouTube and we expect Facebook to generate significant revenue for artists as well.

With the massive amount of music being used on Facebook, and with the introduction of a system-wide solution to help avoid copyright issues, this is going to be huge for the music industry — and it’s not just a win for the majors; independent artists and songwriters will benefit too.

If you’re a CD Baby artist, it’s easy to start collecting money for your music on Facebook

Facebook will make its first payout to rights holders this summer, and as we mentioned above, many existing CD Baby clients won’t even have to lift a finger to start collecting revenue.

CD Baby can help you earn money from your music on Facebook in two ways

Depending on your contribution to the music, there are two different Facebook revenue streams that artists and songwriters can tap into. To make sure that your music is usable on Facebook and you’re collecting all applicable royalties, take advantage of:

• Facebook Monetization —This service is a free opt-in with our Standard and Pro Publishing distribution packages, and you literally just check a box (no need to create a new account or upload your tracks elsewhere)
• Pro Publishing — You can upgrade any original song or album to CD Baby Pro Publishing at any time.

There are two rights at play when your music is used on Facebook

The sound recording

A royalty is owed to the owner of the actual recorded track in order to license that recording for usage on Facebook’s platform. Be sure to take advantage of Facebook Monetization, which is included with both CD Baby Standard and Pro distribution.

The composition

When a sound recording is licensed for usage on Facebook, the underlying song composition should also generate a royalty. This money will be owed to publishers/songwriters.

If your publishing rights are already being administered by CD Baby Pro Publishing, we’ll collect those royalties for you. If you’re not, upgrade today!

As a Pro client, we’ll also help you earn publishing revenue that is almost impossible for independent artists to collect on their own, including royalties for:

• global streaming activity
• international downloads
• YouTube plays
• and more

Again, with CD Baby Pro Publishing, you’ll be set up to collect revenue from both the sound recording and the composition on Facebook, YouTube, Spotify, and more.

Once Facebook starts paying, many existing CD Baby clients won’t even have to lift a finger to start collecting revenue. More to the point, you don’t have to do anything else assuming you’re already taking advantage of CD Baby’s YouTube Monetization Program and CD Baby Pro Publishing.