View source for CD Baby

{{Short description|Digital music distributor}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox website
| name = CD Baby, Inc.
| logo = CD Baby new logo.jpg
| logo_caption =
| company_type =
| traded_as =
| foundation = {{Start date and age|1998|3|10}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://whois.domaintools.com/cdbaby.com|title=CDBaby.com WHOIS, DNS, & Domain Info - DomainTools|work=[[WHOIS]]|access-date=December 2, 2016|archive-date=June 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210606052346/https://whois.domaintools.com/cdbaby.com|url-status=live}}</ref><br/>[[Woodstock, New York]], U.S.
| dissolved =
| founder = Derek Sivers
| location = [[Portland, Oregon]], U.S.
| area_served = Worldwide
| key_people = Gideon Joseph - Artist
| industry = [[Digital distribution]], [[music publisher (popular music)|music publisher]] [[record label]]
| products = Digital distribution, Record Label
| revenue =
| operating_income =
| parent = AVL Digital Group ([[Downtown (company)|Downtown]])
| net_income =
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| equity =
| num_employees =
| subsid = Audio and Video Labs, Inc. (Soundrop)
| programming_language =
| website = {{URL|https://cdbaby.com/}}
| language = English, Spanish, Portuguese
| advertising =
| launch_date =
| alexa =
}}
'''CD Baby, Inc.''' is a [[Portland, Oregon]]<ref name=":1" /> based online distributor of independent music. The company was described as an "anti-label" by its parent company's Chief Operating Officer [[Tracy Maddux]].<ref name=CDBaby_NYT2014-08-12>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/13/arts/music/cd-baby-a-company-for-the-niche-musician.html|title=CD Baby, a Company for the Niche Musician|last=Rohter|first=Larry|date=August 12, 2014|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=May 9, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=June 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210605060253/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/13/arts/music/cd-baby-a-company-for-the-niche-musician.html|url-status=live}}</ref> It was established in 1998 and offered distribution for artists in physical and online format, however it discontinued the physical media service and went digital only in June 2023.
In 2018, CD Baby was one of the three companies with preferred partner status with [[Apple Music]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/apple-names-the-orchard-kontor-and-cd-baby-as-preferred-plus-music-distributors-as-part-of-new-program/|title=Apple names The Orchard, Kontor and CD Baby 'Preferred Plus' music distributors as part of new program|date=November 13, 2018|website=Music Business Worldwide|language=en-US|access-date=May 9, 2019|archive-date=May 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517205917/https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/apple-names-the-orchard-kontor-and-cd-baby-as-preferred-plus-music-distributors-as-part-of-new-program/|url-status=live}}</ref> It was home to more than 650,000 artists and nine million tracks that were made available to over 100 digital services and platforms around the globe as of May 2019.<ref name=":1">{{Cite magazine |date=June 25, 2018 |title=CD Baby Expands Operations to London, Hires Rich Orchard & Steve Cusack |url=https://www.billboard.com/pro/cd-baby-london-office-hires-rich-orchard-steve-cusack/ |magazine=Billboard |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=July 1, 2023}}</ref>
==History==
CD Baby was founded in 1998 by Derek Sivers during the [[dot-com craze]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Shadel |first=JD |date=2020-08-23 |title=CD Baby's creative culture proves to be pandemic-proof: Top Workplaces 2020 |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/topworkplaces/2020/08/cd-babys-creative-culture-proves-to-be-pandemic-proof-top-workplaces-2020.html |access-date=2022-11-04 |website=Oregonlive |language=en}}</ref>
In 2000, it moved to Portland, Oregon, where they remain headquartered today. In 2004, CD Baby began offering a digital music distribution and became an early partner of iTunes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://diymusician.cdbaby.com/business/cd-baby-artist-revenue-now-infographic/|title=Indie artist payments from CD Baby increase 33% in 2017, and other numbers you'll want to see [INFOGRAPHIC]|date=March 6, 2018|website=DIY Musician Blog|language=en-US|access-date=May 9, 2019|archive-date=May 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509194656/https://diymusician.cdbaby.com/business/cd-baby-artist-revenue-now-infographic/|url-status=live}}</ref>
In August 2008, Disc Makers, a CD and DVD manufacturer, announced that they had bought CD Baby (and Host Baby) for 22 million dollars following a seven-year partnership between the two companies.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.side-line.com/news_comments.php?id=34389_0_2_0_C |title=CD Baby sold to Disc Makers - news, torrent, wikipedia, free MP3, download, lyrics |access-date=August 10, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080813054046/http://www.side-line.com/news_comments.php?id=34389_0_2_0_C |archive-date=August 13, 2008}}</ref>
In 2013, CD Baby Pro Publishing was launched as an add-on that assists independent songwriters in administering their composition rights and collecting global publishing royalties. The service is now available to songwriters in more than 70 countries and territories.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/cd-baby-now-publishes-over-a-million-songs-and-says-its-helping-solve-the-industrys-problem-one-songwriter-at-a-time/|title=CD Baby now publishes over a million songs - and says it's 'helping solve the industry's publishing problem one songwriter at a time'|date=August 15, 2018|website=Music Business Worldwide|language=en-US|access-date=May 9, 2019|archive-date=June 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210605060253/https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/cd-baby-now-publishes-over-a-million-songs-and-says-its-helping-solve-the-industrys-problem-one-songwriter-at-a-time/|url-status=live}}</ref>
In March 2019, Disc Makers sold CD Baby (as part of the AVL Digital Group) to [[Downtown (company)|Downtown]] for $200 million. AVL's physical product divisions, Disc Makers, BookBaby, and Merchly, were acquired in a separate transaction by the Disc Makers executive team as part of the newly formed DIY Media Group.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/downtown-buys-cd-baby-owner-for-200m/|title=Downtown buys CD Baby owner for $200m|date=March 27, 2019|website=Music Business Worldwide|access-date=June 7, 2019|archive-date=May 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517211238/https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/downtown-buys-cd-baby-owner-for-200m/|url-status=live}}</ref>
On March 31, 2020, CD Baby ceased its retail sales.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Shadel |first=JD |date=2020-08-23 |title=CD Baby's creative culture proves to be pandemic-proof: Top Workplaces 2020 |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/topworkplaces/2020/08/cd-babys-creative-culture-proves-to-be-pandemic-proof-top-workplaces-2020.html |access-date=2022-11-04 |website=Oregonlive |language=en}}</ref>
CD Baby offered fulfillment services for artists who sold physical media through outlets such as Amazon Marketplace and Alliance, but it discontinued this service in June 2023 and will continue as online distribution only.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Purdy |first=Kevin |date=2023-05-23 |title=End of an era: CD Baby stops distributing artists' CDs, vinyl, and other goods |url=https://arstechnica.com/culture/2023/05/end-of-an-era-cd-baby-stops-distributing-artists-cds-vinyl-and-other-goods/ |access-date=2023-07-02 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-05-24 |title=CD Baby ends distribution of vinyl and CDs to focus on streaming |url=https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/cd-baby-to-stop-distribution-of-vinyl-and-cds-to-focus-on-streaming/ |access-date=2023-07-02 |website=Music Business Worldwide |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Services==
Between its opening in 1998 to 2018, the company reports it had paid out $600 million over the two decades to artists.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/8232210/cd-baby-20th-year-paid-80-million-indie-artists-2017|title=CD Baby, Now In Its 20th Year, Says It Paid Out $80M to Indie Artists in 2017|magazine=Billboard|date=March 6, 2018|access-date=May 9, 2019|archive-date=June 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210605125134/https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/8232210/cd-baby-20th-year-paid-80-million-indie-artists-2017|url-status=live}}</ref> In addition to the services the firm offers under its own name, CD Baby also now owns and operates HearNow, Show.co, Illustrated Sound Network, and HostBaby.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cdbaby.com/music-promotion.aspx|title=Tools & Resources To Promote Your Music - Music Promotion|website=CD Baby|language=en|access-date=May 9, 2019|archive-date=May 20, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520153442/https://cdbaby.com/music-promotion/|url-status=live}}</ref> HostBaby closed in 2019.<ref>{{cite web |first=Marsha |last=Silva |url=https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2019/08/18/cdbaby-hostbaby-bandzoogle/ |title=Bandzoogle Takes Over Artist Page Hosting for CD Baby as 'HostBaby' Gets Transitioned |publisher=Digital Music News |date=August 18, 2019 |access-date=November 9, 2019 |archive-date=June 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210605060254/https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2019/08/18/cdbaby-hostbaby-bandzoogle/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
==See also==
*[[List of companies based in Oregon]]
*[[ONErpm]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*{{Official website|https://cdbaby.com/}}
{{Music digital distribution platforms}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:1998 establishments in New York (state)]]
[[Category:American companies established in 1998]]
[[Category:Companies based in Portland, Oregon]]
[[Category:Digital audio distributors]]