Saturday, January 23rd
2021 Music Publishing Company Reviews
CD Baby
- Cost: From $9 to $29.95 per single
- From $29 to $69 per album
CD Baby was founded in Woodstock, New York in 1998. They are home to over 650,000 artists and over 9 million tracks. If you're like us, the name of this publishing company makes you wonder if they are out of the loop, considering most people don't use CDs for music listening anymore. However, it was apparent when exploring their services that they are most definitely on top of their game in the music industry.
Over 100 streaming services
CD Baby works with over 100 streaming services including Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, Deezer, Amazon Music, and more. They have testimonials from accomplished artists who have used their services like Ingrid Michaelson, Paul Cardall, Aloe Blacc, and Two Steps from Hell. This company is the real deal and exists to truly help their artists succeed.
Pricing details
Pricing to use CD Baby is as follows:
- Standard Distribution per album: $29
- Standard Distribution per single: $9
- Standard Distribution + publishing per album: $69
- Standard Distribution + publishing per single: $29.95
91/9 revenue split
The listed prices are one-time fees per release with no annual fees. CD Baby keeps 9% of digital distribution revenue and artists keep the remaining 91%. CD Baby sets artists up for worldwide monetization, which means that there is potential to earn money beyond just streaming income. Musicians can also get an income from sync licensing fees, video monetization, and global publishing royalties.
Boost your exposure
There are quite a few tools that CD Baby offers to artists to boost their exposure. One of these tools is Show.co, a platform to build email lists, grow Spotify following, and premiere YouTube videos free for CD Baby clients. Another tool is HearNow, a promo landing page for your next release that includes audio, artwork, and more. Others include Bandzoogle for building a music website, Radio Airplay for 100 free internet radio plays, and Merchly for creating music merch.
Disappointing reviews
Based on CD Baby's website, which helps musicians release music and market themselves with a clear explanation of the process, this service seems like an amazing option for artists. That's why we were a bit confused that the Better Business Bureau gives them a B- rating. In addition, there are a lot of mixed feelings from clients about their services. The biggest complaint usually revolves around their customer service being completely unresponsive and not actually dropping the music that customers paid for. Outside of how CD Baby markets themselves, they receive rather poor reports from customers, which is concerning.
Promising, but proceed with caution
We would recommend using one of the higher-rated music publishing services in order to make sure your music gets where you want it to go. There are many appealing things about CD Baby including their pricing, streaming service partners, professional presentation, and the tools they offer musicians. However, the negative feedback from clients speaks louder than all of this, so we would urge you to proceed with caution should you choose to produce your music here.
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Where Can You Find the Best Music Publishing Services?
You don't have to be famous to have your musical talents shared with the whole world. There are companies that allow vocalists and other musicians to get their work published for streaming on platforms like iTunes, Spotify, Napster, and other big-name services. This allows individuals to skip the need for a music producer and put themselves out there independently.
Finding a music publishing service is a great way to start out in the music industry. Even though today you might just be writing and producing music in your basement, publishing companies allow artists to share their vocal talents with millions and potentially get discovered by a big name label.
Continued from above...
There are quite a few music publishing services to choose from when exploring your options. A more reputable company will know the ins and outs of getting their musicians the maximum amount of exposure possible. If perhaps your music does get discovered and have millions of streaming listeners, you'll want to use a service that allows you to keep larger portions of sales.
Before choosing the company you want to publish your music, we suggest you keep the following things in mind:
- Cost. Will you be paying a reasonable price for services whether or not you make much money from your music? What is the cost of publishing a single song versus an entire album? Is there a continued fee for using their services?
- Services Included. Does the publishing company offer assistance along the way for first-time musicians who don't yet know the ropes? Do they provide templates to give you a professional presence?
- Distributing. What music networks will the publishing company help you get in with? Are they reputable and well-known in the industry?
TopConsumerReviews.com has reviewed and ranked the best music publishing services available today. We hope this information helps you achieve your musical aspirations!
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