Digital Distribution
The Deal
- Think of it like traditional physical distribution:
- You are the label. (You own the music and all rights.)
- The retail store is now Apple iTunes, Rhapsody, Napster, etc.
- CD Baby is just the distributor that gets your music to the retailer.
- They pay us. We pay you.
- We do not take any rights to your music. This is not a record deal.
- You are just “lending” us the right to be your digital distributor, for the albums you tell us distribute, for as long as you want.
- You can cancel at any time. We will never tie up your rights or make it hard for you to leave.
The Money
- NO startup cost. This is a free service for CD Baby members.
- We keep only 9% and pay you 91% of all income from your music.
- You always get paid the week after we do.
It's NON-Exclusive, but...
- Just like in the physical world, there can't be more than one distributor bringing the same album to the same store. Otherwise, when the album sells, how would the store know which distributor to pay?
- We will never prevent you from doing anything you want with your music.
- For YOUR sake, please note : If you sign two digital distribution deals with two companies that will both be sending the same album to iTunes, Rhapsody, Napster, etc - this will hurt you, because the retailer will usually remove the album completely until you decide which distributor has the exclusive right to be selling that album through them.
