Top iPad Music Apps (a/o May 23rd):
(
Talk about a tough industry. After battling a serious artist backlash following a major price hike, Tunecore is now getting attacked by numerous competitors. BFM Digital and ONErpm were the first to aggressively court disaffected Tunecore artists, though now, CD Baby is also smelling blood. The company is now offering half-price submission fees to any artist switching from Tunecore (or any other service, for that matter). "No $49 annual fees EVER!" the company screams at cdbabylovesyoumore.com (yeah, they made a special url).
Price-chopping is one thing, but CD Baby also wants to win the battle for artist hearts-and-minds. And what a perfect moment to reinforce the narrative. "CD Baby has played a defining role in the independent music community for 12 years, and we've done it by helping musicians just like you," the company wrote. CD Baby charges a one-time setup fee, then takes 9 percent of sales.
Artists interested in switching are being asked to email cdbaby@cdbaby.com or brian@cdbaby.com, with 'Switch to CD Baby' in the subject line.
CD Baby president Brian Felson was also hooking Tunecore artists from SF MusicTech Summit last week. "People here have been asking me what I'm going to do to help artists who've been stuck by Tunecore raising their rates from $19 to $49 a year," Felson said. "We're not going to pull you down, we're not going to jack up your rates two-and-a-half times, it's a company you can trust."
Comments Closed
NathanJE Monday, May 16, 2011
I see this as a bad move by CD Baby. They need to also raise rates/percentages, to increase the value of DIY services so it's not a low-price bidding war all the time. If I want cheap crap I go to Canal St. where everyone is low-balling, but these are not crappy services. Price warring only makes this a cheap commodity. Jeff Price understands this, that's why he's try to not only raise rates and raise the value but also smartly bundle all sorts of premiums into the package. That's the real lead to follow.
Seth Keller Monday, May 16, 2011
If you're one of those artists who make $179 per year from digital sales, then CD Baby or like services are the place to be. You're not getting hit on the front end; and if you don't sell much that 9 cents per download doesn't amount to much.
If you're an artist who actually makes decent money--say $5000-$10,000 a year from digital (which isn't a lot in the big pond of overall music sales)--then stick with Tunecore for the transparency, the ability to get the weekly itunes sales reports (poor man's soundscan) and the ability to get your accounting and money on a monthly basis.
The two criticisms I have with the price hike are:
1. If they were really all about the artist, they should have sent a email to everyone about six months in advance explaining what they were doing along with the pros and cons for the artists. The way they did it almost trapped artists into agreeing to pay the increased fee because there wasn't a whole lot of time to switch to another service (less than 30 days in the cases of two of my clients who got the notices). It does have a "bait and switch" feel to it and gives off a sort of arrogant vibe of "tough shit if you don't like it. We're f--ing Tunecore and you're a nothing wanna-be." I'm sure that wasn't the intention but that's probably what it felt like to a lot of artists.
2. They should have added the extra stores like itunes Mexico and Myspace for free. Hiking the fee by $30 and then tacking on an additional $1.98 for those stores if you wanted to add them seemed too much like nickel and diming the artists. As a token gesture, they should have thrown those in. Again, helps on the PR front. A small "bone" to throw to the artists to say thanks for sticking with us in this transition.
@nerdalert4 Monday, May 16, 2011
Laura Marie
No price hikes for CD Baby artists. Tunecore, what gives?
Jeffrey Mason Monday, May 16, 2011
This is why I'm very comfortable with the percentage model than the flat flee. I'm going through Venzo Music for my albums. Though they do take 20% of my sales (which is not bad), I can sell music, music videos, ringtones, and iTunes LPs DIRECTLY to iTunes without paying NO FEES! Why should I pay anything upfront to get my music sold?
Check out their YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/itunesdistribution
Unknown Tuesday, May 17, 2011
You need to really look at this.
http://www.ripoffreport.com/media-outlets/kevin-rivers-ceo-of/kevin-rivers-ceo-of-watunes-w-27d2e.htm
keithmohr Monday, May 16, 2011
my company provides FREE i-tunes setup and 100% back to the artist!
http://www.indieheaven.com
Maxwellian Monday, May 16, 2011
...so you must be a charity then?
keithmohr Monday, May 16, 2011
not at all.. but I feel the sales of music should all go to the artist. I do not sell their music, they do.
CTyankee Monday, May 16, 2011
Actually I think TuneCore and CDBABY are both making money in this space, it's the artists that aren't really making anything. It's what the Long Tail really ended up being.
keithmohr Monday, May 16, 2011
why make a product if you dont have a customer? Thats the issue. business 101
@chuckdafonk Monday, May 16, 2011
chuckdafonk
hmmmn CD Baby vs. TuneCore - I haven't decided yet
Tony van Veen Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Nothing particularly cutthroat about this, Paul, nor are we sticking our finger in anyone's eye. We are just certain that CD Baby offers the best value for DIY and independent artists, as we offer not just digital distribution, but also a huge retail store, physical CD distribution, credit card swipers (for live sales), and web hosting for artists.
For years we’ve maintained that our business model (small upfront fee and small sales commission) is the best choice for artists. However, I must admit that our competitors’ 0% commission model sounds sexy, and it certainly has attracted them much media buzz. Once you peel back the layers of the onion, however, and look at the numbers, as you did recently when you calculated that the average Tunecore makes $179 a year, just about what the average CD Baby artist makes. Our average annual percentage commission, at 9%, comes out to about $18 per title, not too different from the $20 Tunecore used to charge before they went up to $50 per year (OK, $49.99, to be technically correct). And our fees are also way lower than ReverbNation’s $35 per year. And for those questioning the profitability of the indie digital content aggregator business model, the fact that we've been around for 12 years speaks to the profitability of our model, and its fairness. Once a client has paid to sign up, we only make a buck when the artist sells product. If they win, we win.
I know that Tunecore and Reverb are current media darlings, and I respect both of them as excellent, ethical companies. Their presence in the market certainly has led us to raise our game. However, while they’ve been generating a snowstorm of PR over the past two years, we’ve quietly upgraded all our IT systems, improved service levels, and moved to a new state of the art warehouse in Portland. Our artists’ 3.3+ million songs under our management makes us at last check the largest digital distributor in the world, and we’re adding thousands of artists every month.
Because we feel so strongly that our services offer the best value for artists over the long term we’re offering artists switching from any aggregator to CD Baby a special offer on their titles. This is not a short term special related to anyone’s price increase specifically. Those tempests in teapots tend to blow over quickly. This is a long term offer for artists who realize they’re best off with CD Baby’s distribution model once they’ve signed up elsewhere.
So independent artists reading this, come on over. CD Baby loves you more…
Tony van Veen, CEO
presnikoff Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Tony, you're right. 'Cut-throat' is too strong of a descriptor in this case, I agree with you. But this space is incredibly competitive and crowded, that's for sure. Anyway, thanks for the response.
/pr
keithmohr Tuesday, May 17, 2011
you're right Tony.. paying out 100% on digital and physical sales to our artist members is sexy...they love it... and that is sexy:)
http://www.indieheaven.com
ONErpm Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Hey everyone. I'm the Founder of ONErpm.com, and we'll match CD Baby's offer. We charge a one-time flat fee per store you distribute to. We're a little cheaper than CD Baby, but have more stores and services, and don't charge for bar codes and ISRC codes. We keep 10% of your royalties. We also have a FREE Facebook app where you can sell and promote your albums, offer free downloads in exchange for an email address, and more. You don't have to distribute your music with us to use the app. Check out http://www.facebook.com/BlitzAmbassador to see an example.
Just email info@onerpm.com with 50% off in the subject line, and we'll get right back to you. Signing up and uploading an album/single is free, so why not give us a test drive?
Cheers!
Emmanuel Zunz
dhenn Tuesday, May 17, 2011
CD Baby has always played fair with indie artist. The have had my business all along and will continue to have it for years to come.
Indie artist Tuesday, May 17, 2011
I've been with CD Baby from the start and love their service. The 9 cents per track fee is very fair, especially considering that there is no recurring fee. It just makes sense for a lot of us. Also, the physical CD sales do add up as well, although I hate actually getting the CDs made. CD Baby - please make it dumb simple for the artist to upload tracks and art so you can burn and ship CDs when an order comes in. The fact is that most artists don't sell many CDs, yet feel compelled to manufacture at least 500 which comes with an upfront cost, hassle, etc... It would simply be more convenient if you would manufacture them on demand and take a larger cut than if the artist would have provided the disc themselves. Thanks for the great service.
Hello Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Three things:
1. CDBaby has every right to encourage Tunecore users to switch to their service. It's a free market and a free world, isn't it?
2. So what if the average artist on these services only make $175 a year? Why is that your business? They've paid their fees for access. Do you think because, on average, they earn a small amount that they're not worthy of making their music available? What an arrogant, elitist attitude. Sounds like the attitude of somebody who used to work for a major label and spent his days fucking artists in the ass, stealing their royalties, and stealing their rights.
3. Jeff Price either made a wise move, or he fucked up. I think he fucked up. Now an artist will have to sell several hundred tracks a year on each catalog release in order to make up the difference in the Tunecore yearly fee vs CDBaby's 9% royalty. Not everybody's old albums are big sellers as the years progress, but if you only take a percentage then the artist will have the incentive to leave the album available forever. Isn't that the point of The Long Tail theory? Jeff Price's thinking is seriously old fashioned, MBA-school, Jack Welch-style bullshit.
@KnitStitch Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Knit Stitch Media
Big THANKS to Digital Music News for mentioning ONErpm as an alternative for artists devastated by Tunecore's mistakes.
Venzo Music Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Venzo Music (VMG) provide the BEST iTunes Distribution Services that is unmatched.
- Earn 80% of all sales on iTunes (Worldwide)
- Upload your music DIRECTLY to iTunes (Gain access to iTunes Portal)
- Sell unlimited music, music videos, ringtones, and iTunes LPs
- View FREE iTunes Trending & Sales Reports
- NO Upfront Fees, Annual Fees, Maintenance Fees, Store Fees, Nada!
- Get paid every month via PayPal
- And More!
For more information go to: http://www.youtube.com/itunesdistribution
@tmray Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Tom Ray
I like how they even built a special page for it.
OUR SPONSORS
© 2011 All Rights Reserved
Follow Us