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digital music sales

money on sheet music depicting new copyright rates

Mechanical royalty rates are going up… Or are they?

June 1, 2022June 29, 2022 Tony van Veen

The Copyright Royalty Board announced plans to increase the mechanical royalty rates for product sales, which is great for songwriters. But will streaming rates do the same? Read the post.

graphic of CDs with Bandcamp logo insert

Sell your CDs online: Stake a tent at Bandcamp

March 31, 2022December 23, 2022 Andre Calilhanna

Ready to start selling CDs and merch online? Bandcamp offers a customizable solution with the independent musician in mind. Read the post.

case with money depicting the music industry's royalty distribution issue

The MLC’s $424 million royalty distribution conundrum

March 23, 2022June 21, 2022 Tony van Veen

The music industry has long had a royalty distribution problem, AKA the infamous “black box,” which represents hundreds of millions in mechanical royalties collected on behalf of publishers and songwriters who have not been paid because they cannot be tracked down. Read the post.

Indie Music Minute

The Indie Music Minute with Tony van Veen

December 4, 2018March 27, 2019 Tony van Veen

The Disc Makers YouTube Channel has a new series of videos, called “The Indie Music Minute,” featuring Tony van Veen (CEO of Disc Makers) distributing bite-sized nuggets of actionable information to help you make the most of your career as an indie music artist. Read the post.

Music News: Adele breaks sales’ record, Willie Nelson gets Gershwin Award, Shrapnel records catalog acquired by The Orchard

November 25, 2015February 6, 2018 Andre Calilhanna

music news adele 25Whatever you think of Adele’s decision to follow the likes of Taylor Swift and Thom Yorke and sidestep streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify, she’s proven again that she has the star power and “four quadrant” appeal to change the trajectory of album sales for the industry this year. Read more.

How to run a successful record label (by giving away the music)

September 15, 2015September 16, 2015 Steve Gordon

record labelJay Frank, a former VP at Country Music Television and Yahoo Music, recently launched his own record company, called DigSin. Based in Nashville, DigSin, which stands for digital single, has a very unique business model: It promotes free downloads for life and a “360 of the song” deal. Read more.

Apple Music

A guide to Apple Music for the independent musician

July 16, 2015February 6, 2018 Andre Calilhanna

Apple Music is live and streaming, and for independent musicians who want in on the service, CD Baby is the go-to source to make music available on the platform. In addition to being an Apple approved aggregator, the editors at CD Baby’s The DIY Musician blog have embarked on a series of posts covering Apple Music. Read more.

EP or album

Should your next music release be an EP or an album?

December 28, 2014December 4, 2018 Shaun Letang

It’s not always easy to know what you should be releasing as a musician. Should you go all out and create a 14 track album right away? Should you release a single as soon as you’ve recorded your first track? Here is a plan I’ve seen work well for many independent artists. Read more.

ISRC, Gracenote, and CD-Text explained (and provided) here!

July 3, 2014March 7, 2016 Andre Calilhanna

ISRC codes explainedYou’ve heard the term “ISRC” thrown around, but what is it, and why do you need it? An ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) is a 12-digit alphanumeric code that serves as a unique and permanent identifier for any sound recording or music video. So where a UPC is tied to the “carrier” of the track – e.g. the CD or LP – an ISRC identifies individual tracks. Read More.

Optimize your digital music sales on iTunes

April 30, 2014May 19, 2014 Jon Ostrow

digital music sales on iTunes As an indie, your plan should be to seek out social and digital distribution platforms that will cater best to you and your audience, but there is one platform that still dominates as the go-to for mass music purchasing. This platform is iTunes. As of 2013, iTunes accounted for 66% of all digital music sales. Read more.

iTunes Success in 12 Steps

October 29, 2009April 30, 2014 Ariel Hyatt

How indie artist Making April went from 0 to 1,000 sales a week on iTunes in one year.
I recently was having lunch with my dear friend, music attorney extraordinaire Dan Friedman, who was in town to showcase a band he represents who he mentioned was selling 1,000 singles a week on iTunes. Read more…

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