|
03 Sep 08 - 12:20 PM (#2429939) Subject: What's with CDBaby lately? From: Barbara Shaw It's odd that ever since the new owners (Discmakers) took over CDBaby from Derek Sivers, ShoreGrass has had no digital sales reported at all. Not that we ever got that much, sometimes just a few cents, but always something. And I've heard this is true for others as well. Anyone know anything about it? Maybe we've just saturated the market...tens of people have already bought downloads of our songs...?? |
|
03 Sep 08 - 12:21 PM (#2429943) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: Banjiman .....interesting, same here, I'd just assumed nothing had been sold? |
|
03 Sep 08 - 04:04 PM (#2430174) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: Anne Lister I've had some digital sales in my last payment - not a lot, but some. Anne |
|
03 Sep 08 - 04:25 PM (#2430199) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: DebC Me too. The digital sites usually do their reporting around the end of the month, so I would usually see stats around this time. I also know that there are some sites that ONLY report quarterly. But I notice that there is no stat entry for August 2008. Very weird. CDBaby has a STERLING reputation with customers and artists. I'd really hate to see Discmakers screw it up. Debra Cowan |
|
03 Sep 08 - 06:34 PM (#2430304) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: Barbara Shaw Just found this at the CDBaby.org site: by Joel @ CD Baby on Wednesday September 03 2008 @ 12:20PM PDT [ reply | parent ] My name is Joel and I've been with CD Baby for 5 years now. I was initially hired to help when our artist catalog reached 30,000. My first job before anything else was to actually build a few shelves to handle the big push of growth. But now we have 250,000 in our catalog and the shelves I helped build have been long since filled with all the great indie music. In the same way we had to upgrade our shelving system to handle the growth, we also needed to handle the growth with our programming. Unfortunately, we have used the same digital sales importing program that we've had for 5 years and it was barely adequate to handle the sales from years ago, now it needs major repairs. With DiscMakers coming in as the new owners, we are looking to the future and making immediate repairs. I'm not sure if you were part of the delays in payments a few weeks ago but it was all a part of trying to fix things that hadn't been updated in years... and now the actual payments go out faster and easier for our clients than ever. Our digital reporting is delayed, I am so sorry about this. None of us here are comfortable with this or think it's okay and we're days away from having a fix for this. But in order for us to handle your sales for the future we have to upgrade. I totally see how this is terrible timing with the new owners coming in... but our focus to make things easy for our artists, the goal of getting your music available to the entire world, and the desire to make independent music stronger than ever requires us to make some serious fixes. I'm an independent artist too, my music is for sale at CD Baby just like yours... and I'm stoked about the fixes finally happening at CD Baby. It's going to be so great! Thank you for the suggestion of making a public statement about this. I will definitely bring this up with everyone here at CD Baby. -Joel Andrew |
|
03 Sep 08 - 06:40 PM (#2430309) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: Peace Would our governments were so forthright. |
|
03 Sep 08 - 06:53 PM (#2430324) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: JedMarum I got a payment a few days ago with no Digital reported. That is very unusual - but I get typically get 2 to 4 payments monthly and very occasionally have no digital sales reported. Normally when one payment come without MP3 sales, the next one is a greater amount, so it seems to level out in the end. Digital sales accounting must be very very complex to manage and report, and CD Baby is the next to last link in the chain. They are also on the big hook for accuracy in reporting (imagine the huge class action law suit if they screw up or cheat). So they're better off waiting to pay then making any errors. Here's hoping they sort it out quickly and correctly! |
|
03 Sep 08 - 06:55 PM (#2430326) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: JedMarum You should live in the US, Peace. Our government is so forthright! ;-) |
|
03 Sep 08 - 10:40 PM (#2430467) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: DebC Thanks for posting this, Barbara. It makes sense now. Debra Cowan |
|
04 Sep 08 - 03:56 AM (#2430593) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: Peace Ours too, Jed. Believe me, ours too. :( |
|
04 Sep 08 - 05:05 AM (#2430623) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: Jim Lad Well it was one of you who introduced me to CD Baby and I've been very happy with them. I don't sell that much but I'm glad to have them handle it rather than myself. Over the past six months actual CD sales have virtually ground to a halt while mp3 album sales seem to have taken over. I've noticed that the digital reporting is getting later each month and as others have said, it's understandable. I trust them a heck of a lot more than the old MP3.com crew and they have been really helpful to me in the past week. Whichever one of you first told me about them... Thanks again! |
|
05 Sep 08 - 12:29 PM (#2431947) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: GUEST,james I have noticed with the new ownerhsip of Disc Makers, item that used be free to cutomers, they now charge for. The bar code used to be free. Giving 30 free disc with your order means noting if they charhe for other "extras". I do worry that with this merger with CDBaby that we can expect the same prompt payments from CDBaby, I have noticed that for the first time that I have not recieved any digital payments for August.I have 20 discs there. (the same month Discmakers took over). |
|
05 Sep 08 - 12:39 PM (#2431957) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: JedMarum I've placed 8 CDs on CDBaby since 2000 and I've paid for the UPC code every time. You can get your own. Last time I looked each one cost $400-some dollars. You can get them through your manufacturer, and that is normally a cost item within the package. The CDBaby cost for the code is $20. I think it is quite reasonable. They have been adding to my Digital play, as of the last day or so. It has been about a week, it seems to me. They have a note up that I noticed today and it says: "We're currently updating our digital sales report system with some needed improvements. Unfortunately, this has slowed us down in getting the most recent sales into our artists' accounts. We appreciate your patience as we work hard to improve the system!" |
|
06 Sep 08 - 09:58 PM (#2433017) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: GUEST,Ron O. I have like 25 Albums on CD Baby. They have been wonderful up until this new ownership deal took affect. I reported no sales in August which is unheard of, so I knew something had to be going on. I called CD Baby a few weeks ago and was told that my sales must have just been slow. I'm glad they're finally admitting that they are updating their system. I just wish they would have been more upfront at the beginning. I really apreciate the gentlemen (Joel Andrew) that posted something informing us of what was going on with the company and how they are trying to improve things. I hope everything is worked out soon cuz CD Baby has been great up until this point and I don't wnat to look elsewhere. |
|
08 Sep 08 - 02:19 AM (#2433823) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: GUEST,james i had some sales reported and paid tonight. i tried to go into my individual payments amounts, this would not open. again, i don't feel we are been told the truth about this situation. what do others think? |
|
09 Sep 08 - 02:49 AM (#2434874) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: Anglo Well, for what it's worth, my digital sales area says they owe me some $72 dollars. But no real CD sales in a while, apparently, and no CD Baby direct downloads. My volume was small, but regular. |
|
09 Sep 08 - 04:09 AM (#2434918) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: Jim Lad I've had an MP3 & a CD sale in the last 48hrs. plus some digital sales showed up tonight and some a couple of days ago, I think. Everything seems fine. One of my better months actually. Other than some teething problems for the new management, I'd suggest that it's just a seasonal thing. |
|
09 Sep 08 - 08:14 AM (#2435074) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: JedMarum CD Baby has a history of being very straight forward and very responsive. It is not likely that there's any reason to worry. |
|
09 Sep 08 - 10:42 AM (#2435187) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: Anglo Yes Jed, but CD Baby also has a history of being run by Derek Sivers, not by Discmakers. Discmakers, on the other hand, has a history of losing my artwork and masters. |
|
09 Sep 08 - 11:28 AM (#2435235) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: Jim Lad That's a bugger but sounds like something that could happen to anyone. Having been a member of MP3.com and watching them go south, I have to say that CD Baby shows absolutely no sign of being anything other than the friendly company it's always been. Relax. They're good folks. |
|
09 Sep 08 - 12:45 PM (#2435321) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: Barbara Shaw Gotta agree with Anglo. Discmakers expired my masters without notifying me. They both are helpful when you call to discuss a problem, but CDBaby was always fun and folksy as well. CDBaby seems to have fixed some of the accounting problems, although some of the balances don't agree. Still worth doing, so we'll have to just keep a close watch on our accounts and report what doesn't seem right based on history. |
|
10 Sep 08 - 11:26 AM (#2436279) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: JedMarum CDBaby's been catching up quickly. I've had two quick payments in the last week with MP3 sales looking normal. |
|
10 Sep 08 - 11:35 AM (#2436292) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: Jim Lad I received yet another payment yesterday. Seems just fine to me. Better than usual. Let's be careful about tinkering with business reputations. |
|
10 Sep 08 - 11:52 AM (#2436305) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: Barbara Shaw I've had some money in the "we owe you" column for 2 weeks now, but it has not be deposited to my account yet, although it's over the minimum at which I told them to deposit. And some of the iTunes accounts have not been reported yet, which usually adds a few mp3 sales to my account. I was under the impression that they only actually paid once a week, although they may post the sales more often. Is that not the case? They are still apparently catching up, but not fine yet as far as I'm concerned. |
|
10 Sep 08 - 03:23 PM (#2436553) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: Lizzie Cornish 1 Well, I ordered two more CDs of Noah Zacharin's just over a week ago, 'Crow Dark Wind' and 'Silence Spken Here' and they arrived here in Devon this morning. So I'm thrilled to bits with CD Baby. Lizzie :0) |
|
10 Sep 08 - 07:40 PM (#2436821) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: GUEST,TvV With the change in ownership of CD Baby, the company is under extra scrutiny. That's natural. Issues like the reporting mentioned above (thanks for responding, Joel) are very vexing. We are working hard at resolving this issue. What's lost in this debate is that these issues have nothing to do with the new ownership. They are the result of the infrastructure we've inherited, and we're focused on beefing up that infrastructure. CD Baby is here to serve independent artists. We'll continue to do just that, and we're looking forward to doing it better than ever, with the same great, quirky, fun people that were always here. Tony van Veen |
|
10 Sep 08 - 08:00 PM (#2436843) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: meself Well, we've heard from two (apparent) CDbaby staff members. I take that as a good sign. Sign me, a CDbabyist |
|
10 Sep 08 - 08:03 PM (#2436848) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: Jim Lad I'd say. |
|
10 Sep 08 - 09:35 PM (#2436903) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: Anglo I did just get a report of sales as well, so my own worries are being allayed. |
|
11 Sep 08 - 01:01 AM (#2437041) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: JedMarum CDBaby was the first to really offer the link between independent artists and lots of MP3 services. A lot has changed in those few years not the least of which must the incredible size of this new distribution "engine" - add to that the various and complex sets of rules to be maintained with each MP3 service, and the various levels of expertise each one of them has at delivering accurate reporting data - well, you can see that the problem can be complex to manage. ALSO it is absolutely imperative that CDBaby do everything in their power to be honest, open, accurate and timely. Because they are on the hook for reporting this payment information to lots and lots of customers. When I had a responsible job, (instead of earning a living at music) I managed business systems that did billing based upon operational data for a very large customer base. In fact I've worked with a few of those kind of systems. Accuracy is always extremely important - and is something you never take for granted. Failure to do so will cost you your business! |
|
11 Sep 08 - 11:15 AM (#2437392) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: Barbara Shaw I spent my working career as an I.T. person: computer programmer, systems analyst, project manager, consultant. Details matter, accuracy is crucial, timeliness is very important, as is client relations. I'm still a big proponent of CDBaby and appreciate the service they provide to musicians and music buyers, just questioning the recent issues with details, accuracy, timeliness and client relations... |
|
02 Dec 08 - 04:32 PM (#2506204) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: Barry Finn Well I just recently was notified of a sale & when to check my account because I have been notified before like this (by e-mail). I found no digital reporsts of sales, no money listed in my account & look to see if they deposited any monies into my bank, noting but a notice that"we are waiting for you to send CD's". No mention of the CD's I alread sent them, no mention of the CD's they've sold & I've e-mailed them once (& again just now) & recieved no response. When I requested a spread sheetthey reponded "wait till you sell some". Well, they've already notified me of sales, so what gives? Anybody else having problems like these? Barry |
|
02 Dec 08 - 09:21 PM (#2506445) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: JedMarum I have just been in touch with them, sorting out an accounting issue. It turned out to be an issue that I simply did not understand the way they had handled a return. They explained it to me twice - before it finally sunk in and I understood the accounting display. They were correct, and they were patient with me. They have been very very good for me, and even though it might 24+ hours to get a response to an email, they always do respond - and they respond personally. I know they have a huge number of customers, so I appreciate the personal service. I sell a good amount through them, but I am not a big account for them. The new folks running the show probably have (or have had) a learning curve, but they seem to be as diligent and service oriented as the previous managers. Now - having said all that; back to your question. Let me give you and example of how I see things work. I can see from the accounting screen on, say Monday that a payment has been made (they do a direct deposit) - then on Tuesday or even Wednesday I get an email from them that says the deposit was made (so 24 or even 48 hours after the accounting system show the deposit). And if I look in the bank to see if the funds are actually there, they might be there on Tues or Wed. In short it is NOT a tight circle of confirmation and notice. But it is about right - and I watch the accounting closely. They are always spot on. Even with this last issue where I thought they'd made an error, they were correct and took the time to explain it to me. The lag in the reporting is probably required because of the lag time in making the deposit (or generating the check) and the bank actually showing the funds in your account. As for DIGITAL SALES; they are on a looong loop. Imagine how they work; iTunes, Napster, and all the other guys have different sets of package deals they offer their customers. They allow, listens, returns, purchase track, purhcase album and they offer various pricing for these services and various billing types. If a customer bought an MP3 today via iTunes, it might appear in their Dec bill which they receive in Jan. They'd pay it by Feb. So an MP3 downloaded in the first week of Dec may not even be able to be paid to the owner of the MP3 for over two months! Digital sales are great, but they're slow! |
|
02 Dec 08 - 10:20 PM (#2506484) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: Barry Finn Thanks Jed I went back through my e-mails & they did say they "mailed me a check" back in Sept. but I never saw it. I'll have to contact them for a reissue. I don't know if that means they'll be mailing me a check for recent sales, espically when I have a direct account deposit set up with them (nothing's showed up there). I still don't see any activity in my account info though. Kind of a mess if you ask me. They also seemed to have sent me money (the check may still be in the mail) for CD's sold that they didn't notify me about???????? Barry |
|
03 Dec 08 - 02:45 AM (#2506558) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: Anne Lister From the other side of the Pond I'm more than happy with the service I've had from CDBaby. This week I've had notification of their payment to my PayPal account (which usually shows up immediately) but so far no specifics about what has sold and going to my info on CDBaby hasn't enlightened me. But I'm confident they'll tell me eventually because they always have done - and if they don't I'll email them. But thanks, Jed, for the explanation of the digital stuff, as we're currently waiting for my new album to turn up on iTunes! Anne |
|
03 Dec 08 - 09:23 AM (#2506818) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: Barbara Shaw I had the opposite problem recently: a deposit was made to my bank account but I received no notice about it from CDBaby. Flukey. Also, go out and check the digital companies that CDBaby says have been sent your digital tracks. I did that and found some that were not there at all, despite several months having passed. Received the following form letter from CDBaby about 3 different companies: Barbara - We're sorry for the delay! It appears that this album was not successfully imported onto this service's server. We've queued it for redelivery to fix the error. Thanks for your patience! - Jourdan Go check yours!! |
|
03 Dec 08 - 04:23 PM (#2507128) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: JedMarum Yes - that is the other problem with the digital world. CDBaby can transmit the music files to these services, but has no control over whether or not the services actually place them into their inventory and make them available to the public. Also - some of the services I signed up with,, through CDBaby have disappeared. It is a message in a bottle sort of arrangement. We don't have good control over it - and in fact, even CDBaby only has a little control. But the good news is, 85% of all my stuff sells through iTunes and they are pretty good. The tracks appeared almost immediately and I am seeing income in about 4 weeks. Better then it could be, actually. NOW, if I could just get them to do my promotion! I have had an occasion when I received an email notice of a transfer after the money was actually in the account. I noticed that they'd sent the email 24 hours before it showed up in my inbox! I don't know what the deal is with that, except that maybe they have a huge email load and their server was too busy to release the message. That is why I pay attention to the accounting screen. That always seems to be up-to-date and accurate. |
|
04 Dec 08 - 09:53 AM (#2507620) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: Barbara Shaw And even though MediaNet is still listed as one of the companies they distribute our digital tracks to, I got this note when I questioned why one of my albums was never sent there: > Hi Barbara - > > Sorry for the delay. > > We have halted our deliveries to medianet and have not made a delivery within the last year or so. > > Deliveries are expected to pick back up within the first quarter of 2009. > > All albums that are set to a "75" level of distribution will automatically be sent to media net at that time. > > let us know if you have any questions. > > -Zaeron Guess you just can't believe it all... Oh, and I have no idea what a "75" level of distribution is. As I've said before, I'm very glad CDBaby exists for small-time musicians like ShoreGrass, but my business background makes me wish it operated more promptly, accurately, consistently. |
|
04 Dec 08 - 11:44 AM (#2507709) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: Barry Finn Well I got a reply from CD Baby about my problems, happy to say they were right on it & it's been corrected. Probly not there fault to start with, me being so cyber clumsy & all. Barry |
|
04 Dec 08 - 01:35 PM (#2507805) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: JedMarum Glad to hear it Barry. I've found from the issues I've had that they fix 'em quick - and I have to admit every one of the issues (so far) has been MY error or misunderstanding. They've been kind enough to point that out! Barbara - in my business experience, I know when I am dealing with an unsecured sort of business interface, that things can be a bit sloppy and you only get macro level accounting. That is, there is not really a tight link of uniformity among the services through which CDBaby distributes our MP3s. They are each on the hook for accurate reporting of "airplay" - but I suspect the real motivation there is a whopping and very painful class action law suit of one of them gets caught cheating. I also know about that from my business experience. Under those circumstances, you know the very best business plan is to do everything you can to be as accurate as possible - and you keep good records to prove you've been diligent. I suspect this area will tighten up one day - but the airplay and royalties tracking world really is a bit loose anyway - it's just that in the digital world, we'll have better data tracking tools. When you sign up your MP3s at CDBaby for digital distribution, you set the level. You can select individual services (eg. iTunes only) You select the ones specific ones from the list. You can select only the ones that pay you, and you can select a "small, medium or large" sort-of option when you set up your CD that does some sort of percentage. I start out by selecting "only the ones that pay me" first, then I review the new services, every now and then and add ones that look like they might work (For example, iSound has a new service that allows a user to stream your entire album - but not save it - then if they buy it you get 65 cents per track. That's a good deal and I'll probably add my new albums to the service). CDBaby is acting like the clearing house between these services (some of which come and go) and the artists. It is a good deal for us because I couldn't/wouldn't keep up with 70 ro 100 different services and service agreements AND watch their data reporting. It's a good deal for them because they take a small piece of every play. But it is a very loose arrangement - and must be a nightmare to track. that pay you. |
|
04 Dec 08 - 02:18 PM (#2507829) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: Barbara Shaw Nowhere do they say that a particular level is "75," so it was inappropriate for them to quote me that all albums set at that level will eventually be sent to Medianet. My point is that an earlier album (set up by me the same way) was sent there and the second was not. No explanation, until I kept asking, many times, and my answer is something about 75. The other more pervasive problem is that I'm assuming my album was sent to certain distributors (up to 3 I've checked) and they are not there, despite CDBaby telling me they were sent months ago. Some make it, some don't, but we have to keep checking ourselves, because apparently no one at CDBaby is following up on what they've queued ... for redelivery to fix the error. What is interesting is that there is a certain amount of blind loyalty to the company, at least in this forum. No shortage of people making excuses for them... |
|
04 Dec 08 - 02:57 PM (#2507862) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: JedMarum They used to actually have that phrase listed, "75% of the Digital Services" - but I see that expression has disappeared from their setup screens. I don't make excuses for them, but I do understand the issues they face trying present you and me with a solid looking "front" to an industry practice that is brand new and in a state of flux. I am simply making the point that I understand the issues they have. I do watch them carefully and contact them every time I see something wrong or I don't understand. I commend them for being responsive to me, and as I say, so far I've judged them to be correct in each issue. BUT I still watch them very very carefully. I like American Express too, but I read line of my monthly statement and I pick up the phone when there's an error. Just because I like them doesn't mean I don't watch their every move! As a famous American once said, "trust but verify!" |
|
04 Dec 08 - 03:05 PM (#2507873) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: JedMarum .. and as for the albums actually making into the "inventory" of the services. I don't think there's anyway of guaranteeing that delivering an album to a particular service means that service will put it into its inventory or keep it in its inventory. I suspect that some of the services take some and not others - and I suspect some services remove albums that do not generate "hits" or sales. You and I and CDBaby have no control over that. That's part of what I mean when I see it's a loose mechanism we have for distribution. I think the only way around that is for each artist to have an agreement with each service. |
|
04 Dec 08 - 03:08 PM (#2507878) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: JedMarum ... again, this is NOT in defense of CDBaby. It is in recognition of the imperfect business relationship we have with this new industry tool, called digital distribution. We could fault CDBaby for encouraging us to believe that signing up for distribution means our product will actually get distributed. The truth is, they cannot guarantee that ... and should present to us that they can. |
|
08 Jul 12 - 05:49 AM (#3373536) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: GUEST,Rdotduk Hi, I've recently put my music on cd baby and people have said they have bought my music on cd baby, but no sales figures are showing up, So to see if people were just claiming to buy my music and not actually doing it, i purchased my own song via iTunes, And still it's not showing up on sales figures, What should i do? |
|
08 Jul 12 - 06:40 AM (#3373551) Subject: RE: What's with CDBaby lately? From: Anne Lister Contact CDBaby and ask - it does sometimes take a while for a digital sale to show up on their figures, which they explain somewhere on the site. I haven't had any problems with them and my most recent payment was entirely digital payments. Anne |