[Mahavites]

Inside Llewyn Davis is an excellent movie about the Greenwich Village folk music scene in the 1960s. I wanted to love it when I first saw it but it didn’t quite land for me at first. I’m not one who tends to rewatch movies but I was so enamored that I’ve seen it twice more since then and have really grown to appreciate it. It’s not a “fun” movie but it feels more true to life than it does Hollywood. The visuals, acting, (and most importantly) music are fantastic.

[Mahavites]

Marianne, last time I checked you can opt out of of each distribution location individually. I don’t remember it being an all or nothing kind of thing. So I think that opting out of YouTube and Facebook monetization is an option but takes time to take effect.

[Mahavites]

Sorry for the late reply Happy Ears, I don’t know why I’m just seeing your post now!
That sounds like a nightmare for your friend.
From my understanding, CD Baby’s sync licensing is non exclusive now but I’ve been getting mixed answers on how that applies practically. For example, they’re listed as my publisher in ASCAP for my tracks released through them. When I had music accepted into another non exclusive library I contacted CD Baby to see what to do when listing the publisher. One of their support team members said that because the deal is non exclusive but they handle admin for me, I needed to list them as the publisher with the new library. Another support team member answering the same question said that because the deal is non exclusive, I could list myself as the publisher with the new library. Extremely confusing.
I had a good experience with CD Baby when I was starting out releasing music but now that I understand the business a bit better and am more focused on production music/sync, needless to say I don’t think I’ll be releasing through them anymore.

[Mahavites]

That’s something I was wondering about. Good to know. Thanks MichaelL!

[Mahavites]

That’s what I’m confused about. I’m not exactly sure what they’re doing exactly. Their help center has a topic “Is CD Baby my publisher is I am listed at the Pro level?” and the answer reads to me like “no, but also yes.” They say:

“CD Baby is not like a traditional publisher; we’re closer to what folks in the biz call an ‘administrator.’ In our role as a publishing administrator, we register songs with Performing Rights Organizations and collect publishing royalties on your behalf. This is different from a traditional publisher that may also provide a full suite of creative and legal services (e.g. sync licensing, copyright).

In order for CD Baby to collect royalties on your behalf, you will need to select “No” when asked if you have a publisher for all tracks; our system will automatically list “CD Baby Publishing” as the publisher.”

So if I’m understanding that correctly, technically they do take publishing for those tracks and It looks like they take a 15% commission for publishing.

Thanks for the lead on Level Music, I’ll give them a look.
When I was starting out, CD Baby seemed like a great option in order to get my stuff out there with the least amount of hassle but now that I know more, it’s not sounding so great.

[Mahavites]

Awesome, good to know. Really appreciate the information Art.

[Mahavites]

Hey Art, thanks so much for the reply!

That’s helpful. I was assuming that the electronic elements would improve my chances because that seems to be “the sound” in pop culture now but it sounds like there must be something about the acoustic elements that scares people away. Maybe I’ll try splitting my time between more stripped back fingerstyle land folktronica and see how both are received.

Is it generally an ok idea to start pitching while you’re still fiinding your groove, or does it tend to be a better idea to have your sound locked down before? On one hand, I want to start pitching right away and see what hits and what doesn’t, but on the other hand I don’t want to burn any bridges.
I know this is a real beginner question, but do libraries often blacklist composers who they didn’t make deals with, or do they tend to be open to resubmission if my sound or their needs change?

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