CD Baby — Exposed!

just received the latest “member” agreement from cd baby — the music warehouse/fulfillment house that supposedly works in the independent recording artist’s best distribution interests. well, their new terms are greasier than some soul glow on the headrest of your sofa! the fun starts if you choose to “do nothing” over the next 10 days. they automatically sign you up for their new terms. wow. thanks for your patience. your most successful clients may not be able to take notice and make an informed decision within this quick turn — especially if they are on tour or in the studio! so, what are their superslick terms? i’m guessing that’s by design. 1) they can slice and dice the music you submit to them for their promotional purposes (which may not be necessarily in your best interests). for example, are they saying it doesn’t matter with whom you’re associated? or how your music is framed? 2) they can embed your music wherever they’d like (magazines, websites, cd baby ads, etc). if you choose to terminate your agreement with them, you need to hunt down every last publisher and get them to remove your music. beyond a simple notice, cd baby takes no other responsibility to clean up behind their actions. 3) they can package your music in a podcast for free download. their assumption is that everyone wants their music so easily and freely taken by consumers. not exactly in keeping with the “leaks” about which many top artists complain. 4) and the clincher — they are very concerned with your ability to package or make derivative works when it comes to leveraging their website in your promotions! recording artists — think long and hard before you accept this agreement. this is not a partnership, nor is your benefit at the forefront of their concerns. don’t trust my take on this. download and read the new CD Baby Member Agreement (a 200 kb .pdf file) for yourself.