cd baby vs distrokid: Artists are expected to create the best music possible and then find the best way to distribute their content. Musicians often face a tough decision when it comes to deciding between CD Baby vs Distrokid, which is better for musicians?
CD Baby is an American company that sells CDs and provides distribution services for independent musicians. It was founded in 1998 by Derek Sivers, an American musician and entrepreneur.
Distrokid offers digital distribution services for independent artists who want to sell their songs online or on streaming services such as Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Tidal, Google Play Music, YouTube Music and Deezer.
The two services offer different features that might make one more suitable than the other depending on your needs as a musician. Learn more about how CD Baby vs Distrokid can help you get your music heard!
CD Baby vs Distrokid: Which Is Better for Musicians?
Artists are expected to create the best music possible and then find the best way to distribute their content. Musicians often face a tough decision when it comes to deciding between CD Baby and Distrokid, which is better for musicians?
CD Baby is an American company that sells CDs and provides distribution services for independent musicians. It was founded in 1998 by Derek Sivers, an American musician and entrepreneur.
Distrokid offers digital distribution services for independent artists who want to sell their songs online or on streaming services such as Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Tidal, Google Play Music, YouTube Music and Deezer.
The two services offer different features that might make one more suitable than the other depending on your needs as a musician. Learn more about how CD Baby vs Distrokid can help you get your music heard!
The Best Features of CD Baby and Distrokid
CD Baby offers a wide range of services for musicians and has been around since 1998. The best features of CD Baby are its distribution service, which allows you to upload your recordings and sell them online as digital downloads or on CDs, and the online radio it offers that is public-facing.
Distrokid offers an easy way to get your music on streaming services such as Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Tidal, Google Play Music, YouTube Music and Deezer. You can also use it to get your songs featured in TV shows and movies. It’s a newer company than CD Baby with only been around since 2008 but it has quickly grown in popularity due to its low cost.
One of the best features of Distrokid is that it offers unlimited uploads for $25 a year. You don’t need to worry about uploading songs one at a time like you do with CD Baby where there is a limit of 20 songs per month for free accounts or 50 songs per month if you want paid level 1 access.
The best choice between CD Baby vs Distrokid really depends on your needs as an artist. But both services offer valuable features that will help you get your music heard!
What to Consider When Choosing Between CD Baby and Distrokid
CD Baby is a good option if you want to sell CDs or digital downloads. If you only want to distribute your music digitally and have your content on streaming services, then Distrokid might be the better option for you.
CD Baby offers some features that Distrokid doesn’t, such as physical CD sales and distribution to stores like Target, Walmart and iTunes. The main difference between the two companies is that CD Baby has more experience in physical distribution of CDs and other formats.
This can come in handy if you’re looking for advice on how to best set up physical distribution for your project, or if you need help with manufacturing costs or shipping options.
How to Choose the Right One for Your Needs
There are a few things you should consider when choosing CD Baby vs Distrokid.
- Is your music being sold in physical stores? If you answered yes, then CD Baby is the right choice.
- Do you want to sell your music on Apple Music and Spotify? If you answered yes, then Distrokid is the right choice.
- Do you want to be able to upload individual songs or full albums? You should choose CD Baby if you answered yes and Distrokid if you answered no.
- Do you want to limit your customer base to certain countries or regions? If so, then CD Baby is the best choice.
- Are you trying to sell MP3 downloads or just streaming rights? You should go with Distrokid if this applies to your needs because it does not offer download sales as an option at this time. When deciding between CD Baby vs Distrokid for musicians, there are many considerations that will help determine which service would work better for their needs. Understanding these differences can make it easier for musicians to get their music heard today!
The Pros and Cons of Each Service
CD Baby is a distribution service with many features. It offers distribution of CDs and CD packaging, digital distribution for artists who want to sell their songs online or on streaming services, and a store for listeners to purchase music by CD Baby’s artists. CD Baby has been around since 1998 and is one of the most popular independent distributors in the industry.
Distrokid offers digital distribution only. It does not offer other services like CD packaging or physical CDs, but it does offer many features that make it an attractive option for musicians. Artists can distribute their songs across all platforms such as Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Tidal, Google Play Music, YouTube Music and Deezer.
Artists can also get their songs distributed worldwide so they’re available in more countries as well as find out exactly how much any given listener is worth to them. Distrokid also helps artists track where their fans are coming from when they buy a song or see an ad for it on social media through its Fan Finder system..
Resources for Musicians
Musicians are constantly looking for the best way to distribute their music. It’s a tough decision when you have two reputable companies to choose from, but we’ve done the research for you! CD Baby and Distrokid have different features that make one better than the other depending on your specific needs.
CD Baby
- offers distribution services for independent musicians
- distributes CDs
- offers digital distribution services
- provides an online store where you can sell your music or merchandise directly through an artist dashboard
- pays royalties quarterly
- charges a small fee of $20 per album and 3% commission on each sale
Distrokid:
- offers digital distribution services
- charges a small fee of $0.99 per song and $19.99 per year to use its website, which is much less than CD Baby’s rates
- many popular streaming services are available on its website (Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Tidal, Google Play Music, YouTube Music)
How to choose the right service?
Before you decide on CD Baby or Distrokid, you should consider what features you need. One of the major differences between these two services is the ability to sell your songs on streaming platforms. If you want to make money from streaming, then you’ll need to go with Distrokid. On the other hand, if you want to publish CDs and tapes, go with CD Baby.
Another difference between these two services is the cost involved. CD Baby charges a flat fee of $24 per disc whereas Distrokid has a tiered pricing plan that starts at $19 per album with an additional charge for digital distribution depending on how much it sells.
In addition, there are other factors that might come into play when deciding between these two services such as how many albums you plan on releasing and whether or not your music will be available in stores such as iTunes Music Store or Apple Music. Check out this article for more information on how to decide between CD Baby vs Distrokid!
Pricing
CD Baby offers different tiers of pricing that can depend on how much you’re looking to spend. CD Baby’s prices range from $9/year for the Basic account to $25/year for a Pro account.
The Basic account includes 100 CD sales, unlimited downloads, and 200 music videos. The Pro account includes unlimited CD sales and downloads, plus you get the ability to upload your album or songs to over 150 digital music stores.
Distrokid offers a monthly plan that ranges from $19-29 per month depending on if you want just distribution services or distribution with social media marketing and YouTube video support services. It also includes an additional 10% discount if paid annually.
Which service should I use?
A musician’s choice of CD Baby vs Distrokid will depend on what they are looking for and what their needs are. If you’re looking to stream your music on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, or Google Play Music:
- You should use Distrokid.
- You can upload up to 200 songs for $20 per year.
- You don’t need to provide a physical copy of the album before it’s released.
- Your music will be available in most major digital stores as well as all streaming sites.
If you want to create CDs, vinyls, and other physical copies of your album:
- You should use CD Baby.
- They offer promotional albums with full artwork and additional features such as bonus tracks and more formats like cassette tapes and CDs that can be ordered through their site or at shows.
- They charge $50 per year for a basic account or $250 per year for an unlimited account with a higher success rate of getting your music into stores such as Walmart, iTunes, Target, and more.
- Once you sign up with them, there is no cost until you sell something which means you won’t have any upfront costs unless you decide to print CDs or other packages through them.
Conclusion
Choosing the right distribution service for your music can be a daunting task. It’s a difficult decision to make for any musician, and it will likely be one that you make more than once over the course of your career.
There are plenty of distribution services available for musicians, and the two we will be discussing in this article are CD Baby and Distrokid.
CD Baby has been around for quite some time and is a well-established company. They have more than 300,000 musicians signed up and use a distribution service that is free for artists who sell exclusively on CD Baby.
Distrokid is newer on the scene, but they have quickly made a name for themselves by offering a variety of services to musicians. They do offer a free plan, but it doesn’t come with any distribution.
In order to choose the right service, it’s important to consider what you need as an artist. Do you need distribution in stores like iTunes or Spotify? Do you need unlimited audio uploads? Do you have several songs or albums? Each service offers different features so you should carefully consider what is best for you.
We hope that this article has helped you understand the difference between CD Baby and Dist.
