DIY musicians are grabbing an increasingly large market share of the music business.
According to Midia, self-releasing artists using platforms like TuneCore, DistroKid, CD Baby and others generated $1.2 billion in royalties in 2020 – making up over 5% of the total global recorded music industry.
Today, we learn that one of those platforms, Downtown Music Holdings-owned distribution platform CD Baby, has reached a significant financial milestone of its own.
CD Baby reports to have paid out more than $1 billion to artists since the company was founded in 1998.
In addition, the company says that more than a million artists worldwide have distributed over 10 million tracks via the platform.
Downtown acquired CD Baby as part of its $200 million acquisition of AVL Digital Group and its portfolio of businesses back in March 2019.
CD Baby’s relationship with Downtown began in 2014 with the launch of CD Baby Pro, a songwriter royalty collection solution for CD Baby clients using Downtown’s Songtrust platform.
Downtown now has a global team of 600 employees in over 20 cities.
The company says that “millions of artists, songwriters and enterprise clients” from over 145 countries, including many of the largest music, entertainment and gaming companies, manage over 23 million music assets on its platforms.
“With CD Baby now leveraging resources across Downtown’s platform, including technology, royalty collection, global licensing operations and capital, we are able to drive equity and innovation to all creators at an accelerated pace.”
Andrew Bergman, Downtown
“As business partners since 2014, we appreciated the depth of CD Baby’s organization and its incredibly loyal client base, two key drivers of our acquisition,” said Downtown CEO, Andrew Bergman.
“Unique in the industry, they have long understood that not all creators are the same, each having their own story, ambition and art to share.
“With CD Baby now leveraging resources across Downtown’s platform, including technology, royalty collection, global licensing operations and capital, we are able to drive equity and innovation to all creators at an accelerated pace.”
“Our mission has always been to work as hard as possible to serve musicians dedicated to doing their own thing, their way. Our success is a reflection of their success.”
Joel Andrew, CD Baby
CD Baby President Joel Andrew, added: “For us, it’s not just about how much the top earners make, but also about what the payout means to all of the unique artists we work with who are charting their own course, based on their creative vision and their personal versions of success.
“Our mission has always been to work as hard as possible to serve musicians dedicated to doing their own thing, their way. Our success is a reflection of their success.”Music Business Worldwide
