andrushkiwt
Well-known member
I also signed up with BMI. Not sure how this is going to work yet. I thought BMI was only covering radio plays, they're in streams too? Isn't that double payments?
CD Baby - thoughts?
- Thread starter andrushkiwt
- Start date
I also signed up with BMI. Not sure how this is going to work yet. I thought BMI was only covering radio plays, they're in streams too? Isn't that double payments?
Chili
Site Moderator
Hmmm, 5x of nothing.... Pretty good.
. Haven't looked at my BMI account in forever as well. No checks from them since that one $nice royalty a few years ago so I'm assuming the balance hasn't reached the $20 threshold.
Chili
Site Moderator
No, I got a check for one royalty that was from internet play. I think someone might have used my song in a commercial or something. All it said for performance was "internet".
andrushkiwt
Well-known member
WELL C'MON! How specific do you want them to be!!!???!
"One royalty" - aren't those like $0.09 in US? They sent a check for 9 cents?
Chili
Site Moderator
WELL C'MON! How specific do you want them to be!!!???!
"One royalty" - aren't those like $0.09 in US? They sent a check for 9 cents?
Well.... I really wanted to know who used my song and where, so I could see/hear and gloat a little. Never found out. Oh well.
The check was for about $50. Enough for a few cases of beer and to gloat.
But no checks since then.... (still gloating though... can you tell?
)
miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
It was a commercial for toilet bowl cleaner.
TBH...unless you agreed, somewhere in the fine print, that they can use your music anything/everything...I would think they would have to contact you about using it to promote some product in a commercial setting, otherwise your music could end up on a commercial for toilet bowl cleaner, and you would have no say or knowledge of it until you heard it on the commercial.
I thought BMI primarily just monitors radio/stream play and cuts you a check for that...?
I don't know...these days with all these streaming/online options, I guess you can kinda lose perspective about where/what/when your music is being used for something VS just downloaded/listened too.
People will sign up for everything these days, thinking it will break them out as artists, but often have no real accounting of what's happening with their music.
They may cut you a check to $20 or something...but the ones using your music end up with 10 times more...and it's hard to know when that happens.
Of course...the old school way of finding a label, a publisher, a record company may be just as complex, and certainly hard to get your foot in the door compared to just "signing up" and then uploading all your music, but at least there was a bit more direct accounting or involvement for you, personally...as opposed to just having your music in some endless "pool" of electronic uploads that someone (or some algorithm) pulls out for whatever streams needed.
Mel Lindstrom
New member
I read CD Bays agreement and in my opinion you give them too much power over your music. I looked at them all and CATAPULT.COM had the best deal. Prices are good places you on 20 or more popular sites and iTunes and Amazon. Easy to upload, superior customer service. So far I have 6 albums listed with them no hassle getting payments and good control for the musician. Check us out on your favorite streaming site MANCHESTER NIGHTS.
Chili
Site Moderator
mjbphotos
Moderator
The BMI royalty payment statement says 'Spotify plays'. Where I get 0.01 from CDBaby-Spotify plays, I get $0.05 from BMI. Yeah, that's for 100 plays(?) but it all adds up. The CDBaby pay is artist royalties. BMI is songwriter/publisher royalties.
Chili
Site Moderator
Epiphany. Thanks MJB.
For your general information and coming from a professional Australian based record company/label.
Chili was quite correct in the lack of revenue.
Our last payment check from CDBaby covered about 10 A4 pages of fine print spread-sheet and by the time that various amounts/commissions were removed (eg CDBaby, PayPal, currency conversions, etc), the total amount showing on the spread-sheet, for about 500 downloads/streams, was $Aus10.00, we were getting on average $US0.0001 per stream, after which we had to remove our bank's fees, copyright royalties, artists royalties, etc with the result that it will take more than a lifetime to EVER recover our cost of production if only using this method of distribution. We also (thankfully) still manufacture CDs and sell these via retail outlets, online and as merch at performances, etc.
In reference to the uploading to CDBaby, for one of our artists being distributed by them, we simply sent over (via registered mail) 10 copies of the CD and WAV files of the songs. They organised the display artwork from one of the CD covers.
In the uploading process, we had the option of choosing which streaming organisations that we wanted them to forward our material to. We initially spent some time researching all/most of the organisations that they had listed and discovered both good and not so good reports on each. or used our own gut feeling and then selected those that we wanted our product distributed through.
Having our own studio, we did all the recording/mixing and pre mastering (as we do with most of our product/releases) and there has not been any complaint from CDBaby or any of the sub-distributors that we have chosen.
JUST REMEMBER, YOU ARE MOST UNLIKELY TO BE ABLE TO RETIRE BY DIGITALLY DISTRIBUTING YOUR MUSIC !!!!!!!
Hoped this helps a bit.
David
Chili was quite correct in the lack of revenue.
Our last payment check from CDBaby covered about 10 A4 pages of fine print spread-sheet and by the time that various amounts/commissions were removed (eg CDBaby, PayPal, currency conversions, etc), the total amount showing on the spread-sheet, for about 500 downloads/streams, was $Aus10.00, we were getting on average $US0.0001 per stream, after which we had to remove our bank's fees, copyright royalties, artists royalties, etc with the result that it will take more than a lifetime to EVER recover our cost of production if only using this method of distribution. We also (thankfully) still manufacture CDs and sell these via retail outlets, online and as merch at performances, etc.
In reference to the uploading to CDBaby, for one of our artists being distributed by them, we simply sent over (via registered mail) 10 copies of the CD and WAV files of the songs. They organised the display artwork from one of the CD covers.
In the uploading process, we had the option of choosing which streaming organisations that we wanted them to forward our material to. We initially spent some time researching all/most of the organisations that they had listed and discovered both good and not so good reports on each. or used our own gut feeling and then selected those that we wanted our product distributed through.
Having our own studio, we did all the recording/mixing and pre mastering (as we do with most of our product/releases) and there has not been any complaint from CDBaby or any of the sub-distributors that we have chosen.
JUST REMEMBER, YOU ARE MOST UNLIKELY TO BE ABLE TO RETIRE BY DIGITALLY DISTRIBUTING YOUR MUSIC !!!!!!!
Hoped this helps a bit.
David
andrushkiwt
Well-known member
That's the viewpoint of a record label, and not an independent artist. Our goals are different. To have an album that is featured on every top streaming/download music site lets you have an established product that can be heard by many and and passed around. Like I said, our goals are different. I'm not worried about recouping my production costs - I'm worried about having a finished product that customers and those with the "power" can judge and evaluate. My FM/I-heart-radio broadcasts have generated interest and the station and I have nowhere to direct those callers/inquirers. Being able to look it up on iTunes, or a google search inquiry that leads to there or Spotify, can be extremely valuable in the bigger picture.
I'm not talking about retirement, I'm talking about having a product. And the value in terms of time-saved (I'm also a full time grad student) and quantity/quality of websites and services in one-go is unmatched.
miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
Yeah...that sounds about right. It's a total rip-off IMO.
Their website service is just as bad...Hostbaby.
They charge like 5 times as much per month as other typical website hosting services do...they just cater to music artists, so people think they're getting something special.
Not sure what you mean by "featured on every site"...'cuz your music will drop off their main pages in the first day. I don't mean YOUR music specifically, I mean anyone who puts stuff up on CD Baby. There is such a constant upload of new artist/music...that nothing stays featured for long, unless you're selling thousands and then they may promote you more.
Also...music execs are not scouring CD Baby or streaming sites for new artists or new material....because the execs are inundated with both already. You have to get your music in their hands, and that's usually through someone that they already talk to...and industry producer, publisher, manager, etc...or you have to be an artist that is already generating a lot of buzz through local/regional performance and promotion for them to come looking for you, and even then, word has to reach their ears.
I'm not trying to be negative...but putting music up on streaming services may get you some play, but that's mostly from the general public who might stumble across it. I've not heard of too many people who were discovered just from uploading some of their music. It's really hard to generate buzz just with that.
You have to have a fan base...and that usually means performance.
Now...if you're just looking to sell your music...there are other ways to do that, but the best is to pitch to a publisher that has the connections...if you just want to sell the songs for whatever...or you have things like TAXI, etc...but it's a tough road even there.
IMO...if you want to sell downloads of your songs, a simple website with a PayPal link will put all the money in your pocket, but you still need to promote it to build a fan/buyer base...something CD Baby and streaming doesn't do. So then the real key is the fan base...how do you get them, and then direct them to your music.
I'm not saying don't do what you're planning to...I mean, many of us have done the "vanity" album/CD thing. It can be fun, and you learn some stuff doing it...but don't expect much from it. It still takes a more direct connection to someone in the industry to get things going in any bigger way.
andrushkiwt
Well-known member
It's a little different. I'm currently on a very large FM station (reaches 3 states plus parts of Canada) and their national app, I-Heart-Radio. It's been a few consecutive weeks now and there's more to come. I've been reached in weird ways by listeners who don't know where to download my songs. SoundCloud isn't what I need right now, I want an album of material available where ppl can find it fast.
I don't mean featured as in being on the front page (my mistake), but in the general sense of being available on a common site/app that they're likely to already have. Tonight, the DJ announced my upcoming album after an airing and that'll let lots of people know there's something to buy - and if they're to search where to buy it, then iTunes will prob be their first choice. Therefore, if one site puts me on all these streaming/download sites, the less work for me.
You're promoting your music now. Once your album is out, you'll have a product. As you said. Just keep promoting. Try to think of ways to get your music heard or placed. You should also approach bands directly, good ones that might go somewhere. They might cover your song. Keep contacting stations. Call the college stations too. How about independent film producers? Try to get your album reviewed in a college and local paper.
Keep at it. You might get lucky and get some traction. Also, keep making new music. Do another album. It could be that one song in thirty that grabs attention. Luck!
Keep at it. You might get lucky and get some traction. Also, keep making new music. Do another album. It could be that one song in thirty that grabs attention. Luck!
andrushkiwt
Well-known member
I really want to, I have lots of ideas and a folder on my phone with snippets of new stuff. But I have to complete this project first. In about a month, I should be all set and ready to start working on next batch.
Island Hopping gets lots of plays in my car. How many songs on the next album?
miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
Just curious...is this a commercial FM station?
If so...I'm surprised that they play unsolicited material...copyright issues and all that.
Same reason most record Cos won't even accept unsolicited material...they want it to come from an industry source...where it's already been vetted, etc.
Anyway...I guess you have a plan, so go with what you think will work best for you.
bouldersoundguy
Well-known member
It's iHeart Radio. I believe it's a local music show in Detroit. I heard it on their stream.
Thanks. 12-14 songs ideally.
andrushkiwt
Well-known member
That segment is a local artists show, yes. iHeart Radio bought a couple of the commercial stations here in metro-Detroit several years ago.