Specializing

	posted by Derek at CD Baby on Tuesday February 24 2004 @ 09:17PM PST
	EVERY SINGLE DAY FOR SIX YEARS, people tell us things like: CD Baby should start a radio station CD Baby should sell downloads CD Baby should start a record label! CD Baby should sponsor tours CD Baby should do CD manufacturing CD Baby should help do promotion and publicity CD Baby should do physical distribution to retail stores CD Baby should start a dating service Ok well I was kidding on the last one, but the rest are for real and it's seriously EVERY DAY that we have to say "no no no" to these requests. I think they're flattering, and I'm sincerely honored that people would want us to do those things, BUT... ... could you imagine if CD Baby actually DID all of those things on that list? What a mess! Remember the dot-com days when all these companies couldn't even tell you what they did? Their "ABOUT" page on their website would say, "We deliver extensible e-markets, and syndicate cross-media portals, and empower e-business systems worldwide to help you transform sticky relationships into next-generation paradigms." CD Baby is a record store. We've got a couple side-services for our members (the UPC barcodes and credit card swipers), but those are just little side-effects of having a record store. You may say CD Baby is a "community" or "revolutionizing independent distribution" - but we don't see it that way. Those are also just side-effects of trying to make a great online record store. I really believe in doing something GREAT or not doing it at all. If we can't be the ONE OF THE BEST at something, we should let someone else do it. Start an online radio station? Sure! Someone who is totally 100% focused - and willing to commit a big chunk of their life to being an amazing online radio station - should do that. CD Baby does sales and distribution. Not marketing, promoting, manufacturing, or anything else. Let there be wonderful specialists : people (and companies) that are the best in the world at marketing, the best in the world at promoting, the best in the world at manufacturing. We want to concentrate ALL of our energy on being the best little online record store we can be. That includes the warehousing inventorying digitizing building and running the website online shopping experience browsing shipping reporting sales accounting check-writing customer service emailing! I think that's enough for us to try to be the best at. Read my other post about CD Baby being a brand that means sales and distribution. For other thoughts on this philosophy, read Good to Great - the chapter called the Hedgehog Theory.

	by Pablo Plasencia on Tuesday February 24 2004 @ 11:41PM PST [ reply | parent ]
	The beauty of CDBABY is that it is egalitarian. To do more than they do - and if you have looked at Hostbaby and all of the great services that they provide, you know that they do a lot! - would mean that there would emerge a hierarchy amongst equals. I love the format, the fact that I can sell my stuff to a demographic that is looking for indie music, which by its nature is of the people. I think that Dereck and crew have hit on the working formula: find your niche and make it yours by providing excellent service. Keep up the good work! -Pablo Plasencia

	by Dennis Smith on Wednesday February 25 2004 @ 08:42AM PST [ reply | parent ]
	I understand where they are coming from...the idea is that you do such a great job and are so fair and even-handed that the hope would be that, that relationship would extend to all areas. There is also the belief that if CD Baby was a success here...then anything else you did would be equally successful. I also understand your point...you guys are incredibly busy already, just doing an excellent job of what you are already doing I understand...I too have said to myself "man, I wish I could get (or) I wish CD Baby could help me with ...". But then I think...yeh well Derek didnt play on the cd or help me record, mix or produce any of it, however, he is helping me get it out to the world in many forms I'll do my part...let the baby do its part and lets have some fun and make money I predict...someday CD Baby will be the #1 distributor of indie music...it takes time and promotion and focus...but when that happens we will all be glad that Derek and the Baby stayed focused and didnt get into to many things Take Care and Long Live the Baby Dennis

	by Lynda on Wednesday April 07 2004 @ 10:30AM PDT [ reply | parent ]
	I bought "Good to Great", and the chapter on the Hedgehog Theory alone made it worth the price. Brilliant! Thanks for recommending the book. I was so like the fox, and that is not a good thing. I will remember this concept and work toward being a "hedgehog" from now on. Lynda

by Derek at CD Baby on Wednesday April 07 2004 @ 03:22PM PDT [ reply | parent ] COOL!! I didn't know anyone ever actually READS the books I recommend! Nice to hear. :-)

by Derek at CD Baby on Tuesday May 18 2004 @ 01:32PM PDT [ reply | parent ] Interesting story on "Good to Great" here: http://www.usatoday.com/money/books/2004-05-18-good-to-great_x.htm

	by Jim Kloss on Sunday July 18 2004 @ 04:49PM PDT [ reply | parent ]
	Great thoughts! Funny, we get requests all the time from musicians and listeners asking us to start selling CDs but for the same reasons you mention we choose to simply link all artists to their CDBaby sites for sales. We concentrate our efforts on bringing great indie music to our listeners and rely on CDBaby to complete the circle when it comes to sales. It seems to be working! Thanks for concentrating your efforts and doing what you do so well...

	by fred on Tuesday October 05 2004 @ 04:53PM PDT [ reply | parent ]
	But what happens when more people start paying for downloads then buying new CDs. it seems we are starting to see the beginning of this. i for one, have a seperate 80GB hard drive just for downloading music from itunes - i then burn them to disc - needless to say, i've only purchased a couple of CDs in the past month where i used to buy about 5.... Aren't you worried about this shift... it seems that in order to be a hedgehog one must know where the market is heading, so as to take the right path, else roll in a ball to be squashed... regardless if your fortified with prickly spines... ok, enough with the metaphors. Anyway, one company that didn't see change coming is Sun... just look where they are now. Obviously, there are tons of examples - you get the point.... I guess my question is this... Since the medium for music is going to shift from the CD (that's for sure, it's just a matter of when and to what), what does Derek see as the future for CD Baby? Where do you see CD Baby in 5 years, and what will CD Baby's main product offering be? What about in 10 years?... I would imagine the hedgehog has to think about this, it's what makes it the best.

by David on Wednesday February 23 2005 @ 01:19AM PST [ reply | parent ] don't forget that CDBaby is onboard with Digital Distribution. I compared with CDBaby with some other Digital aggregation options, and I just have way more trust in CDBaby at this time. That said, I would like to see a 10% improvment in CDBaby.com aesthetic slickness :-)

	by James on Friday December 31 2004 @ 03:13PM PST [ reply | parent ]
	Nicely said Derek: At one time I tried selling CD throuh are site and it was just to much to try to keep up with so we became a CDBaby affiliate and linked our Buy Buttons on the playlist to CDBaby. It is what I like to call a "Win/Win relationship for the artist. At Indie Artist Radio we simply concentrate our efforts on playing great independent music 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year providing the ISp cooperates. We also offer web hosting and we produce the "Indie Limelight Radio Show" which now has projected Listening audience of over a one and a half million listeners a week. Best of all we do not charge for basic broadcasting. We are just a simple internet radio station trying to get the music out there and heard on behalf of the artist. In 2005 we will work even harder on behalf of Independent Music. Happy New Year to all and may 2005 shine brightly upon all! Sincerely, James Wilson Founder of Indie Artist Radio

by Mike Ward on Saturday September 10 2005 @ 09:18PM PDT [ reply | parent ] Now, the dating service is a good idea. You could hook up right brained people with other right-brained people and that would be the great imbalance and finally the downfall of our society.

	by Mike Ward on Saturday September 10 2005 @ 09:12PM PDT [ reply | parent ]
	It has been said by all the people who have made a career in music for any length of time over a year that you have to 1. Be creative in how you make money; you have to multi-task usually and 2. you have to have people helping you. For those of us who do not have 90,000 people under our belts this is a bitch and a half. It is fucking hard and many days you just want to throw in the towel. That is reality. Leave the radio stations and record lablels to all the fools out there who are hungry.

	by Dennis Jennings on Wednesday February 22 2006 @ 07:51PM PST [ reply | parent ]
	I just read what CDBaby is and is not, so I make this suggestion with a degree of trepidation. CD Baby has been great at getting music on the DD services, is getting indie music(CDBaby artists)on digital jukeboxes in the realm of possibilities. When I am in bars I check to see if my name(Celestial Image) is on their selection searches because I know you guys are in touch with people I havent heard of in Digital Distribution.

Post a Comment

	NOTE: If you need a reply you should email CD Baby directly instead of posting here. We don't often read old message board postings, and have no way of replying to them! Name: Email: URL   Remember me for next time! + your feedback?: * HTML tags are allowed. * Your email will not be made public. And just to make sure you are a human: