| CD Baby DIY Musician Podcast |
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| CD Baby teams with Best Buy |
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We just got a lot more exposure for your music.
All albums on CD Baby are now also available through BestBuy.com - one of the largest retailers in America.
Click this link for an example:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=pcmcat68000050003&type=category
THE "BEHIND THE SCENES" INFO FOR YOU AS AN ARTIST/LABEL:
Since their database wasn't ready to add 100,000 new items to their website yet, they put a CD Baby SEARCH/BROWSE on the bestbuy.com website.
When people are browsing or searching music on BestBuy.com, they are directed to that link, above. Anyone searching from that link will actually be searching the live cdbaby.com. The look will be "co-branded" to look like BestBuy.com a bit, but it's still CD Baby.
Money-wise, nothing changes. It will be a normal CD Baby sale. The customer will complete their order on cdbaby.com. We pay Best Buy something out of OUR cut, not yours. The only downside is that we are not allowed to show you the customer's name or info when the sale came through BestBuy.com - it will show in your sales history as "Best Buy Customer" - an anonymous sale.
If someone goes in-person to one of the Best Buy stores and asks for your album, the clerks (are supposed to) search the BestBuy.com website, and customers can use an in-store kiosk to buy your album through this link to CD Baby. (Not at the cash register, but through the website, mail-order, like any other cdbaby.com purchase.)
If you feel like putting a link on your site, saying your music is available on BestBuy.com, just to show you're there, then the link to use would just be this:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=pcmcat68000050003&type=category
Feel free to copy-and-send the official press release, below, to anyone.
- Derek
==
CD Baby Brings More Than 100,000 Albums of Independent Music to BestBuy.com
MINNEAPOLIS, Nov. 8, 2005 - Best Buy is launching an independent music catalog at BestBuy.com that will give shoppers access to the largest online library of independent music. Through an alliance
with CD Baby, Best Buy customers can access and purchase more than 100,000 hard-to-find albums sold direct from the artist.
CD Baby handles online sales and distribution for independent artists and labels. More than 75,000 artists sell their music through CD Baby, making it the largest seller of independent music on the Web.
"Best Buy believes the future of music depends on consumers exploring new music and connecting with new artists," said Gary Arnold, senior vice president of entertainment for Best Buy. "As the link between the artist and the consumer, Best Buy is in a unique position to help generate excitement by exposing people to talented independent artists. It's a responsibility we take seriously, and that's why this agreement with CD Baby is so important."
The alliance with CD Baby is part of Best Buy's overall commitment to provide consumers with as many entertainment choices as possible. Best Buy stocks a deep catalog of music that goes well beyond simply carrying new releases. Offering the CD Baby catalog online will provide an even more diverse selection of music to Best Buy customers.
"Best Buy selling deep catalog directly from independent musicians like this is the beginning of a 'long tail' revolution," said Derek Sivers, founder of CD Baby. "This will highlight the most amazing musicians in all genres of music, that are bypassing the record labels to sell directly from musician to fan."
The CD Baby alliance will be featured on front page of the music section on BestBuy.com. A link will take customers to a searchable library of independent and unsigned artists. Consumers can browse by style of music, check out the top selling albums on the site, and can even search by location to discover talent from their part of the country.
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Important: only albums in our Digital Distribution program will be in the BestBuy search results
Sorry I forgot to mention that in the initial release.
That was at the request of BestBuy, for legal reasons : the additional indemnity clause that is in our digital distribution agreement.
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How do we become a part of the digital distribution program?
AND
My band already has distribution through Best Buy as a result of Artist 1 Stop, will this affect that?
Thanks!
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>> How do we become a part of the digital distribution program?
Just log in to your account, here:
http://members.cdbaby.com/
Once in, click [DIGITAL], up top.
That will give you a quick overview, then lead you through the signup. It's just a matter of typing your full legal name as a "digital signature" in the box, if you want to do it.
>> My band already has distribution through Best Buy as a result of Artist 1 Stop, will this affect that?
Not at all.
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Derek, These are the reasons why I'm with cdbaby.com, you are the man! I have been with you since day 1 and I will always be by your side!!
thany you!
Dan Lawson
www.danlawson.com
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Awesome as usual Derek! Glad you're a benevolent force on the music scene!
The thing with my product: Funk Violin Live - NYC is that it's a DVD. I don't think it can participate in the digital downloads program. What do I do to get it on the Best Buy listings? Will Filmbaby do something similar for DVD's?
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No plans to do so, no. I'm sorry.
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Derek, you're amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hugs,
marina :)
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#1 - click MUSIC on the far left
#2 - click INDEPENDENT MUSIC banner on the far-right
As you can see in my other posts, this is not optimal and I never said it was. It's a transition step to at least start to make it easier to find. For a huge company like that, this little step is actually a big step. It took 8 persistent months of hard work and corporate politics to get it through.
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Holy cow! Currently I'm not in the digital category, but now my name & cd are no longer available in the *regular* cdbaby.com search engine! so... I understand that non-digital entries are dropped from Best Buy's search engine, but shouldn't they remain in cdbaby's?
thanks,
Sue Fink ("Not Quite There Yet" - ya can't find me anymore!)
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So "Best Buy" is only selling full tangable CD's --- They are'nt involved in "Digital Downloads"-- Is this correct??? Rockland
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BestBuy.com just points to CDBaby.com - they do nothing - they sell nothing - they just point people here.
CD Baby does not sell downloads. Only CDs.
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Derek - thanks so much! I was able to find my band, Cuir Bleu, through the Best Buy site. It was a bit awkward, I'll admit - if I hadn't read this, I wouldn't have known to look for the "Independent Music" icon on the right. I can't wait for the integrated version!
Thanks again for everything - you rock!
Pixie
www.cuirbleu.com
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My album was not on the Best Buy site. Please let me know why.
Brian
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Please see my first comment, above : only albums in our Digital Distribution program will be in the BestBuy search results
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Nice! Thanks Derek,
For the next pass, can you get the Best Buy folks to tie their
search to yours in the event of no direct matches. Their main
page can't find CDBaby artists. Customers have to select either
'advanced search' or 'see all music' then they have to notice the
seperate Independent Music by CD Baby llink on the side of the
page. We'll all do better if they can integrate the searches so we
show up when their customers search the general store. Thx.
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Yes - that is the next pass. Their tech team said it would take longer, so this is it for now, and that will happen after the new year supposedly.
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is this a permanent branding change or a problem with cookies? whenever I go to cdbaby.com from a new browser the Best Buy Brand is there. Not necessarily a problem, just making sure it's intentional
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my name is alfred smith I am A cd baby member. and I notice
that cd baby is now distributed through best buy. I can't find my
cd A classic by design, by brenton wood. and I would like cd
baby to upload streamers of each song/ can you help me? thank
you. alfred smith
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Please see my first comment, above : only albums in our Digital Distribution program will be in the BestBuy search results
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Um, my group "infinite helix" is not available through the search, nor is my album "acapulco orange"
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Please see my first comment, above : only albums in our Digital Distribution program will be in the BestBuy search results
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wow - this is great news. Thanks Derek!
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Hi Derek,
Sounds like a great idea! Like others, I can't
seem to find any of my CDs by BIRD MANCINI on the
Best Buy link you supplied. I'm assuming that
means they haven't got it together yet. Is that
rig
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Please see my first comment, above : only albums in our Digital Distribution program will be in the BestBuy search results
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| by kc
on Wednesday November 09 2005 @ 09:36AM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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derek,thank you and the cdbaby staff for all of your help,will you send a independent music video to itunes for a cdbaby artist?
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besides bestbuy.com and tower.com what other major retailers websites are affiliated with cdbaby - i am about to make posters to promote and what at put the links of where its available
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why not ask for stock...and put product in the
Best Buy Store...
or if a product starts to get sales from them...
then put product in the stores...
i know there are a lot of them.. but since there giveing CD Baby a good spot in the store...put
some product in there to...
shalom
Chill Bill
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They weren't interested in that.
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If you Rocked any harder Derik, I'm afraid you'd break....and we can't have THAT!
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| by
on Wednesday November 09 2005 @ 12:42PM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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I think I have a non-sexual man-crush on Derek!
I also think I just wet myself.
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Derek ... *YOU* are truly a SUPERHERO, fighting for the rights of indie musicians everyhwere! You are an inspiration who provides balance in our lives. In a world full of money hungry people hoping to feed on indie artists, YOU are always watching our back, alerting us to evil and providing us with good venues to sell our music!
So sorry I missed you at the TAXI convention in LA... but this way I get to remind the entire CD Baby community how LUCKY they are to have YOU!
GO, DEREK, GO!!!
Julian aka Cookie Cutter Girl
http://www.CookieCutterGirl.com
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| by J
on Wednesday November 09 2005 @ 12:46PM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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This is really cool. But just wondering how hard is it going to be to actually make sales?. People have to look you up. They are not just going to come and search you out. Right? I think it would be really good if you could search for song titles and then the search would come up with artist matches to the songs. Just a thought.
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>> wondering how hard is it going to be to actually make sales?
No harder than yesterday.
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Hi Derek ,
This is truely amazing it,s so exciting to be with CDBABY . You are helping all of us musians reach our dreams in music with out question. thank you again .it just keeps on getting better and better.
At times, I just can,t beleive how for I,ve come in the music biz!CDBABY IS NUMBER ONE FOR SURE.
walter goulet
ps THANK YOU for getting all of us in BEST BUY!
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I cant seem to find my CD anywhere. Can you tell me where it is? "Reflections" by "The Dreamclassics"
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Please see my first comment, above : only albums in our Digital Distribution program will be in the BestBuy search results
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Great news Derek! Great Job!
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Since so many of us are needing "Digital Distribution", (and I've clicked on the link and still a bit confused). What is the easiest way of going about getting it?
P.S. Anyone can answer this question. Thank you
Jason J.
www.jasonj.biz
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hi Jason : just log in to your account, here:
http://members.cdbaby.com/
Once in, click [DIGITAL], up top.
That will give you a quick overview, then lead you through the signup. It's just a matter of typing your full legal name as a "digital signature" in the box, if you want to do it.
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Derek, you rule. Thank you so much for again innovating with your amazing company...and thanks so much for your comments at the TAXI conference. You were concise, witty, and empowering.
-Adriana Roze
the Endless
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| by
on Wednesday November 09 2005 @ 03:25PM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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after someone visits cdbaby thru bestbuy seems that non-digital
distribution folks will NEVER come up in the search anymore, since
there no way to get back to the regular old cdbaby to search ALL
artists.
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The co-branding cookie lasts for a few hours. (The little thing that remembers that this customer came from bestbuy.com and makes CD Baby look like Best Buy.)
That was part of a requirement of doing the deal with BestBuy - for obvious reasons : if someone bookmarks a page to come back later, it still needs to look like the BestBuy shopping experience they started.
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| by
on Wednesday November 09 2005 @ 04:03PM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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which cookie is that? the cdbaby cookie expires in a year. one of
the bestbuy cookies expires in 2019 and the other ones do not
expire at all.
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It's a session-cookie, which isn't supposed to be a real long-lasting cookie. Check back tomorrow on cdbaby.com WITHOUT going to bestbuy.com inbetween. Let me know if it's still co-branded.
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how about providing a special link/variable that will always guarantee that the Best Buy co brand shows up...this way artiss can put a " | | | |
