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| CD Baby CD sales chart through 2005 |
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I've always been very open with our numbers. So here's the annual CD Baby CD sales chart through 2005.
click for full-size version
An interesting 2004-to-2005 summary comparison:
2004 CD sales : $7.5M
2005 CD sales: $10.3M
2004 digital sales: $0.76M
2005 digital sales: $3.1M
new CDs added in 2004: 28,285
new CDs added in 2005: 37,798
And you can always see our current numbers halfway down the page at http://cdbaby.com/about
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As always Derek great job.
It,s nice to glance at this page from time to time
to see the progress of cdbaby. Thank You walter goulet
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Yes!
The statistics speak for themselves about CD Baby's exponential growth. With it's many connections with online music distributors and CD stores, such as the recently added "Best Buy", CDBaby has become an unrivaled benchmark and hero in its service for independent musicians. Big up to Derek Sivers and his crew!
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Most interesting...
The chart is exponential.
I would be interested in seeing a projection of digital sales overlayed on CD sales.
I think CDBaby is the bellwether for the music industry's future. At some point...digital music sales will eclipse CD.
A good question for long time CDBaby artists...what is your experience with Digital sales versus CD (CD overall)
What is the rate of digital sales growth versus the rate of CD sales....?
Mind you there are a lot of factors...but in general what are you seeinf?
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I have been with Cd Baby for over a year now. And I'd have to say that by far, I have had more success with digital sales.
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No need to ask one or two people's opinions.
I posted the entire summary of the year:
2005 CD sales: $10.3M
2005 digital sales: $3.1M
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Derek,
3.1M is a big number (relatively) is it time to rename your company ddbaby? :)
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My experience with digital vs. cd sales since signing up with CD Baby a couple of years ago is that I've had considerably more downloads than cds sold...I also think it will be the way things are done in the very near future.
Linda
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My CD sales were very sluggish and then along came digital distribution and I was back in the action. I'm not making big numbers but I like being in the game and following the dynamics. Patricia
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| by
on Thursday February 09 2006 @ 08:55AM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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Man, just look at all those Decembers!
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All those numbers are impressive in terms of the buying habits from the music shoppers on the internet. They clearly reflect an interest in our fine independent artists. But if you were a CEO in your own digital self publishing venture, you'd probably be sinking down into the seat off those retail margins. Especially if you collectively sold your percentage off the retail value of the 2005 industry announcement of 1.1 billion. While maintaing a great degree of optimism for an industry aproximately thirty four months old moving into a toddler's decrepit walking mode,
I'd probably up the performance value of the independent input as i tied the considerations
of subscription internet radio services and bundling tier models where portals give you away
for free on the basic level into our greatest value as the denominator moving onward. As always
Mr. Sivers continues to do an outstanding job.
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Very impressive growth indeed!
CDBaby IS the gold standard for indie music.
Just received another check today and I have to say - I love the digital sales!!!
Jeff Van Devender
JavaMusiK
http://javamusik.com
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Congratulations to Derek and all/ Artists at Cdbaby.
Given these reports has there been any thought to spending more money advertising Cdbaby
in places that target consumers and not musicians?
This indie model clearly is the future.
The major Label system will be gone within 10 years,more likely 5.
{Down over 50 million cd's from last year]
Strategic ads in ,for example,
the NY Times,LATimes to start.
Stating where one can find the best new music.
Or perhaps co-op ads,
where each of the over 100,000 cdbaby artists is encouraged to put up [if they can]a buck or 2 if interested for an advertising fund.
That would pay for a lot of exposure,and potentially make the kind of impact needed to make cdbaby even more visible.
Think of what itunes does for marketing,
even a small fraction of that could bring more
awareness,and more people to accept and constantly check out the cdbaby roster.
Again congratulations,I hope the suggestions are helpful.
Regards
Arthur
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>> any thought to spending more money advertising CD Baby
Yes I've thought about it, and decided I still hate advertising as much as ever.
I don't like ads. If watching TV, I turn the other way rather than watch ads. If reading a magazine, I quickly flip so as not to let ads into my brain. If on the web, I run software so that ads never hit my screen.
Why would I add something I hate into the world?
Also : I've never once met someone who felt that the money they spent advertising earned itself back.
Advertising is not the way to go.
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I agree that advertising may not be worth while, however I think CDBaby web site could be modernized a bit (aesthetically). I know for me the excellence of the iTunes interface makes shopping there a great experience, and the best place to "waste" money. :-)
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Love the suggestion of advertising with artists contributing. I
would be happy to add a few dollars! Sales are about marketing,
with a few strategic placements CD Baby would sky-rocket.
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The way I see it, the $4.00 that CDBaby recieves for their services computes to the marketing budget for selling your CD on CDBaby, and through their affiliated partners. I wouldn't want to pay an additional few bucks for advertising. I used to sell limited editions and paintings for an art publisher. Sometimes we would negotiate publishing agreements with third party investors, and would charge at least 35% as a marketing fee, or budget, to market these limited editions. I may be wrong, but that's how I consider the $4.00 paid to CDBaby for every one of my CD's sold through their efforts and industry contacts. From their sales growth over the past few years I'd have to say that CDBaby really seems to be doing a great job following their own instincts and business perspective. Kudos to CDBaby.
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Derek,
I understand your point. However, I believe that CDbaby is still unknown to some segment of the market. Isnt it fair to 'reinvest' some profits of cdbaby to the exposure of the cdbaby for marketshare of consumers looking for NEW MUSIC? also exposure for artists. Here is an article which might help
"Advertising Can Be More Important Than What You're Selling."
-Michael Neubauer
Now, I'm not saying that you should sacrifice the quality of your products, you shouldn't. What I am saying, is that even though you may have a product or service that people really don't need or want, with some creative advertising you could do very well.
Let me remind you of a man you probably have heard of before. His name is Gary Dahl. What's so special about Mr. Dahl? Simple, he made millions of dollars advertising a product that was free to the world.
Gary Dahl was an advertising man who considered dogs, cats, birds and fish a pain in the neck. They were too messy, too misbeaved and they cost too much money he said. However, he had an idea...
In 1975 Gary Dahl introduced the Pet Rock at a San Francisco gift show. Creatively packaged with a Pet Rock Training Manual that included instructions for making your Pet Rock roll over, play dead and how to house train it. Neiman-Marcus immediately ordered 500.
Gary then put together a press release that showed a picture of him surrounded by boxes of his Pet Rocks. Newsweek did a half-page ad on Gary and his Pet Rock. In less than two months Gary Dahl was shipping 10,000 Pet Rocks a day!
By Christmas, 3/4 of all the daily newspapers in America had run stories on the Pet Rock. As soon as Christmas passed, Mr. Dahl relabeled the Pet Rocks as Valentine's Day gifts for loved ones in need of a low-maintenance pet.
The Pet Rock sold over a million units for $3.95 in 1975 and made Mr. Dahl a very wealthy man. If it wasn't for Gary's genius marketing and advertising skills, the thousands of pet rocks sold would still be sitting in Baja Mexico.
Mr Dahl's is an amazing story of how creative advertising can really take a product to new markets and instantly create a world-wide fad. Talk about get rich quick schemes, there are not many that can compete with that!
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I love the digital sales over cd sales , I have more Cd sales , But look at all of the cds I had to make.
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Great discussion on CD Baby advertising.
I don't see it as CDBaby's responsibility to advertise outside the realm of musicians. The artist should be hitting all their websites (myspace, homepages, etc.) with "BUY MY CD HERE" and a nifty CDBaby logo.
If anything, advertising $$ should be directed towards innovative ways to 'help artists help themselves.'
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I second Nick on advertising.
CD Baby shouldn't waste a dime on advertising. Just build affiliates like it continues to do.
It's up to the artist to advertise their product and CD Baby can use the money for better things.
Besides, the majority of CD Baby artists are on iTunes and iTunes and the iPOD has a GREAT marketing campaign.
One marketing slant I haven't seen Apple take yet is how much they are benifiting the indie artist community and how iTunes is truley the connection to the underground world.
An ad with Apple highlighting the fact that they sell CD Baby artists and support the indie musician (by giving us such a large share) would be nice.
People love Apple because they are not like the corrupt Microsoft. Apple and Indie go hand and hand. They should further that bond! Best Buy is using it as a marketing angle so why not Apple?
Monty
http://www.dimensionzero.com
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very interesting
I have a few questions
What % of CDBaby artists have their music in CDBaby's DD programs?
I'd be interested in seeing,
monthly CD sales vs monthly DD sales
Which artists/songs are your sales leaders in the DD program?
Is it still cover songs?
Is CD Baby contractually prohibited from rolling out it's own DD program?
ande
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This is great! CD Baby is growing in ways I would have never imagined.
Anyone else find the name CD Baby ironic now?
Reminds me of Microsoft.
Not that I would ever insult Derek Sivers comparing him to Bill Gates but I find it funny that two very large companies have a synonym of small in their name.
Monty
http://www.dimensionzero.com
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Not sure why Derek hasn't answered my point on Advertising...
I believe that indie fans NEED to be Aware WHERE to come to get indie cds.
Ignorance may be bliss in cdbaby's part but have to be careful they don't miss a turn similar to msn, yahoo, missed the Google growth. ibm missed the apple growth. cannot be complacent as a company in the online world. just my 2 cents. loyalty is only a click away.
if cdbaby is to prosper and GROW in the future advertising atleast in STRATEGIC locations online or as coop with apple is ESSENTIAL. unless ofcourse cdbaby has reached its potential with its limited staffing resource that growth is contradictory to its vision?
david
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what is an "indie" fan? Better to focus on music fans, now music fans can shop anywhere which makes deals like Tower, Best Buy and (hopefully) Amazon a more effective approach.
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> Not sure why Derek hasn't answered my point on Advertising
I did, above. Same answer applies.
I don't like advertising. I don't believe in advertising. I don't want to advertise.
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CD Baby reminds me a little of another company (which I once worked for) called Whole Foods Market. They don't do much advertising either but have had a big influence on the 'conventional' grocery store industry over the years. I agree that it's up to the musicians to let everyone know where to buy their cds!
Linda
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I believe advertising is important; however, on the other hand, have you ever seen or heard of any advertising from Amazon.Com? I haven't. I think that online retailers can be more subtle with their advertising through strategic partnerships with other successful online businesses.
But, quite frankly, the only brilliant piece of advertising I have seen lately is from EBAY - the "IT" concept. Now, that rocks. What a great branding idea.
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Rosanne,
your statement..........." I believe advertising is important; however, on the other hand, have you ever seen or heard of any advertising from Amazon.Com? "
Did you just wake up from a loooooooong sleep / coma?
have you ever seen any amazon.com banners/buttons via their affiliates, search engines, or coop advertising they do? Advertising is Advertising regardless of their various forms. we are talking about advertising for cdbaby arent' we? so it helps to pull a THRUST of Music fans into the site/portal to generate NEW sales from currently UNTAPPED market who is not aware of cdbaby. surely there is some 'business smart' people on this board?
surely ..anyone? see this ? I know we are musicians but surely...
david
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Do you have to be so rude. That is exactly what I said - online advertising is the way to go.
But television and radio - it is an "iffy business" now and THAT is what I was talking about. Those media outlets - the traditional ones.
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David, I think you need to go back and look at the chart at the top of this thread again.
CD Baby sold over 10 MILLION DOLLARS worth of CDs in 2005 alone, with NO traditional advertising, in an era where places like Sam Goody and Tower Records are struggling and/or filing for bankruptcy.
I'm willing to bet those other companies spent TONS of money on advertising.
By the way, the guy in your Pet Rock story only made 4 million, waaay back in 1975. And according to the article, he relied more on free publicity in the news than advertising. So I don't see how that's relevant at all.
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| by
on Monday February 13 2006 @ 09:15PM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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Hey Rosanne, I understood exactly what you were getting at.
And I agree, the IT concept is very funny and affective. I second
your question to Mr. Hunter, "Do you have to be so rude, Mr.
Hunter?"
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While I completely respect Derek's opinion and stance on advertising,
and also happen to agree for the most part.
I believe strategic and creative advertising can be very helpful,
and also that many people interested in new music and even many musicians I have spoken with know nothing about CDBABY.
I find it especially odd that Derek responds so strongly using the word "hate"
about advertising,
and at the same time runs FULL PAGE AD's in places like,
The Indie Bible,
Musicians Guide to Touring,
and with discmanufacturers,
these places all obviously only target musicians.
The Ads even read "Made A CD"? "We can help you sell it".
These are strategic ads that were used to grow a business.
Now its time to expand.
As the music industry as we know it nears its conclusion,
huge parts of the market are left wide open.
Apple understands this and is likely to take over most of the retail business,through a very strong and creative campaign.
The amount of wide open space CDbaby,and all indies has to grow is enormous.
Cdbaby's site has thousands of visitors every day looking for new music,
why not grow that to Millions.
As I stated previously ,
even co-op ads with we cdbaby artist's
investing gives us enormous power.
I hope this is viewed as constructive and respectful,those are my intentions.
Regards
Arthur
www.arthurnasson.com
www.philistinerecords.com
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For the record, those full-page ads were given to CD Baby, not purchased. Even if I don't like advertising, when someone is offering to do a full-page ad for free, it's silly to say no.
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Way to go, Derek. Right as usual.
My personal experience with conventional print display advertising -- I have the money to experiment, so I did -- is that it is a waste of money, at least in the music and specialized book business.
Even when those ads are carefully targeted and designed to say "buy."
I say that as somebody who has worked as a freelance copywriter for a boutique Madison Ave. Ad Agency. So I've seen this from both sides.
The Jazz Jouralist Assoc. sponsored a panel in 2005 in NYC, the booker from Tonic was there -- not a minor club in these parts -- and she said print advertising does nothing for their sales. They have to do a little advertising for other reasons, but it does not increase the crowd size.
Here's why: Books, CD, tickets at Tonic and similar items are too specialized a want, and are too cheap per item, to justify the hundreds/thousands of dollars publishers and broadcasters sell their space for.
For ads to increase sales -- as opposed to other goals, like making stockholders happy -- the item needs to be big ticket and/or desired by large groups of people. Indie music is neither.
What Derek does so well is PROMOTION, which is getting editoral coverage, writing emails, showing up and talking at conferences, etc. All this is free or much cheaper than conventional ads. It also carries great credibility (people don't trust ads) and enhances word of mouth, which is the most powerful advertising of all.
Way to go, Derek.
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CDBABY is great,it allows the most basic necessity of distribution to be acquired inherently,no fuss,no problems,no red tape,which a lot of people need in order to be at ease with their operation.No sales yet,be patient,you have to give your operation formula time to grow,like tomatoe plants,plant the seed,water the excavation,and in time the plant will start to grow hence tomatoes.I always say being a record label owner is not exactly being a gas station owner or laundromat owner,where sales are more frequent,however,properly run by using a good basic formula you can get to do as well as those kinds of businesses.For example I'm always dying to hear House Music and I buy everytime I get a chance,provided you're in it for the art eventually you're sales will happen.
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Thanks Derek for being so helpful to me and all the other Indies. The sales are great and I know they will just keep increasing because we have you to help us and you are always finding new places for our music.
I really appreciate your work and dedication to CD Baby.
"HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY"
and
GOD BLESS YOU,
Blanche Tate
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I cant see that CD Baby NEEDS to grow. It seems to be growing just fine. There is far too much emphasis on having to grow. If the company is prospering and everyone is having fun, who cares what it might miss? The Indie scene should be willing to stand apart, even if it means the dollars don't cascade in.
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>> There is far too much emphasis on having to grow. If the company is prospering and everyone is having fun, who cares what it might miss?
EXACTLY! Well-put, Ed. Thank you.
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I really think of CD Baby as a distributor rather than a record store like Sam Goody or Tower Records. But, a very special distributor with an indie attitude and you can purchase direct.
Who has ever heard of distributor advertising?
It just doesn't make sense in my opinion. The artists should advertise, not CD Baby.
Also, when Tower or Virgin records advertises they bring in customers. The customers are marketed to in the store via posters, display racks, what's playing in the store, etc. None of these apply to CD Baby.
Monty
http://www.dimensionzero.com
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| by RJ
on Wednesday February 15 2006 @ 04:48PM PST [ reply | parent ] |
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ugh!
a couple dollars worth of pennies....yikes!
how uplifting !
....happy to hear someone is raking in the big ones.....i need some shimmer to rub off on me!
what I must be doing wrong still escapes me....and i would so love to do another CD....
Best wishes to all! Sincerely ...
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I work at a coffeehouse you may have heard of:
Uncommon Ground
He never advertises either.
Some folks think he's doomed because of that.
Oddly enough, he's been going strong for 15 years, and expanded TWICE in that time.
Frankly, the world is already so saturated with advertising, that you have to spend a zillion dollars to have any effect at all.
Not to mention that the BEST advertising, as even ad gurus will tell you, is word-of-mouth recommendations.
Seems to me that CD Baby already *HAS* the ideal advertising campaign going for it:
About 99.99999% of musicians and music-industry people recommend CD Baby to their fellow musicians, and work pretty hard to drive their fans to CD Baby to sell CDs for anything other than direct sales at gigs/events.
So, not only do I think Derek is right in not advertise if he hates it; I think he's right to not bother to waste money advertising when he's got a monstrous geometrically-expanding advertising campaign going on for FREE.
The only people who haven't heard of CD Baby are so unlikely to be customers in the first place -- those that are content with the drivel from commercial radio and the boob tube.
Just my opinion.
Richard "If your CD isn't for sale on CD Baby, you're an idiot" Lynch
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I think those that are so pro CD baby advertising need to get a better understanding of Derek's thought patterns when it comes to business. If you read his writings and listen to his various interviews you will find that Derek is in the business for the enjoyment of helping out fellow musicians. He is a major proponent of "if it stresses you out, don't do it". Why would he get involved in an area of business that he dislikes? To Derek it's not about dollars and cents, but about keeping ones sense in a world that too many times measures worth in the amount of mansions and Rolls a person can collect. As an artist I can purely relate to Derek's point of view, and feel that heavy public advertisement is a waste of time and money. I love to perform and tour but booking completely stresses me out. So I hire a booking agent in order to do what I love. Derek can do what he loves without advertising, so it gets done without it.
Earnest
http://www.earnestwalker.com
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