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See http://cdbaby.com
It's a total rewrite from scratch.
Intentionally bare right now, there will be some more changes very soon.
NO NEED TO COMMENT ON THE LOOK/FEEL. It is temporary.
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I think the CDBaby website reflects the company: simple, efficient and clean. There's no BS or flashy images, just substance.
If you're worried about people "leaving" because the site looks empty, don't be! If people aren't bright enough to navigate this site... chances are they wont be able to make online purchases anyway!
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I love the simple, efficient, uncluttered, straight forwardness of your site and all the information in it. I don't have to dig through layers of mumbo-jumbo to find the information I need. Please keep it simple & plain. I actually think it loads faster and makes it more efficent to use.
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about the new website, i hope its under construction. image is so
important, especially for retail sales.
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I would love the CdBaby gives the possibility for the artist to promote his own music inside the store .
But now I seem it is impossible.
For example I suggest to add social bookmarking buttons like Digg, delicious and so on...
However I love this new template because it is very "accessible" and "easy-to-read", relaxing and more "modern" than the older.
Thank you.
http://www.musilosophy.com
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I think the new look is great! Clean and fresh, easy to move around. Easier for the customers.
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I think the new look is great! Clean and fresh, easy to move around. Easier for the customers.
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I think the new look is great! Clean and fresh, easy to move around. Easier for the customers.
www.kennsmith.com
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Great job.. as usual!
Max
www.myspace.com/supergodzilla
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Derek how about allowing the artists 4 or 5 genre possibilities? 3 isn't enough for some types of music.
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> 3 isn't enough for some types of music
Yep. 3 genres per album. (Most sites only allow one.)
The reason we limit each album to 3 genres is because if we had more, then most artists would be kinda stretching it saying, "Well... I'm a LITTLE bit jazz!", for example, then our entire Jazz section would be filled with Heavy Metal artists who have one jazzy song.
So, by giving artists the opportunity to choose 3, it doesn't limit it to one like most stores do - but it doesn't branch out TOO far so as to make the genres moot.
Besides, it's only per-album, not per-artist, so of course artists with many different albums can categorize each one under different genres, having that much more chance to be stumbled-across. (Assuming the genres are accurate.)
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Derek, I loved the cat at the bottom of the pages :) They are gone today? Can you bring them back?
Alex
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Shizzang! Dude, I thought it was something I smoked so logged in to read the news. Sweet makeover Derek & team. clean, crisp, like any space ship in the universe could decipher it. Clean and simple, not confusing is best for my fans world wide.
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Clean.
is there a way to sort the Sounds Like page into alphabetical order, rather than by the number of similar artists for each?
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> is there a way to sort the Sounds Like page into alphabetical order
Nope. It's meant for browsing not searching.
If someone is looking for a particular Sounds-Like artist they should go search.
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hmm...
When I looked at the page, I immediately looked for bands I liked to see if there was anything similar, and the link suggests that. Just found it confusing.
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I also like the new look! Elegent and Sophisticated!
Lorrie Sarafin
Heaing Sounsdcapes Inspired by the Sonoran Desert
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Looks great so far...will the CD Baby logo be making a return appearance? Just wondering if I would need to update links on my site that use the baby logo.
KevOz
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> will the CD Baby logo be making a return appearance?
Not sure. So much of what we do these days has nothing to do with the physical CD. I think it was distracting. (People often thought we were a CD manufacturing company.)
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"Not sure. So much of what we do these days has nothing to do with the physical CD. I think it was distracting. (People often thought we were a CD manufacturing company.)"
Well, you might as well leave it in the logo as long as the name of the website is still "CD Baby." As others have mentioned, time for name change? "Baby Records" maybe? Records covers all formats. Vinyl, CD, digital, any type of recording. Or, "Music Baby" even.
As for everyone complaining about CD-Rs, I have an EP on here that's a CD-R (and an LP that's not a CD-R). CD-Rs are chemical based and have a very short life span (I've see numbers as short as 6 years though my CD-Rs have lasted longer than that). CDs are going the way of the floppy disk so CD duplication is cheaper than ever. A few months ago I received a Disc Maker's ad saying a minimum CD order is now 700 (before it was 1000).
Add up the cost of ink, glossy insert paper, labor time (I was even shrink wrapping my CD-Rs with a $150 shrink wrapping kit), and ordering short run duplication CD-Rs from disk makers, not worth it! It's way to expensive and takes way too much time. I'm going to make some CD samplers for show promotional purposes and they will not be CD-Rs because CD-Rs are too expensive these days when you can press 700 for $700. Add up all your other costs and $700 is nothing.
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Yeah, Music Baby would cover it all. I'm sure the team there will figure out something catchy to expand on the brand that's been created already.
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I mostly like the new layout, but the way "CD-R" is displayed all over my page makes it sound like I got the CD from Staples and wrote on it with a sharpee. I prefer the way it was before, when there was a little note to let people know it that the format was CD-R.
Also, I hope the linkmaker will be back up soon.
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Yep. That'll probably get changed soon.
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That's funny. All the albums I have up for sale are CD-R. This is the first I've heard of there being a marginal note about that. Was that a fact that you submitted when you registered the title? Or did CD-Baby recognize the media as such? Sorry, if these are dumb questions.
Jason
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Hey Jason,
This is something we've recently started marking for our
customers, so they know what to expect. We've been doing it for all
new stock and restock and have someone going through *every*
CD in the warehouse to double check and mark them appropriately.
It'll be a while, but once it's verified you'll see that note pop up :)
- Lindsey
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I think putting that CD-R tag up is a very bad idea. As someone here already said it makes it sound like you bought a box of Memorex and used magic marker. I think you will see a huge drop in sales for those artists who hvaen't the money to afford glass master cds. And one of the great things about CD baby is the option to use cd-rs without persicution. That was one of the big problems I had with Amazon. I never understood why it should be a problem in this age of dowloading music. You are buying the Music not the media.
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> I think putting that CD-R tag up is a very bad idea
Our biggest customers demanded it. We have to balance the needs of the musicians, but also the needs of the music-buyers, of course.
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Derek
I think the problem is the CD BABY is the great leveler. It does level the playing field. But by doing this you have just ended that. The haves and the have nots. The big buyers will get what they want and can avoid any artists with cd-rs. No matter HOW well those cd-r ares are made. But the music is now out of the picture. It's the media. The big guys win. CD Baby is about the poor musician. Or it was. I've seen this before. The site starts out with the musician in mind. But as it grows he becomes least important. And the big buyers become tops. Then CD Baby is no longer the "great little music" site. It's on its way to becoming another corporation. I think the changes are unnecessary for the most part.
But I know personally of the sales I would have lost if they had known what the media was. And the music would have never been heard. Please, for once, let the little guy win. If it ain't broke don't fix it. In the end it's going to come back to bite you.
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Fred, I'm sorry but I disagree. The site has had "Format: CD-R" tags for over a year now, and 99% of customers are fine with that, but the 1% that are running reseller shops and such NEEDED to know, absolutely postively without-negotiating NEEDED to know before buying what format the CD was, since in Japan, CD-Rs are considered more worthless than dirt.
This has nothing to do with "the musician is less important" or "the big guys win" or any of those accusations.
This was just a valid requirement from the people buying a product to know what format of product they were buying. That's all.
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Well, I hope you right.
But it seems that 1% is leading the show.
Still, I've had the comment made "if I had known it was a cd-r I wouldn't have bought it."
More times than I'd like to count. And I hope you have personally talked to everyone in that 99%. They may say one thing and do another. I still feel like I should just pack in in now and get it over with.
We'll see....
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I want to make one more point before bowing out of this conversation and let somone else have their say.
I think this helps my point:
" since in Japan, CD-Rs are considered more worthless than dirt."
Everyone in japan?!! Well, I guess we shouldn't expect anymore sales from the Japanese market?The problem is it isn't JUST Japan.
It's almost everywhere. There is predjudice against cd-r, especially in a market where people are audiophiles. Sometimes I almost think the music is secondary to those people. "Good music, but if I had known...." And actuall comment on our page. I said it before and I'll say it again, The artist who has no choice BUT to use Cd-rs is going to get hurt. The oasis that was CD BAbY has just closed it's doors.
All the same, this is still the best place for small timers like me to go to and I love you for it Derek.
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The problem for me Fred, is simply my CD Player will NOT play or have anything to do with a CD-R which is frustrating as most hopefull Artists who send Tree demo CD's use CD-R and I can't listen to it at all. Very frustrating for both the artists and myself.
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before I send my cdrs out I test them on a walkman a boombox a computer a dvd player and my home stereo cd player and never had a problem. I think it is the duplication program that might be the issue most cd players have the ability to play all kinds of audio formats including mp3s.
I believe you should invest in a post 90s cd player so you can enjoy all the music you are missing on cdrs. oh yeah did I mention they work in my two car stereos too! But if you dont like the cdr then you should download the music. As you know the Quality is not as good but at least it is not on a worthless cdr. can I suggest apple Itunes, or I sound I have 45 or so sites selling my music and I was wondering why noones getting the cdS. are you going to give everyone the oppourtunity to send a new cd and remaster it and digitally resend everything probably impossable anyway next master will be sent in without using cdrs but tell us what to use for our next release for you.
http://cdbaby.com/cd/eatsu2
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| by
on Sunday September 23 2007 @ 02:33PM PDT [ reply | parent ] |
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Then I suggest investing in a better newer player.
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You've just proven the point that customers have the right to know.
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No, what I've proven is the BIG Shots think they have the "right" to any info as long as they have the monetary clout. Most small time buyers probably wouldn't even think about it.
I hope they only buy for the music. I know if I heard music I loved and could only get it on a stone. I'd by that stone. But a lot of folks aren't that way. They are more "anal." And the retailers certainly don't give damn about the music. They only care about making a buck. And THAT, in my opinion,is what this cd-r tag is really about. Derek said as much: "Our biggest customers demanded it." I'm not completely blind to the comnsumer. But the lack of that "scarlet letter" has worked fine her since 1999. I see no good reason to change it now.
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> retailers certainly don't give damn about the music. They only care about making a buck.
Oh I see, Fred.
Because the music fans repeatedly (daily) said, "Before I buy, I need to know what I'm getting," and we told them - you've come to the conclusion that we don't give a damn about the music.
Them's fightin' words, kiddo.
- Derek
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I can't say for sure Derek. Only you know how you really feel in your heart. I'm not one to back down from a good fight. But that isn't why I started this conversation. All I'm trying to say is the poor artist with the crappy cd-rs helped build this company. And you should not forget that either.
Yes, the buyers and the big buyers are paying customers. But I'll bet the artists with the crappy cd-rs did more than you'd care to admit in making this place what it is today. And you should at least heavily consider their feelings and try to stay true to them first. Maybe you'll find they have a tad more weight than the big buyers. When all is said and done, you own the place and have the say of what goes and what does not. You're going to do what you want anyway. Right or wrong. And that is subjective. I've said all I want to say about this. Maybe in time I'll be proven right or maybe you will. All i wanted to do was have my say. I've done that and will now crawl back to my dingy cd-r factory in beautiful downtown bumblefuck. Rock on brother.
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It was very very VERY VERY *VERY* considered.
It was only after YEARS of DAILY complaints from customers rightfully demanding to know what they were paying for that we set out on a project that is taking over 9 months and over $20,000 to go back through every single one of the 190,000 CDs in the warehouse to find out whether it is a CD-R or a CD, and mark it appropriately in the database.
We started doing this almost a year ago. You're just noticing now. CD sales have increased 30% since then, not dropped. Our CD-buying (and CD-R buying) customers buy more now, because of the comfort of knowing exactly what they're getting.
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Since CDBaby is now selling mp3 albums why should we have to submit CDs or CDRs at all? Why can't we submit by email a zip file of our mp3s directly to CDBaby. CDBaby already accepts by email the album cover art. It is the most econmical way for us independent artists.
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Does anyone know of a good cheap cd maker?
Say with a low number of cds? And without any of the printing or packaging?
Jake
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CD-Rs won't play on older CD players. It is relevant.
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I beg to differ.
I have a cd player from 1987 and I test every cd on it before they are shipped. And guess what? They all play.
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