| CD Baby DIY Musician Podcast |
 June 29,
2009
Ep.65 : Matthew Ebel - Stream your concerts to the world
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| CD Baby Music Podcasts |
 Music Discovery
 Hip Hop
 60's Pop
 Rockabilly
 Top Sellers
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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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Wow, search is blazing fast now, as are page loads.
(Is this the RoR migration?)
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Thanks! And no, it's all PHP. I tried for almost 2 years to convert CD Baby to Rails but it wasn't a good fit. Once I went back to PHP it all flowed quite fast.
Thanks for noticing the fast-load times. A lot of caching going on.
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Ah, interesting. Wonder what made it not a good fit?
(I was on the track to learning RoR but got sidetracked by CodeIgniter (which is more or less PHP on Rails)...)
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I'm glad it's being updated. I'm looking forward to the template that will be applied. Right now it looks like those fake search engine pages that come up when you mistype a url...
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pls get the new layout/graphics changed soon!
after finally convincing a new myspace friend to buy our CD, this is the response he sent me:
"I'll buy your records and do my best to promote you. But, how can I trust that site cdbaby.com?"
This is a sad day indeed. He is from Sweden and has never done business with CDBaby before. What do I tell him? It does look a bit shaky currently...
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I stumbled across the new site while updating my page. At first I
thought the domain had been hijacked. I came here to see if
there was any news and read that this is the new site. Are you
serious? This is the new site? It doesn't even look like a music
store. It doesn't even look like anything! I've been selling with
CD Baby for several years and have been waiting for things to be
upgraded. This is a downgrade(Although I will say the layout of
the actualy artist page looks much better). I love what CD Baby
has done for the indie music community, but with so many
companies popping up that allow indies to add downloads and
other cool features to their site, it's getting harder to want to
stay loyal. Are you guys still here for us? I hope there truly are
more updates coming very soon. I'm not going to wait another
couple years.
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i don't like the new look. i want the old one back. i want the wishlist back.
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The wishlist is more there than ever. Every album has an [ADD TO WISHLIST] button. Every person can have a wishlist, even if they're not signed up with us.
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DEAR BABY , WHAT HAPPENED ???????
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CD BABY WEB-PAGE SITE THAT I WAS SO SO PROUD OF ???????
EVERYTHING LOOKS SO SMALL AND SO WASHED OUT .
I CAN HARDLY READ IT .
I WAS SO PROUD TO DIRECT PEOPLE TO WHAT I ALWAYS CONCIDERED A GREAT LOOKING PAGE , BUT NOW I REALLY DON'T KNOW .
PLEASE TELL ME THAT THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU ARE CALLING "YOUR NEW LOOK" BECAUSE IF IT IS I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED .
I REALLY HOPE THAT THIS IS JUST TEMPORARY AND THAT YOU WILL SOON BE RETURNING BACK TO WHAT IT USE TO LOOK LIKE .
REALLY GUYS !!! , MAYBE I'M MISSING SOMETHING, BUT IN ALL HONESTY I DO NOT LIKE WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE AND WOULD THINK TWICE ABOUT DIRECTING FOLKS TO MY SITE AT THIS POINT .
PLEASE HOLLA BACK ,
CAUSE I NEED TO KNOW .
PATIENTLY YOURS ,
BLUE SKY
WWW.CDBABY.COM/BLUESKY
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Well- I'm gonna say it -
I see how you are shooting for "clean" - but the design reminds me of a site that you get when you accidentally type in a URL incorrectly.
There's a difference between clean and lack of design. While I usually like more whitespace- this is just a bit underwhelming. I'm afraid that people who hit the site for the first time are going to leave... perhaps thinking the site is broken.
Sorry derek - I'm trying to be constuctive here - I really LOVE cdbaby.
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| by D
on Tuesday August 28 2007 @ 08:48AM PDT [ reply | parent ] |
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"but the design reminds me of a site that you get when you accidentally type in a URL incorrectly"
I agree with this point. That is the first thing that came to mind. I personally would like to see the cdbaby website look more refined and slick. CDBaby is such a beautiful company, I think the website should be very classy and sopisticated.
I like some of the changes so far, like the indiviual cd pages, they look good. But the front page does look like one of those sites you stumble upon when you type the wrong url
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| by D
on Tuesday August 28 2007 @ 08:49AM PDT [ reply | parent ] |
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"sophisticated" I meant, lol
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I agree - I love a clean clear look but the site, in the present moment, just simply seems like it has NO design. very functional - but not at all creative and artistic. The trademark for me at CDbaby has always been the personal touch. not only do I have my CDs listed - but when I have boughten a CD I got a very personal message on the receipt. The one that made me smile the most was ---in this moment your CD is being personally taken off the shelves with white gloves on and then our staff is going to do a little mini parade down mainstreet and being it to the post box:) etc... CDbaby is a very loving place to buy and sell music. A wonderful communtiy.
In the moment it seems more like a warehouse feel.
Reduced to the max - but a miss a flower or tow - a joke - or even a red dot.
I trust though that it is a transformational process.
Kara
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I like it, it,s pretty cool now ,and even before
I,am just happy to be with cdbaby for life.
Derek you ,and your staff rock for sure. keep up the fantastic work.cdbaby is my home.
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I have to agree with Mildred. Most first time visitors will probably
just leave and not buy anything. I know I wouldn't. Any reputable
site puts forth a better effort. This looks more like Craig's List.
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I'll look forward to seeing more when the changes come. The clean look is fast and everything, but it is pretty jarring.
But yeah, dang, this is fast as hell now, a huge improvement, and I like the way the CD pages are laid out now too with all the links and whatnot.
I'll keep an eye on it, and also look forward to any NERDY details on how you produced it.
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the actual album pages are great - much better - i know you say intentionally bare at the moment so looking forward to the changes - just my ideas, but you cant please everyone (as in music itself) but the front page might benifit from a header with something like 'largest independant music store online' - and a few albums on the front page (random selection each visit maybe) and picking up on a comment before 'So much of what we do these days has nothing to do with the physical CD'perhaps a buy from iTunes, payplay ect button at the top of the album page like the links... i get most of my sales through downloads... anyway great stuff... especially the log in to email...
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I do like the cleaner look, the old look needed updating, and i look forward to some new styles being applied.
As a customer, it would be nice to have the navigation be a little smoother. It would be great to be able to click on the artist name at the top and pull up all the albums with that name as the artist. I believe that is a simple function many online shoppers are accustomed to.
I also miss the recommendations feature. I know it was rather subjective based on CD Baby employees making connections, but I did discover a few bands that way that I really love now.
Anyway, online shoppers are more saavy than they used to be, which is why sites like Amazon do so well. It's great to be different, but it's also valuable to do what has proven successful!
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> I also miss the recommendations feature
Hm? Recommendations are still there.
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Sorry, I meant the recommendations to try other bands. My album pages used to have suggestions to the Motet and a couple other great groups, now it's just the rest of my CDs (which is good, but a variety of bands is better for the customer). Likewise my CD was recommended on another band's page.
To everyone else... why all the negative feedback? Be constructive! Change in any fashion can be good.
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| by
on Saturday August 25 2007 @ 08:02AM PDT [ reply | parent ] |
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I like the new look much more but I understand that some people miss the old presentation. Perhaps there is a way to get from both worlds.
By the way the search function does not get better:
Search : igor stravinsky
http://cdbaby.com/cd/andrewlist
http://cdbaby.com/cd/ionelpetroi9
Don't see any igor stravinsky in the page comments.
SergeD
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> Don't see any igor stravinsky in the page comments.
It's not using page comments. It's what the artist listed as one of their "Sounds Like" famous artist references. It doesn't appear on the page.
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I didn't think it was possible. But it's worse. Please for the Love
of Your Artists. Hire a Graphic designer.
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I like the new look better for our CD page. I think it was time for a change, and I have trust that CD Baby will tweak the look over the coming weeks to be more pleasing to address the comments regarding the main pages.
I agree that just a little something extra will make it all look more inviting.
My only dissatisfaction is that I cannot change the photo for our CD - the one used that's been used (and sent to all the other sites) has some of the design cutoff, and it really doesn't look good - way too dark. Is there a way to upload another - or could I send you a new jpeg to use?
Thanks!
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Janice,
We would gladly help you update the photo for your CD Baby page!
Just send a 1000X1000 pixel jpeg of the cover to
fixes@cdbaby.com. They'll get that updated for you.
Sorry some of the design was cut off! Always feel free to let us
know if there is an issue.
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Thanks Kevin, I will do that. I should have said something months ago :) Didn't realize it could be so easy.
About the new design, (or lack of the old design really), it is simple, clean and easy to read. Honestly I was never crazy about the cartoonish bright purple and lime green-yellow look.
I look forward to seeing the finished design/colors, as we've been told it is still a "work in progress" - thanks Derek!
Janice
http://cdbaby.com/cd/boomchix
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| by
on Saturday August 25 2007 @ 02:41PM PDT [ reply | parent ] |
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| by
on Saturday August 25 2007 @ 03:56PM PDT [ reply | parent ] |
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I'm sorry to say, I really don't like this new look and design. The option to email the artist (a pivotal function in my view) used to be right up there on the left, very visible and intuitive - the way it should be. Now it's way down on the bottom, almost as if an afterthought. The white is waaaaay too much...bland, boring and it takes personality away because frankly the whole site is now washed in white to begin with. I don't feel as proud forwarding fans to my CD Baby page now as I did before. Call me old-fashioned, but I want the old style and design back!
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I agree the emailing thing is important, which is why I made it more prominent than ever. Before, it used to be buried in the links and would pop up this window, asking people to enter all their info. Now it's right their with its own big section, and the customer's info already filled out, so all they have to do is type their message and hit send. The number of people using it has definitely increased in the past day since the new cdbaby.com was released.
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What happened? My shopping cart no longer functions! Will this be fixed anytime soon?
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Hi Steve. Sorry about that. Works again now.
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What happened? My albums that i saved on my old wish list is no longer functions! Will this be fixed anytime soon?
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Chi-Town Dee: just click [ACCOUNT], up top, and log in. Once you do, it will find your old wishlist, and transfer it to the new system. If that fails, email cdbaby@cdbaby.com with the details. Sorry for the trouble.
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Like the old setup better, but I know why you made the change, . . .
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I don't mind the minimalist look, but it's hard to be found if you're not on the front page of your genre. I kind of liked how it used to have a link to find more Celtic-folk artists, etc, or whatever your genre is. Since the change my page hits have dropped off to almost nothing. Any way to make the rest of the artists more accessable?
www.brianthomas.ca
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> it used to have a link to find more Celtic-folk artists
Hm? All the links that were ever there are still there. Not sure what you're referring to. Could you be more specific?
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When you go to the genre page, you used to see a question that said, "Want to see more celtic-folk picks," and another link that said, "want to browse all celtic-folk artists." I can't find those anymore. If I was looking for Celtic-folk music and went through the 'style' 'folk' thing, then I'd just have access to 20 new artists and 10 editors picks.
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This is certainly the case for many other genres, too. For example, selecting "Country: Alt-Country" from the "styles" directory gets you 10 "top sellers," 10 "new arrivals," and 10 "editor's picks." If you're not one of those 30 artists, no one will ever find you by browsing except through an external link or using the search box. Curiously, if you are a "Country: Bakersfield Sound" artist, they can find you through a link titled "(See an alphabetized text list of all Country: Bakersfield Sound albums.)" So my advice would be to put one of those alphabetized-text-list links on each style-subcategory page.
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> See an alphabetized text list of all...
That is appearing on ALL genre pages now. Only thing is our site keeps a cache a couple days old, so if you don't see that on a genre page today, it'll surely be there by tomorrow. It's just something I forgot to add the day I launched it, but added it later that day.
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Thanks for your response, Derek, but it's two days later and the problem persists. Just bringing it to your attention.
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Brian - Found out why your page hits dropped off : my rewrite accidently forgot to include the page hit counter. It wasn't logging ANY hits for those 36 hours or so. It's back now. Sorry about tat.
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wow really bare! I dunno about this one.
also I notice mp3baby.com is also mapped to this, is there an mp3 download store on it's way?
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Yeah, it's really too bare, like some of these guys said - i thought there was a mistake. I'm all for upgrading, but for some reason, looking at the blank page makes me distrust this site, there's no logo, etc. and with a new CD releasing soon, I feel kinda sad about directing people to a site i've grown to really trust to sell my music.
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I thought something was wrong with my computer when I first logged on. I have to say I don't like the new look. It has cheap look to it. I also noticed the editors pick lists have been shortened dramatically and because of that I am no longer on the list because of it. That sucks.
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Editor's Picks are same length as always. They just constantly rotate every day.
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The Front Door of a website is the most important thing for a website so I'm curious to see how much more design will go into the first page. I'm not saying it should look just like iTunes or Napster but it wouldn't hurt to borrow an idea or two.
Maybe incorporate some zine elements that refer to artists selling music on the site like quotes, short interviews / stories / pictures, artist of the week or month, customer quotes / stories, DIY info, embeded artist vids on youtube, etc.
Make it cool for people to buy music from CD Baby as well as hang out at CD Baby... Kinda like Amoeba Record store in SF.
Good Luck and thanks for everything!
Look forward to the relaunch.
Dj Sid
www.myspace.com/apocalypze
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why do people love the new look? i hate the new look. i want the old look back, all my albums that i saved on my wish list are now gone. i'm very upset about this. Derek, you just like George Lucas if you know what i mean. he ruin star wars and you ruin cd baby.com
cd baby.com is my favorite web site of all time, and now it's not the same.
nice going Derek!!
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Chi-Town Dee: just click [ACCOUNT], up top, and log in. Once you do, it will find your old wishlist, and transfer it to the new system. If that fails, email cdbaby@cdbaby.com with the details. Sorry for the trouble.
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the new look is good and looks like it could be added onto. Maybe offer different background color like black or blue and throw in a new logo.either way I thinks its moving in a good direction. one other comment, i'm thinking about dropping amazon/advantage, has anyone else had bad experience with them?
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Hey Derek,
It's fascinating to me that so many like or hate the new design.
How about enabling a cdbaby.net admin feature for each artist
to choose from a wide array of different CSS templates for their
cdbaby pages (much like hostbaby wizard) ?
:-)
:-)
:-)
Either way, thanks for ALL the ongoing improvements you're
always making and working on.
-Steven
http://www.stevencravis.com
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Hi Derek, I am a huge customer buying several thousand dollars of cds a month. I relied on the upc codes that showed with each cd. PLEASE tell me they will be back on the pages very soon. Thank you!
Rob Harvey
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I thought something was wrong with my web browser...it is all
white, now I know and am in the know.
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"Intentionally bare right now, there will be some more changes very soon."
I hope so. While I like a streamlined interface, as it is now, it's hard to find music or a particular artist by category. I know you CAN, but when I asked my wife to find an artist just by the type of category they fit, she had a very hard time doing it. In fact she couldn't and quit trying. I had to show her how. NOT GOOD for any non-showcased artist.
Now, if they are a top seller or editors pick, that's easy. There needs to be MORE PROMINENT links to access the rest of the artists off the main pages.
There are some really good suggestions in this thread and I'm anxious to see what you eventually come up with.
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civility folks!!!
It's certainly understandable that some people would not like the
new changes. However, it's really embarrassing to read the
"over-the-top" comments I often see in these forums.
No one is perfect - but I'd argue Derek's a pretty sharp guy with
good intensions and who genuinely wants what's best for this
amazing community he's built from scratch. (Anyone remember
when he refunded everybody's money when he couldn't deliver
online downloads as quickly as he'd hoped? )
If you don't like his choices - ask him why... suggest options...
whatever, but don't attack the guy like he's purposely trying to
screw up your career!
Anyway, Derek, I'm not crazy about the changes. How dare you
spend all that time trying to make the site better. Stop it. 8^)
Maybe just a little color?
Fran
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Seems like all questions about the look are being intentionally
ignored. Why?
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Because the look is moot : it will be entirely different in a few days. I was more concerned with the back-end software that runs the site, first. That's entirely different for the first time since I started the company in 1998.
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Dear Derek,
sorry to say it looks like those fake search engine pages that come up when you mistype a url...
Maybe it's possible to add some style switch like you see on serveral blog sites???
And maybe we can add some sort of 3d lipsync talking character, like alicebot.org so people can talk/chat width cdbaby and their artists. Send you an email about this. Jeso is also a hardcore php programmer and was involved as beta-tester back in the good old Clipper days, even had talks about being their technical support manager for the Benelux and Russia...
You don't stand alone!
Give it a go!
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buy the MP3s straight from the site !!! you are beautiful babies !!! (i get virtually all my sales digitally) can't believe some people are negative about the work you are doing - 'Intentionally bare right now' can't seem to grasp that can they - anyway lots of us have wanted this for a long time - along with the links section this will give buyers much more choice... excellent !!!
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So many good things happening on the CD Baby site. So much hard work and creativity has gone into it. Have those of you who are complaining checked out the new MP3 stuff at all? And did you even read this? "Because the look is moot : it will be entirely different in a few days. I was more concerned with the back-end software that runs the site, first. That's entirely different for the first time since I started the company in 1998." CD Baby doesn't need me to stick up for them...but come on. Complaining is the easiest thing in the world, and so destructive. So here I am complaining about the complainers...I know. : ) Thank you Derek - the new changes are great. You've always been the best advocate for indies.
Lynda
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Although I do appreciate a "bare" look for readibility, I do think a little window dressing is needed. When consumers see such a "safe-mode" appearance, they are not as attracted to a site that has at least a few bells and whistles. I think it would work great with like a blog-page look. Simple yet professional and allows for a couple of logos and header graphics but still keeps a very bare page body. The average consumer feels more confident with a slightly professional look to a webpage. Keep it simple, but you gotta add a little something. Think blog style!
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In my humble opinion, this new site is too hard on the eyes. The customer will not linger longer with this white presentation. It needs more organization. Everything is dispersed. The eye does not know where to go. It has now lost the richness in aesthetics. There were grounding qualities symbolic to the richness of Purple, Green and Gold, now gone. I was once so proud of the presentation and directing people to the site. Now, it all seems like a "cloud in the sky" you see it but it not real or tangible. Can you try just a little harder to perfect it? It is not there yet.
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Hi, it has been said that the FORMAT CD-R thing is not too great, it really sounds like self-burned supermarket disks, and mine arenŽt so please...?
And yeah..its still there.
Besides that, with a little bit of color....great.
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I very much miss the ability to include returns in the group
description field.
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I was surprised by the new look, and I like it very much!!! CDBaby does not need "spectacular web design", it's about music, and so I think many others will enjoy that too in times of overloaded web pages.
But I agree with Aquarian Age about the "Format CD-R" thing... there are also several artists that I know, selling a CD-R on CDBaby, which is not displayed on their sites!
Would you please remove that? We would like to make a good promotion of our music. And I, as a listener and musician, think it's okay when the artist sells his CD-R to a fair price. In any case every production costs a lot of money!
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I disagree, i like the Format CD-R thing. do NOT remove that. people need to know what they are buying, real CD or CD-R. that's a good thing.
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Also Cd-r are "real" Cd, or what else?
A good Cd-r has the same audio quality. The Cd is more resistant to dust and sun light so it generally
lasts more (200 years). The Cd-r last about 70-200 years but it depends on how you use it.
Just my 2 cents.
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I sent them a REAL CD....but for Europeans it doesnŽt make too much sense to ship them back and forth....so I made it DD only. I really hope this CD-R mark is gone soon.
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If you go ahead and e-mail us at cdbaby@cdbaby.com we can get
that removed for ya, if it's digital only!
Ask and you shall receive :)
- Lindsey
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You delivered...THANK YOU!
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What is CD Baby's cut from download sales on the new site? Is it
the physical CD charge of $4 or is it the digital charge of 9%?
I think the changes are for the best!
Thanks,
Mike
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9%. It's not announced yet. Just turned it on a few hours ago for testing. More news later.
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maybe this is a good time to totally re-brand cdbaby with a new name.
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There is something to be said for "Make a good impression the first time because you might not get a second chance". Please don't be offended but this site looks very cheap and cheesy, like you just opened your doors on the internet.
Your service is great, your responses when I have had a question are answered promplty, and I have had no problems with any sales that my customers have had that I know of.
Maybe you should consider hiring a professional WEB DESIGNER TO HELP YOU DESIGN your "New Look". I am not impressed with this AT ALL. Products that are packaged today are packaged with a certain look and colors for a reason - SALES! My designer for my CD cover was hired by me for a reason as well and I really had to scrape and claw for 8 years to get my CD Written, Arranged, Produced, Manufactured and Packaged and paid for with hard earned CASH out of my own pocket. The reason was to DRAW attention to my CD COVER and them inside to listen to my music! I can't see that alot of effort and thought went into your New Look.
T. ROY TAYLOR
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I REALLY love how the new artist's page looks! Derek, you and cdbaby are doing an excellent job! You already let us know that the main cdbaby page may look a little bare as of now, and that you planned on adding more to it. Whatever you touch seems to turn to gold, so keep doing your thing. I also saw that we can download the album now as an mp3. Is this something you will let us know about in an email or something? Well, have a Blessed week all! GOD Bless.
-maCmoses
http://cdbaby.com/cd/macmoses
www.macmoses.com
www.myspace.com/macmoses
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The new look is terrible. Hopefully it will have some graphics
soon? There's nothing that catches your eye. The overall
impression is extremely boring and dull. Desperately needing
something interesting for the eye to look at.
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I want the eye to look at the artist, their music, their descriptions, and of course the [BUY] button. Nothing else.
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hmmmm with MP3 downloads the line has been blurred even further between a distributor and store. I'm cautiously excited....but this digital landscape is getting weird.
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| by
on Monday August 27 2007 @ 12:38PM PDT [ reply | parent ] |
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he's not done with the new look (read above). Be patient
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Derek! You are a machine. I can't imagine how much you've laboured over this re-design. I know most of it we'll never see.
Now, I have a few thoughts:
1. There seems to be some caching issues in the Members section. Specifically when updating things such as Genres or Location, and Links. Sometimes it took a few clicks are attempts for things to change and update.
2. Can we adjust the MP3 pricing independently of CDs? I noticed they didn't change when I adjust my CD price down. I'm keen on selling MP3s for almost half the price of a physical CD, maybe less. But I'm sure you guys have costs factored in as well.
3. PEOPLE QUIT YOUR BITCHIN' & BE PATIENT.
4. Please don't ever allow people to customize the look of their pages!
5. Search. When I'm at the home page I'll use that little search box in the top right corner. I'll enter something like "gypsy butterfly" and nothing comes up. The artists is listed as "the gypsy butterfly" -- how is it that the search has no results? I do the same on the Search page in the Artist field and no results. Just curious.
Further to that, if I enter my first name "trance" in the Artist field(s), I get a list breaking down artists and albums in the Electronic: Trance genre. :) Me confused. No big deal, naturally.
Thanks for all your hard work, man.
tb
tranceblackman.com
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> I'll enter something like "gypsy butterfly" and nothing comes up. The artists is listed as "the gypsy butterfly"
We had to make our search engine more strict, because customers were getting angry that it was giving too many results. (If someone searched for Dave Smith, they'd get every page that had the word Dave AND every page that had the word Smith.)
So - now it only returns exact results.
But - you can control which exact-search-results you want to be found in.
Just log in to your account:
https://members.cdbaby.com/
... and click EDIT ALBUM INFO next to your album.
There, under "Optional (barcode, etc.)" is a place where it says, "Common mis-spellings of your name or other names you are known by?"
Enter up to three ways that people might be searching for your name.
Once you do, it should be in the search results for those terms tomorrow.
In your example: The Gypsy Butterfly should enter Gypsy Butterfly as a possible mis-spelling of their name.
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Hi,
How exciting ! Thanks !! I have a couple of questions. First, re.
Searching. I'm not sure if this is a widespread problem or not. I
tried a few times and it worked for some people and not others
(eg myself).
If I go to the Search (find music you will love) link and search
my last name in "artist name" , nothing is found. It requires my
full , first and last , name. Is this normal?
The second question is re the new "buy mp3" option . Tres
exciting !! Is there a way to change the price of the mp3 version
of the album? Currently it is set at the same price as the tangible
version and it would seem to be reasonable to have it cost a bit
less.
Anyways, Thanks for this exciting progress .
All the best,
JZ
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oops, sorry you read my mind and provided an answer to my
"search" question while I was typing. As usual: Thanks ! That
worked as described. Nobody's more on the level than Derek !
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I hope it ends up looking much like filmbaby.com. That is a well designed site. Easy to find ALL the movies in a Genre. Simple and elegant.
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| by D
on Tuesday August 28 2007 @ 09:17AM PDT [ reply | parent ] |
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I WHOLEHEARTEDLY AGREE!!!
Filmbaby is a nicely designed site with a nice, MODERN logo (sorry but the current cdbaby logo looks like something out of the 80's).
Man I LOVE cdbaby. I don't think there is ANYTHING WRONG with wanting to lood good. I'm not for unnecessary bells and whistles, but I do want the site to be killer. I mean, look at the Itunes store. Its simple, but elegant. THAT is what cdbaby should be as well, IMHO.
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I also agree, the Filmbaby site is very well designed, and would
make a good model for the new look of CD Baby. It's got just
enough color and graphics to be pleaseing to the eye, inviting,
modern. But not so much as to be distracting form the content.
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Question:
with the mp3 zip file buy option, does cd baby still take 4 dollars, or is it treated like a digital purchase?
Raymond Gregory
http://raymondgregory.com
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We only keep 9% of digital sales, even from cdbaby.com
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I've always like the 'clean' look period! It' gives all of the focus to the music and not the site itself.
Q: will this change affect the CDbaby links we already have on our other pages i.e. myspace, personal pages, blogs?
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> will this change affect the CDbaby links we already have on our other pages
Not at all, no.
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Dear Derek!
Very good. Minimal, modern design. No B.S.
That's the way to go.
We love you;
Peter & Elizabeth aka Blue Star
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Browse link in the previous version was very useful, don't see it now. Now you have to go to new arrivals, then look for the style you want and then click on it...
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Browse link in the previous version just took you to another page where you had to click Style, New, Search, Style, etc. Now all links that used to be in Browse are directly in the top navigation.
Only 1 click instead of 2 click now.
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I appreciate that there's no longer "CD not available" for digital-only releases. That always looked a bit strange. I also appreciate the possibility to download MP3s for the digital-only solution.
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1) The 800 x 600 resolution is not "fixed" making me to scroll left & right...
2) The localization and separation of items is bad
3) Missing the "Number of LP's" on EVERY type of music (VERY important!)
4) Missing the Links to the LP's on every ORDER
5) Orders not yet finished APPEAR UNDER the ORDER LIST... ??
6) CANNOT CHANGE the order that was NOT completed! BAD!!!
7) The Postage Calculation is also erratic!!
8) Cleaning Browser Cookies DELETES THE WHOLE "wish List"! VERY BAD!
and so on and so on...
:-(((((((((((((((((((((
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2) The localization and separation of items is bad
3) Missing the "Number of LP's" on EVERY type of music (VERY important!)
4) Missing the Links to the LP's on every ORDER
Hi Marco - Thanks for your feedback but could you explain #2, 3, 4, please? I don't understand what you mean.
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Looks like a question i asked on another discussion has been answered with this new design, encoporating DD.. although you have'nt switched it to your ddbaby.com domain, which i did wonder if you would do..
However i prefer what you have done adding it to cdbaby.com... it is the name people remember and still many record labels still use the word record which was associated with vinyl.. so cool, nice setup and i agree about the logo, time for it to go and a new one i think.. then sites like bathtub music & other copycat sites will have to try and copy you all over again, or come up with there own designs and ideas..
Nev.
http://www.allseeingeye.tv
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PS... i actually like the white background, someone said refreshing, it is... crisp and clear, asthetically pleasing...
http://www.allseeingeye.tv
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What's the bit rate of the MP3 files that are available from the artist pages now?
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Please see the little (About MP3 downloads at CD Baby) link next to every [add MP3 to cart] button.
http://cdbaby.com/mp3
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Great! Including liner notes is great. I hope, in the future, we can include lyrics too.
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BTW... Does the kitten in the bottom right hand corner of the home page stay? :)
I know some people will say bombard the site with graphics and flash but it's a gimmick and one which still irritates users intensely.. one of the reasons cdbaby has been so successful from listeners i have talked to, has been the 'here it is, come and get it' design and the easy non-flash, non-graphics intensive interface.. i hope this remains..
http://www.allseeingeye.tv
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Three suggestions:
A simple separator line between the "tracks" and the bio text - a 1 pixel black line running down between might be nice for separation.
Set the "play" links so that you can't actually play every song right on top of each other - clicking one turns off any previous. It is possible to create a wall of noise.
Turn off "Format CD-R" for digital only distribution - if it's coming MP3 (or via i-Tunes), it doesn't matter the format. All mine are DD only, for example; so it is irrelevant - no one deals with a physical CD.
Reduced price for MP3 sales from CD Baby? Obviously - these same albums will sell for $9.99 at iTunes.
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On the Sounds Like... page the "famous names" are categorised by Genre - yet this categorisation does not exist when one chooses the "Sounds like" artists from the Artist Admin area.
This means that if one chooses, for example, "Enya" for an album in the genre "Folk", one will never be found because there is no "Enya" in the list of Folk artists!
Perhaps a solution would be to change the artist admin area so that the "Sounds Like" choices are presented in a drop-down list based on the Genres chosen for an album?
I do hope that is clear....
And the new site looks smart, if a little plain!
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Derek, what is going on with the partner links? I have referrals from my web site through the partners program, and I no longer see the "from..." language in the page title of the CD from my referring links.
And assuming it's reinstated (or still working, but not showing up), will the partners program work for referrals if the customer ends up buying the mp3s instead of the physical disc?
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The affiliate cookie is still there, even though you don't see it in the title-bar. Sorry but because the pages are cached now, I'd have to un-cache everything just to show the affiliate word in the title. It is working, though. And no room for an affiliate cut for download sales, unfortunately. Our measly 9% (as compared to Apple's 30%) doesn't leave room for affiliate kickbacks. Sorry!
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will MP3 singles be for sale as well or just albums?
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That's weird, Cameron!
If you'd like those back please just shoot an e-mail to
cdbaby@cdbaby.com and we'll have our editors work on this for
you.
It's important that everyones linked up to other cool music.
:-)
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I like your suggestions, lowlights!
If you need CDR removed from your digital only albums, just e-
mail cdbaby@cdbaby.com and lemme know :)
- Lindsey
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If all future copies of my album are on "real CD", will CD Baby get rid of the CD-R notice on my page? Sorry if this is obvious, but I need to know before making assumptions....
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We most certainly will, but if we accidentally space it just send us
an e-mail and we'll take care of it ASAP!
- Lindsey
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Derek, may I make a suggestion about the new all white background:
You may now notice that album covers with white borders or predominately white backgrounds are "washed out" and merge into the all white of the website background, rendering some of them unrecognizable as a square composition, without a border.
May I suggest a grey or beige (or other suitable neutral color) strip in the header containing the album cover, so it is contained as a square picture of the album artwork? Or possible something else to give it a border and keep it from disappearing into the background?
A lightly colored simple header or band would also give the pages some definition and keep them from being so stripped down looking, without losing the "clean" effect you are going for.
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Hey Derek, since cdbaby is the name of your website, do not remove the cd from the babys face. it looks empty or not finished, all you need to do on your home page is add also sales of digital music.
Derek where on the artist pages does it say buy ringtones here? it should have a ringtone purchase area. I have made most all my sales through verizon ringtones, big business. You should look into how people can buy ringtones right on cdbaby sites.
David Ireland
creekside rock band
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Derek:
I DO like the looks of the new site but I am concerned about no
DRM on the MP3's of the music. TRUST? I do not recall signing
any kind of creative commons copyright. Can we choose to
remove the link to the non-protected MP3's offered on our sies?
Why weren't we asked first about this? The only reason I chose
digital distribution through CD Baby ws because I knew there
would be protections... I really think we as the artist should have
the choice as to whether or not we want to offer our music
unprotected...
Lorrie
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Lorrie : Apple iTunes, Rhapsody, Yahoo Music, Emusic, Snocap, MP3tunes, PayPlay, and in fact MOST of our digital partner companies sell music with no DRM.
If you want to remove your music from places that sell without DRM, it will only be available in a few obscure places.
You can remove your MP3-sales from CD Baby by setting the price to 0. (That will make it not-for-sale as MP3.)
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Thanks, Derek -
BTW - as far as a background - why not tile the old CDBaby logo -
and then use a software program to make it look like it's embossed
- I think that would be cool and would be a way to keep the logo
in the site - you might need to adjust the contrast so it's not oo
jarring with all the other stuff going on...
Lorrie
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Hey Derek. Thanks for getting back to everybody. I appreciate that you care about all of our individiual concerns. One of mine got dropped in a previous thread, so here's another try. When you go to the genre page of any genre, you don't have any access to browse other albums besides the 10 new, the 10 top sellers, and the 10 editors picks. You used to have a link that said, "Want to see more Celtic-folk picks?" and one that said, "want to see all the Celtic-folk albums?" I get most of my CD Baby sales from people browsing, and they're not finding me anymore!
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Hi Derek and everyone,
I like the way the changes are going, keep up the good work. One thing appears to be a bug though: we sold an mp3 download of our record today, and the in-stock amount went down by one on the physical CD's....
Thanks,
Chris
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Hey Chris, you should shoot me an e-mail at cdbaby@cdbaby.com
with your album title and we'll look into this for ya!
- Lindsey
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Derek,
I'd like to see flexibility in the 'opt into digital distribution' area
https://members.cdbaby.com/dd
to only choose sell as mp3 on cdbaby.com
This would apply to a situation where we took the CD off of all
other distribution, but still have it on CDbaby site, and still
would like to sell it as an mp3 right from your site.
Is this possible?
Otherwise I'm unable to sell mp3s for CDs that it tells me have
people waiting for. Maybe those people would be willing to buy
mp3s.
-Steven
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Steven (Cravis)--
That's totally possible.
After you've signed up the album for Digital Distribution, do the following:
1. Log into your members' account.
2. Hit [YOUR ITEMS], up top.
3. Hit EDIT ALBUM in the box for the album you want to be sold as MP3 on cdbaby.com *only*.
4. set the MP3 price to whatever you want; something other than zero (this is behind the "Basic Album Info" link).
5. Go to the "How much Digital Distribution" link on the main "EDIT ALBUM" page. Look in the very lower right of the white box, and click that "restrictions" link.
6. Say "yes" when it asks if you have per-company restrictions. Then choose "send to NO companies by default, only the ones I say".
7. You'll see here it display a little table saying that for all companies, you don't want your album to be sent.
That's it! Hope it helps.
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Oops. I meant to say "it displays" in #7 up there. /me is grammar-nazi extraordinaire.
To explain the principle behind my "just get it done, dammit" answer above:
The basic idea, Steven, is that you've given us permission to distribute your much digitally, so we can sell it from cdbaby.com in good faith, BUT you're telling us not to send it out to iTunes / Rhapsody etc., which accomplishes the end-result you're looking for.
There are also a number of internal processes (encoding audio files, etc.) that don't start until you're signed up for Digital Distribution.
Hope that helps assuage those who are curious.
--jibbles
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CD Baby is not a marketing or promotion company. They have done more to empower individual artists than anyone hands down.
New site looks cool to me!
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Sorry if this has been addressed already, but now I see I have to scroll left & right to read all the contents on the artist pages, whereas I don't remember having to do that before...hopefully that will be corrected -- I know these things take time. I like the sparse look of the site now, though. Clutter makes me crazy.
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| by jz
on Wednesday August 29 2007 @ 01:11PM PDT [ reply | parent ] |
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Mp3 download is very exciting Thanks ! Is there or will there soon
be a way to download individual tracks? It would be so lovely to
have this option.
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> is there a way to download individual tracks?
Yes : go to iTunes :-) We won't be selling individual tracks on cdbaby.com.
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at first i was not sure if i was at the right place. when i went to check out our site.
the info appeared at the bottem.. so it took a while to find it.. thanks
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You guys should of made your new website for your new front page first,then insert it. It looks like your piecing pieces. put the cd back in on your babys face on your home page, it looks cheesy the way it is now PLEASE fix it.
That is your amazing logo, that some genius created dont destroy it! Also your home page is out of whack as of 5:39 pm california time, you probably know, but just incase you dont.
David
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I think this is really great to sell cd,s in digital mp3 format I,am already telling friends and posting it on my web sites . Thank you so much Derek ,and cdbaby staff.
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I posted this previously but it looks like it was deleted. I would really like and answer to this.
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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We can not accept MP3 files, because every audio file in the CD Baby library needs to start from the original lossless (16-24 bit) master.
Every song is then encoded into the 17 different audio formats required by all of our partner companies. If the starting file was an MP3, it'd sound pretty bad when transcoded into WMA, AAC, etc.
So - in short : we need the original WAV master or audio CD.
WAV files are too big to attach to an email.
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p.s. If you ever "need" an answer to something, email cdbaby@cdbaby.com. This is just a public bulletin board and replies are not required. :-)
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George (and others trying to get a physical CD):
Did you know that you can get a real physical CD made and sent to CD Baby for less than $10?
You don't have to drive anywhere. You can do the entire process on the 'net in about a half an hour of your time and a couple hours of upload time.
There is a company that promotes CD Baby that does this for you. I have no idea why CD Baby doesn't return the favor and promote them.
That company is Kunaki. You can find them at Kunaki.com.
First take your MP3s and burn them to a CD. You can do that with software built into Windows. Linux also has free software that does that.
Then make your cover art conform to the specifications of Kunaki. Then upload it all with Kunaki's free software and create and account at Kunaki (100% free). Then you can immediatly start selling through Kunaki. They take $1.60 which is even less than CD Baby.
You can also order the five copies to send to CD Baby directly from Kunaki for $1.60 each plus $3.00 handling. Shipping is also a bit more. So for less than a $20 spot... you can have real CDs at CD Baby. You won't have the CD-R designation. You won't have CDs sold only as MP3s. You will have a REAL shrinkwrapped CD.
In addition, you can send them to Amazon where you'll get a lot more sales than CD Baby.
I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't want a real CD for their product. I suspect the only reason is cost. You imagine that it costs hundreds of dollars to create a real CD. It doesn't. It also is no hassle. You just upload and Kunaki manufactures for you.
-James D. Brausch
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Thanks for great info James. I will do as you say.
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I doubt very much that Kunaki produces glass-master CD duplicates. I suspect, like many other low-cost producers that they make CDR's. High quality, I'm sure, but nowhere on their website does it say they are doing duplication, not replication.
So cdbaby will still mark the CD as a CDR.
Feel free to correct me if there's some info I've missed on their site, it does look attractive even with CDRs.
-Chris
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Dimes to dollars the Kunaki discs are CD-R. Perhaps carefully printed CD-R, but CD-R nonetheless. The primary giveaway is that it's too expensive to make the glass master needed for replicated CD-Rs when not printing at least some kind of minimum run (300 being a starting place, with most companies requiring 500 or 1000 minimum to do glass mastered, replicated CDs.)
Also, be advised when preparing a 'master' of your album that if you start with MP3 (a lossy format) and burn it on a CD-R, then it gets converted back to all the downloading formats that CDBaby needs to make, it's being converted *again* - and again, in a lossy format. These losses add up. Always, repeat, always, start with 16 bit WAV or AIFF files, never anything using data compression. Even your regular CDs will suffer in sound quality otherwise.
Hope that's helpful info.
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Correction...
I use Kunaki. They are a killer service.
My products are NOT marked as CD-R's.
;0)
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They might not be marked CD-R, but if they're made in small quantities, they are CD-R. Glass-mastered replicated 'real' CDs simply are not made in small quantities.
Not trying to bicker, just trying to clarify.
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Maybe I'm just an old curmudgeon, but the new look just screams ugly corporate bleh to me...
Oh well.
If I really cared that much, I could probably find the old CSS and change it back on my own browser :-)
All that really matters is that it still has the CDs and the MP3s to get to.
Did you end up switching to Ruby or give that idea up? :-)
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IGNORE the RoR question.
I found the answer after re-reading the whole thread.
Sorry for the noise.
I was pretty sure that this was no RoR site. :-)
Wanna give a talk at the next PHP meeting next time you're in Chicago on why you went back? :-) :-) :-)
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Right now the site is messed up. There are some serious alignment issues in IE7. I think Derek must be using a different browser but IE7 is pretty much the standard now since Microsoft automatic updates are pushing it on all Windows users. Nevertheless, while a work in progress, I think the new look is getting better.
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Igor, my IE7 rendering is off, too. The table data is off. For example, on the artist page, the "notes" section is pushed down to the bottom of the page instead of being just to the right of the links on the left column.
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Hey, it's fixed! Very nice.
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WELL IT WORKED WITHIN 1 OR TWO DAYS I SOLD
ANOTHER CD TO JAPAN ( that cd-r stuff)...( guess they love funky girls) it was BECAUSE of your genius once again
YOUR MAKING HISTORY DEREK & CO
love angel
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Sorry, a couple more thoughts. Read the fine print at Kunaki - they won't keep your CD on file if it doesn't sell at least one every 180 days - so you have to buy one yourself to keep it on file. Just good to know if you're gonna go with them.
And, on topic, I think now that the new look is starting to flesh out, with some decent deliniation for different fields of info and so on, that the site is looking pretty good. It was, I gotta say, like what you get when you misspell a URL - like others have said - when it was first rolled out. Confidence is high, repeat, confidence is high. :)
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I believe CDs are going the way of the dinasour.
I personally don't buy them anymore. I download MP3s no shipping charges, don't have to worry about keeping CDs in a clean safe place, where they won't get damaged. I buy the songs I want to buy nothing more. I think it is crazy to have to spend hundreds of dollars to have CDs made just so CDBaby can take one (1)!!! and convert it to MP3 for digital downloads. If that is the way they demand it has to been done then I have no choice but to continue using CDRs and live with the negative connotation some people associate with it. It is time to move into the 21st century and use the available technology at hand and provide more economical options for independent artist.
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George : you may not buy CDs any more but many people do.
We sell over 2000 CDs a day, and CD sales are up (UP!) 35% over last year. Last I heard, CD sales were at least 80% of the market or so.
If you've decided to exclude the CD-buying public from being able to purchase your music, good for you.
But for now, I think the smartest thing is to make your music available to purchase in both formats. It's just common sense. No need to play favorites or declare one of them to be large reptiles.
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Is it possible for a CDBaby arist to download the mp3 package you sell to see/hear what the customer gets?
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Easy: buy one. :-)
You get 91% of the income anyway, so it'll cost you less than a dollar.
Then next time we're hanging out I'll treat you to a coke, and call it a loss.
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Coke? no, but hey, next time we hang out IŽll take a Capucchino, OK? ;-)
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Increased sales could be a result of more artists signing on to CDBaby whom until recently sells nothing but CDs exculsively.
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Sorry Derek, first glance at your "new site" made me think I had a virus! First thing I done was re-boot! 2 steps back..? I also see that you still haven`t addressed the problem you have with us customers making out of stock purchases. 4 orders placed today, and 6 hours later 4 "about your order" e-mails. I think that`s where the site needs updating! No stock, no purchase! It`s a pain keeping an eye on all these refunds!! Pleaeesse sort this out!
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the hompage looks way to plain, maybe you should place a link on the site to vote how the site should look and stuff, there is just to much white space on the homepage plain and simple it looks like a site back from 1997
i know its still in progress but it still could have been a better beta
how has the traffic to the site been since the change less, more, or the same
how about redesigning all the sites hostbaby.com,.net cdbaby.com,org and etc. or merge them all into one site and have have features like hostbaby for users who are signed up with hosbaby and it adds an extra menu for them that controls there site stuff.
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