CD Baby Pro’s Publishing Catalog Quadruples in 2014: Indie Artists Lock in New Revenue Streams Never Before Available to Them

CD Baby’s rights management service for songwriters—known as CD Baby Pro—had a huge year of growth in 2014. The service now represents over 54,000 writers and administers over 246,000 songs.  CD Baby’s administered catalog grew by over 250% in 2014, after launching in February 2013.

“While writers could sign up directly with ASCAP or BMI to collect performance royalties, many independent artists can’t get an established publisher to work with them, which is key to making other types of publishing revenue accessible” explains Rob Filomena, CD Baby’s Director of Music Publishing. “We’re making professionalized music rights management accessible to a large group of independents and, judging from the growth we’re seeing, this is an essential artist need right now.

CD Baby Pro is allowing its members to collect for the first time mechanical royalties from streaming services both in the U.S. and abroad. In addition, direct registration of songs with over 40 foreign societies has accelerated payment to members for performances in these territories by years in some cases, whereas relying on U.S. PROs alone would have taken much longer.

“We continue to help our members understand that performance royalties are only part of the equation with streaming services,” says Kevin Breuner, CD Baby’s vice president of marketing and host of the DIY Musician podcast. “I just came across one of our artists making $3000 from mechanical royalties collected for foreign  sales.This is money they wouldn’t have collected without CD Baby Pro..”

“Every little bit helps for today’s independent artists,” Breuner concludes, “and it’s only going to increase from here.”