cd baby presents: the get started guide

The Get Started GuideThe easiest guide to getting your music out there!

CD BABY PRESENTS:

STANDARD

FREE

CD BABY

CD BABY

STEP

STEPADD METADATA

STEP

SUBMISSION PROCESS OVERVIEWSUBMISSION PROCESS OVERVIEW

AUDIO

UPLOAD AUDIO AND ARTWORK

REVIEW YOUR TITLE and SUBMIT FOR DISTRIBUTION

SUBMIT FOR DISTRIBUTION

ARTWORK

FINALIZE

STEP

5

YOU WILL GET AN EMAIL WITH FINAL APPROVAL INSTRUCTIONS

STEP

6

CHoose DISTRIBUTION

OPTIONS

STEP

3

YOUR METADATA AND AUDIO IS THEN SENT TO CD BABY DIGITAL INSPECTORS FOR REVIEW TO MAKE SURE IT

MEETS OUR DIGITAL PARTNERS’ GUIDELINES

FINALIZE FOR DISTRIBUTION

MUSIC IS SENT TO PARTNERS WORLDWIDE

* PRO submission types are currently only available in select territories and only for

songs that are original works.

*

Choose a submission type

2 THE GET STARTED GUIDE

CD BABY SUBMISSION PROCESS STEPS

Step One: Choose a Submission TypeCD Baby has three different submission types to choose from:

CD Baby Free: includes CDBaby.com and Music Player

• Selldownloadsoncdbaby.com.

• SellyourmusicwiththeembeddableMusicPlayeron your personal website and receive play count analytics.

CD Baby Standard: includes Digital and Physical Distribution, and Sync Licensing

• Worldwidedigitaldistributionto our digital partners (iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon, Google Play, Spotify, etc.)

• Worldwidephysicaldistribution for physical CDs, vinyl, and more!

• SyncLicensing– make money from YouTube monetization and licensing for TV, movies, commercials, video games, etc.

CD Baby Pro Publishing: includes Digital and Physical Distribution, Sync Licensing, AND Publishing Royalty Collection

• CDBabyProPublishingprovidesyouwithdistributiontoourdigitalpartners(iTunes, Apple Music, Google Play, Spotify, etc.), Sync Licensing, ANDmusicpublishingadministration for your original songs (cover songs not eligible).

• Songregistrationin100+countries– CD Baby will register your songs and publishing information with collection societies around the world to make sure you’re capturing maximum publishing revenue for your music. This means you do not have to go to each individual collection society and register your tracks yourself. We will take care of that for you.

• WorldwidePublishingRoyaltyCollection – With CD Baby’s publishing administration, we will collect the publisher’s share of your royalties and pay them directly to you. These include performance royalties and mechanical royalties (for international downloads and global streams).

• PerformingRightsAffiliation – In order to collect publishing royalties for your original music, you must be affiliated with a Performance Rights Organization (P.R.O.). For certain countries, CD Baby is able to affiliate you with the associated P.R.O., while other countries we will link you to the P.R.O. in your territory so you can get affiliated.


Step Two: Add Metadata In the age of digital music, having accurate metadata-thebasicinformationaboutyoursongsuchasArtistName,TrackTitle,Songwriter,andPublisher - is very important. That’s why the process of collecting metadata takes a little longer to complete than other sections in our submission process. Clear and concise metadata ensures that our digital partners know who to pay for sales/royalties and that your fans can easily discover your music on their platforms.

Step Three: Choose Distribution Options CD Baby allows you to customize the distribution for your music by choosing specific digital outlets, territories, and more. Begin by selecting your distribution tier from the options below. Then, if you wish, you can further customize your distribution according to territory or digital partners (iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, etc.)

Step Four: Upload Audio and Artwork Every submission is required to have audio and artwork.

Audio specifications:

• Upload high quality audio files in either WAVorFLACformats. • Files must be stereo 44.1kHzsamplerate,and16-bit.

CDBabyOnly– Your music will only be available on cdbaby.com.

DownloadsOnly – We will deliver music to our digital partners that only offer downloads (streaming is NOT included).

Downloads+Streaming– We will deliver music to all of our partners who offer downloads, streaming, or both.

Doitall,evenunpaid – We will deliver music to all of our partners, even the digital partners who offer your tracks for free promotional opportunities.

Distribution Tiers:


Step Four: Upload Audio and Artwork (continued)

Artwork specifications:

1. Artwork sizes of 3000 x 3000 pixels are preferred2. PNG, GIF, JPG, or JPEG file type3. 72 - 300dpi (300dpi is the best)4. File size less than 25mb 5. RGB color scheme (not CMYK)6. Artwork must be unique to this particular title. We cannot accept artwork that has been

used for another title.7. Uploaded image must match your metadata. If you have opted in for physical distribution it

must match your physical artwork as well.

Please do NOT include:

1. Website links2. Contact information

(i.e., email address, phone numbers)

3. Social network symbols or information (Facebook links, Twitter handles, etc.)

4. Tribute albums where the original artist name is as large or larger than the performing artist.

5. Pricing information or UPC

6. Blurry or pixelated images

7. Copyrighted images8. Cover art that refers to physical or digital versions of the album (for example, CD, Disc, Digital

Exclusive, Digital Version, etc)9. Cover art that claims to be an exclusive of one of our digital partners without their permission

(for example, iTunes™ Exclusive, Only on Amazon MP3™)10. Cover art that promises content that the album doesn’t contain (for example, “includes DVD”,

“includes free stickers”, etc)11. Cover art that up-sells to another product (i.e., merchandise, other albums by same artist, etc)12. AlsoNOpornographicimagesorscansofphysicalCDs.


Step Five: Review Your Title and Submit for Distribution Be sure to review ALL of your metadata to make sure it is correct before submitting for distribution. Once you’ve completed all the information for your submission you can select the “submitfordistribution” button on the title overview page. This will let our Inspectors know that you’ve completed your submission and you’re ready to have CDBabyreview your submission to make sure it meets our digital partners’ guidelines. If there are any corrections that need to be made, you will receive an email directly from the inspector with further information.

Step Six: Finalize for Distribution Once your submission has been approved by our inspectors, you will be notified via email that your submission has been approved and you will be asked to go into your members account and finalize your submission for distribution. Once you finalize your submission, we will begin delivering your music to our digital partners. Fromthetimeyouhavegiventhefinalapproval,thedigitalpartnerscantakeanywherefrom1-4weeksto have your content processed and made live on their sites.

That’s it! We’re ready to send your music out to the world. Now’s a good time to make sure you’ve opted into all the beneficial programs that are included with your distribution package. This may include Sync Licensing, YouTube Monetization, and more.

For Pro Clients Only: After you have finalized your submission, you will be alerted via email to visit the publishing administration page in your members account. This is where you will elect your Performance Rights Organization (PRO) and provide remaining songwriter details.

IMPORTANT:We cannot start collecting your publishing royalties until you have selected which Performance Rights Organization you would like to be affiliated with, or – if you are already affiliated – provide your IPI/CAE number for the corresponding Performance Rights Organization. Also known as signing a Letter of Direction (LOD).

FINALIZEYOU WILL GET AN EMAIL WITH FINAL APPROVAL INSTRUCTIONS

FINALIZE FOR DISTRIBUTION

MUSIC IS SENT TO PARTNERS WORLDWIDE

YOUR METADATA AND AUDIO IS THEN SENT TO CD BABY DIGITAL

INSPECTORS FOR REVIEW TO MAKE SURE IT MEETS OUR

DIGITAL PARTNERS’ GUIDELINES SUBMIT FOR DISTRIBUTION


Key Words

Key Words Example Definition Why do I need this?

AlbumLanguage

English, Italian, Spanish Album Language references the language of your album metadata (e.g. track titles, artist name, etc.). It is NOT necessarily the language the lyrics are sung in.

Digital partners (iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc.) require that we designate the language that metadata is delivered. This is to help ensure that the metadata is cataloged correctly.

Album/SingleTitle

Dark Side of the Moon, Californication

Single - Typically, a single is a song that is released separately from an album, although it usually appears on the album as well. With CD Baby, a single is only ONE track.

Album - A collection of recordings that have been put together as a single work. An album contains multiple tracks and with CD Baby, anything more than one track is considered an album.

Depending on the Album Language, you will need to provide either title casing or sentence casing.

It is important to title your album or single correctly because this is how listeners will find your content on streaming and download platforms. CrEaTiVe CaSiNg is something the digital partners will not allow, so be sure to keep that in mind when selecting your title. The more unique the title of the album/single, the easier it will be for listeners to search for your content.

ArtistName Ingrid Michaelson, Bruno Mars, The Beatles

The artist name is the persons or group performing on the track. Please be sure to only enter one artist name per field.

Artist Name is required because this is another unique identifier that allows listeners to search for your music and know who is performing which songs.

ArtistRole Maroon 5 (feat. Christina Aguilera) The artist role is where you can select whether or not the artist is the “Primary” or a “Featuring” artist.

The “feat.” artist is specifically related to the Track Level metadata.

When we deliver your metadata to our digital partners, they need to know which artists are the primary artists and which artists are featured guests. This will determine how the artist names are displayed.

CompilationAlbum

“Greatest Hits of 2016” by Various Artists “BBC Radio 1’s Hits” by Various Artists

If an album is a collection of songs performed by 4 or more primary artists, then the artist name for the album must be “Various Artists.” You must not list “Various Artists” on any tracks, as it should only be used for the album artist name. This is required by our digital partners (such as iTunes).

Our digital partners (iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc.) require that the artist name be listed as “Various Artists” when your album is listed as a compilationalbum.

primary artist

featuring artist



CompositionType

Original - If you (along with any collaborators) wrote all of the music and lyrics to your song, then this would be considered an original song. DerivativeWork - A “derivative work” is a work based upon one or more preexisting works, such as a translation, musical arrangement, dramatization, fictionalization, motion picture version, sound recording, art reproduction, abridgment, condensation, or any other form in which a work may be recast, transformed, or adapted. PublicDomain - If you recorded a song for which the copyright has expired — for instance, “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” — this would be considered a Public Domain song. CoverSong- If you sing your own version of Adele’s “Hello,” this would be considered a cover song. Medley - a piece composed from parts of existing pieces, usually three, played one after another, sometimes overlapping.

This is where you will let us know whether your song is an Original (you wrote it), a Cover Song (someone else wrote it), or Public Domain (someone else wrote it, but the copyright has expired).

It is important to provide this information so our digital partners can display the composition type for your tracks and distribute royalties accordingly. In order to legally distribute a Cover Song, you must have acquired an approved license.

CopyrightOwner

If you own the rights to your sound recording then you would be considered the Copyright Owner. Most of the time the artist’s name is listed as the Copyright Owner. Other times, a record label may own the rights to the music and will be listed as the Copyright Owner.

You will need to provide the name of the individual or company who is legally authorized to sell this album. If you are not the copyright holder, you must have obtained a license from the rights holder in order to distribute their work. This information may be displayed publicly.

The copyright owner shows who legally owns the right to distribute the music, so it is important that this is listed correctly and kept consistent with the tracks’ metadata.

Explicit Lil Wayne - A Milli (Explicit)

Lil Wayne - A Milli (Clean)

Jay Z (feat. Alicia Keys) - Empire State of Mind

Explicit content is characterized as anything that contains strong language or depictions of violence, sex, or substance abuse to such an extent as to merit parental notification.

Digital Partners’ guidelines require all explicit content to be marked accordingly, so customers are aware of the explicit content.



Genre Pop/Rock/Jazz/Metal Genre is a category description for your music. It’s the top-level “style” of music you perform. You will be able to choose two different genres for each release.

You will also be asked to provide a “Sub-genre” which is much more specific than the main genre. We try to allow you as many opportunities to describe the style of your music.

Genre is how your music is cataloged in a library of music and makes it easier for customers to find your music. Our digital partners will allow customers to browse their sites by Genre and this allows your content to be placed alongside similar releases.

Inspector

CD Baby Digital Inspector An Inspector is a person who is reviewing all of your metadata and artwork to ensure that it meets our digital partner’s guidelines.

The Inspection process ensures that your content meets our digital partner’s guidelines. If your content does not meet the partner’s guidelines, it will be pulled from their site and you will be asked to correct your info.

ISRC USS1Z9900001 The InternationalStandardRecordingCode (ISRC) system is the international system for the identification of recorded music. EachISRC is a unique identifier that can be permanently encoded into a recording. This is how sales and streams are tracked. Accurate and unique ISRCs ensure that revenue is paid to the copyright owner.

It is important that ISRCs are entered accurately because this is how sales and streams are tracked. ISRCs are specific to the recording of a track. For example, if you have a demo version, live version, and studio version of the same song, they will each need their own unique ISRC because they are different recordings. However, if you are using the same recording, then you will want to be sure you are using the same ISRC. For example, if you release a recording of your single and later add that same recording of the single to an album, you will want to be sure that track has the exact same ISRC assigned because they are still the same recording.

LiveRecording Bruce Springsteen - Born in the U.S.A. (Live)

A live recording is any recording of you performing in front of a live audience.

Our digital partners require that live albums be designated as such so their customers are not surprised if they were expecting a studio recording.



PerformanceLanguage

German, English, Spanish, Portuguese

The audio performance language is the language in which a song’s lyrics are being sung. If the song is an instrumental, you can select “No Lyrics / Instrumental.”

Our digital partners require this information so they can properly categorize your music and help their customers find it.

Publisher Downtown Music Publishing, Atlas Publishing, Disney Music Publishing

The publisher is the owner of the copyright to a song (melody and lyrics), meaning the underlying composition and NOT any particular sound recording of that song. If you create original music and have not signed away your publishing rights, then you (the songwriter) ARE the publisher. Don’t get the word confused with a sheet music publisher or CD manufacturer. In this case, “publisher” means “copyright owner of the song itself”.

As a songwriter, having a publisher or publishing administrator is one of the most important things you can do for your career. It’s a must-have if you want to maximize your earnings. Music publishing administrators like CD Baby Pro Publishing are experts in royalty collection and will collect all publishing royalties that you are unable to collect on your own (such as mechanical royalties for global streams on services like Spotify).

ReleaseDate 01/26/201711/29/1990 (MM/DD/YYYY)

This date should correspond with the past, present or future date that your music became or will become available for sale. If the album’s original release date was in the past, enter that date and we’ll activate the album page as soon as possible. If you’d like the album to be released on a specific date more than two weeks in the future, enter it here and the CD Baby album page won’t be activated until the date you’ve chosen. Keep in mind when selecting a release date that it still takes up to a few days to process your album and our digital partners will need to process it on their side as well. You will want to consider this when selecting a future release date. Allow enough time for processing.

This release date is important because this date will decide when your content will go live on our digital partners’ sites. Any marketing/promotion that goes along with your release will need to correspond with the release date you have chosen to ensure the most successful release possible. If the single/album was released in the past, you can provide the original release date and your content will go live as soon as it has been processed. If this is a re-masted version, you can provide us with the re-release date.

RecordLabel Kill Rock Stars, EMI, etc. The record label is the Copyright Owner and the one who is getting paid for sales/royalties generated by the release.

You are not required to provide a record label, but you can if applicable. If a record label is not provided, the artist name will be auto-filled in this section.

Retail partners will typically group releases by label and customers can browse by label making it easier for them to find related works. Falsifying this information can result in your content being pulled by the partner sites and a refund will not be issued by CD Baby.



Songwriter/Composer

John Lennon/Paul McCartney A songwriter/composer is someone who contributed to the writing of the music and/or lyrics of a composition/song. For instance, The Beatles performed the song “Let It Be,” but the songwriters for the track are John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

Songwriter and publishing royalties are paid to songwriters, NOT the performing artist or label. That is why it’s important to list correct composer information for each track.

SyncLicensing If the creators of a film decide they want to use your music in their movie, they would be required to purchase a sync license from you in order to use the song.

The Black Keys song “I’ll Be Your Man” was used as the theme song for HBO series Hung and helped create exposure for them as an artist, which launched them into where they are at in their music careers today.

A “sync” is anytime audio has been paired up with a visual. A synclicense is a music license granted by the copyright owner of a composition and the copyright owner of the sound recording, allowing the licensee to sync music with some kind of visual media. This includes film, television shows, advertisements, video games, movie trailers, etc..

Sync licensing has grown into one of the most lucrative aspects of the music industry for many independent artists. CD Baby’s Sync Licensing program gives you the opportunity to license your music for film, TV, games, YouTube, and more.

TrackTitle Below are examples of track titles from AC/DC’s Back in Black Album: Hells Bells, Back in Black, You Shook Me All Night Long, Shake a Leg

“Tracktitle”is the same thing as a song name. You will need to provide a unique title for each one of your tracks. You are not able to have duplicate track titles.

Unique track titles make it easier for customers to find your songs. Track title can help denote remix versions or other alternate versions of a song.

UPC 012345678901 This is the UniversalProductCode, which is essentially a bar code — a 12-digit product identifier that will differentiate your music product from every other album or single being sold today. Distribution requires that your release have a UPC, as this is how your sales are tracked.

A UPC is important and required for distribution. This is how sales are able to be tracked and revenue accounted for amongst all our digital music partners. If you did not purchase a UPC through your recording studio or mastering house, then you can purchase one through CD Baby.

cd baby presents: the get started guide

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