Comments on: Getting Your Music Released – Tunecore Vs CD Baby

By: schwarz

schwarz — Sat, 21 May 2011 18:30:46 +0000

thanks for all info. has anyone heard of Zimbalam at all (because no one has mentioned them here but they claim a lot as TC and CDB)

Thanks

By: Peter Wells

Peter Wells — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:06:12 +0000

Lyn, the reason you get $0.70 when iTunes U.S. sells a song for $0.99 is that iTunes keeps $0.29. That’s their cut. That’s how iTunes makes their money. OF THE REMAINDER, TuneCore will always pay out 100%–that is, the full $0.70. If CD Baby is paying 91%, it means instead of getting $0.70, you’re getting only $0.637 cents.

Thanks!

–Peter
peter@tunecore.com

By: Lyn

Lyn — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 18:44:38 +0000

Hi,

Thanks for bringing up the topic. Although this is from 2009, still relevant for many that will read this.

Just to add to the discussion-I’ve been a CDBaby Customer for a few years now and no complaints. When I saw the Tunecore ads I was interested as they offer other retail outlets that CDB does not.

Keep in mind… Tunecore claims that you get 100% of your royalties… yeah, sure, but that is only 70% of the total price per download (per the user agreement, in most cases, but someone please correct me if I’m wrong, that is what I read as of 8/2010) whereas you get 91% with CDB of whatever they sell it for. I mean, that’s 21 % less with TC right of the bat plus the annual fees which CDB does not have.

Anyhow, please read the fine print as it does add up to quite a bit of money for the various things that Tunecore offers VS minimal percentage charge by CDB across the board with no annual fees (sign-up fee notwithstanding). I hope someone takes the time to do an actual apples to apples comparison for the final cost to the average musician with 10 tracks.

So, I will probably still use Tunecore for access to the other outlets but I am well aware that their service will be costing me a lot more than CDB and will factor that into my profit calculations.

All the best to the musicians out there!

By: Karen

Karen — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 07:13:15 +0000

It is quite hard to make a bit on money from music these days, unless you have a massive label behind you, but every little bit made helps

By: Chris@Earth Friendly Goodies

Chris@Earth Friendly Goodies — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 22:57:28 +0000

There is something to say for the “set it and forget it” nature of CD Baby with no annual fees. A musician friend of mine recently logged into his CD Baby account after not having done so in quite some time (he perhaps took the “forget it” part of the equation to literally) to find $35 waiting for him – maybe not a huge amount but it is kinda like finding a handful of change in the couch cushion when you desperately need a few extra bucks to pay the pizza guy.
Chris recently posted..Samsung LED HDTV Now Comes with Free Room Cleaning

By: Blake@independent music

Blake@independent music — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 21:36:11 +0000

CD Baby is awesome!! It’s all I ever use!! I swear by it!!
Blake recently posted..Immittercom – Tunen to Last Week

By: Jaff

Jaff — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 17:25:37 +0000

I have had a few problems with Tunecore over the years.
This is a comparison between them and Ditto Music who am looking into trying out for my next release
http://www.dittomusic.com/ditto-music-vs-tunecore/

By: Karen

Karen — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 19:25:27 +0000

I have several releases under my Remergence title on CDBaby and they sell really well via iTunes etc. So it’s worth checking both Tunecore and CDBaby out

By: Wendy

Wendy — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 12:15:07 +0000

Ahhh… I’d heard of both of these but wasn’t sure how to start. While I’m not releasing anything soon, I have a friend who will be very interested in CDBaby – sounds perfect for what she needs.
.-= Wendy is hoping you stop by and read Where can you hire a function band like Chemistry? =-.

By: Emm

Emm — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 13:51:07 +0000

I’ve been a CD Baby fan for years. As a customer, I really respect how they promote smaller bands. I love how I can input the name of a famous band and they come up with something similar for me.

I hadn’t heard of Tunescore before but I guess customers don’t really interact with them…
.-= Emm is hoping you stop by and read Book review: Ark Angel – Anthony Horowitz =-.

By: Gary

Gary — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:09:59 +0000

i have a growing disappointment with Cd baby. This company has been good over the years but recently has really dropped the ball. I as well as other musicians i know signed to Cd baby are having issues getting e-mails answered which used to be answered immediately. I had to send an e-mail 3 times over the course of 2 weeks until it got answered and yes i had the right e-mail address. i have one i sent just 2 weeks ago which has not been answered and i have sent it twice already. it is concerning how to get some songs uploaded and registered because the functions that they have on their site which allow this are not functioning properly. we want to get this music posted NOW and are considering Tunecore due to these delays. We understand that there is a rehaul with the site but emails still need to be answered and functions on the site fixed so people can still sell their music.

By: Karen

Karen — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 09:10:17 +0000

Hi Steven, thanks for commenting, though you are really promoting your own site, but that’s ok, it’s giving artists another avenue to pursue, I’ll be stopping by ASAP to check out routenote.

By: Steven Finch

Steven Finch — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 08:18:35 +0000

Hi Karen,

You should really check out http://routenote.com. No upfront fees at all and even FREE UPC and ISRC codes.

They are fast becoming one of the major players in this space.

By: Karen

Karen — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:03:42 +0000

Oasis seems to be for manufacturing of your release only! CDBaby and TuneCore are for the actual distribution to online music stores etc.

These days, you don’t really need to go all out on CD pressing and printing as the majority of digital distribution sites are digital, allowing you to upload your works directly. Unless you are planning to sell physical CDs at shows etc, if not then you will only need a master disc to upload.

By: Vote on this article at blogengage.com

Vote on this article at blogengage.com — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:56:54 +0000

Getting Your Music Released – Tunecore Vs CD Baby…

Now no one can say that I don’t have wide range of posts on this blog, but the topic of music is something close to my heart, so I thought I would take the time out to write a post for fellow artists/bands with a little advice….