What is CD Baby used for?

CD Baby is a music distribution service for independent artists and labels, delivering releases to streaming platforms for a per-release fee. It is a good fit for independent artists releasing singles and albums, and musicians selling CDs and vinyl alongside streams.

How much does CD Baby cost?

CD Baby is a paid product with no free plan. No free plan or subscription. CD Baby charges a one-time fee per release, $9.99 for a single and $14.99 for an album, and keeps 9% of digital distribution revenue.

Is CD Baby open source?

No. CD Baby is proprietary (closed-source) software and can't be self-hosted. In the Audio & Music Production category, open-source options include Audacity, MuseScore and LMMS.

What are some alternatives to CD Baby?

CD Baby competes with DistroKid, TuneCore and LANDR.

CD Baby: features, pricing and alternatives

About CD Baby

CD Baby distributes music from independent artists and labels to streaming and download services, including Spotify, Apple Music, TikTok, Amazon, Pandora, YouTube and Deezer. The vendor says its pricing is a one-time fee per release, with no subscription fees.

Beyond digital distribution, it offers reports and analytics, cover song licensing, physical distribution, making CDs and vinyl, a licensing service for placing music, and promotion tools such as HearNow, Show.co, Laylo, Groover and internet radio airplay. It also publishes free musician guides, a blog and a podcast for DIY musicians.

CD Baby is a hosted commercial service. It suits independent artists and small labels that prefer paying per release instead of an annual subscription and that want physical products alongside digital distribution.

Key features

Digital distribution to streaming platforms
Per-release pricing without subscription
Reports and analytics
Cover song licensing
Physical CD and vinyl production
Promotion and sync licensing services

Good fit for

→Independent artists releasing singles and albums
→Musicians selling CDs and vinyl alongside streams

Tags: music-distribution; independent-artists; streaming; licensing; physical-media; promotion

CD Baby: questions and answers

What is CD Baby used for?: CD Baby is a music distribution service for independent artists and labels, delivering releases to streaming platforms for a per-release fee. It is a good fit for independent artists releasing singles and albums, and musicians selling CDs and vinyl alongside streams.
How much does CD Baby cost?: CD Baby is a paid product with no free plan. No free plan or subscription. CD Baby charges a one-time fee per release, $9.99 for a single and $14.99 for an album, and keeps 9% of digital distribution revenue.
Is CD Baby open source?: No. CD Baby is proprietary (closed-source) software and can't be self-hosted. In the Audio & Music Production category, open-source options include Audacity, MuseScore and LMMS.
What are some alternatives to CD Baby?: CD Baby competes with DistroKid, TuneCore and LANDR.