CD BABY PRESENTS:
The Get Started Guide
The easiest guide to getting your music out there!
SUBMISSION PROCESS OVERVIEW
CD BABY
STEP
FREE
Choose a
submission type
CD BABY
*
STANDARD
STEP
ADD
METADATA
STEP
3
CHoose
DISTRIBUTION
OPTIONS
STEP
UPLOAD AUDIO
AND ARTWORK
STEP
5
YOUR METADATA AND AUDIO
IS THEN SENT TO CD BABY
DIGITAL INSPECTORS FOR
REVIEW TO MAKE SURE IT
MEETS OUR DIGITAL
PARTNERS’ GUIDELINES
ARTWORK
SUBMIT FOR
DISTRIBUTION
REVIEW YOUR TITLE and
SUBMIT FOR DISTRIBUTION
STEP
6
FINALIZE FOR
DISTRIBUTION
YOU WILL GET AN EMAIL WITH
FINAL APPROVAL INSTRUCTIONS
FINALIZE
* PRO submission types are currently only
available in select territories and only for
songs that are original works.
MUSIC IS SENT TO PARTNERS WORLDWIDE
AUDIO
CD BABY SUBMISSION PROCESS STEPS
Step One: Choose a Submission Type
CD Baby has three different submission types to choose from:
CD Baby Free: includes CDBaby.com and Music Player
• Sell downloads on cdbaby.com.
• Sell your music with the embeddable Music Player on your personal website and
receive play count analytics.
CD Baby Standard: includes Digital and Physical Distribution, and Sync Licensing
• Worldwide digital distribution to our digital partners (iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon,
Google Play, Spotify, etc.)
• Worldwide physical distribution for physical CDs, vinyl, and more!
• Sync Licensing – 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
• CD Baby Pro Publishing provides you with distribution to our digital partners
(iTunes, Apple Music, Google Play, Spotify, etc.), Sync Licensing, AND music
publishing administration for your original songs (cover songs not eligible).
• Song registration in 100+ 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.
• Worldwide Publishing Royalty Collection – 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).
• Performing Rights Affiliation – 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.
2 THE GET STARTED GUIDE
Step Two: Add Metadata
In the age of digital music, having accurate metadata - the basic
information about your song such as Artist Name, Track Title,
Songwriter, and Publisher - 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.)
Distribution Tiers:
CD Baby Only – Your music will
only be available on cdbaby.com.
Downloads Only – 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.
Do it all, even unpaid – We will deliver
music to all of our partners, even the
digital partners who offer your tracks
for free promotional opportunities.
Step Four: Upload Audio and Artwork
Every submission is required to have audio and artwork.
Audio specifications:
•
•
Upload high quality audio files in either WAV or FLAC formats.
Files must be stereo 44.1kHz sample rate, and 16-bit.
3 THE GET STARTED GUIDE
Step Four: Upload Audio and Artwork (continued)
Artwork specifications:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Artwork sizes of 3000 x 3000 pixels are preferred
PNG, GIF, JPG, or JPEG file type
72 - 300dpi (300dpi is the best)
File size less than 25mb
RGB color scheme (not CMYK)
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.
2.
Website links
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 images
8. 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. Also NO pornographic images or scans of physical CDs.
4 THE GET STARTED GUIDE
Step Five: Review Your Title and Submit for Distribution
Be sure to review ALL of your metadata to make
YOUR METADATA AND AUDIO IS
sure it is correct before submitting for distribution.
THEN SENT TO CD BABY DIGITAL
INSPECTORS FOR REVIEW TO
Once you’ve completed all the information for
MAKE SURE IT MEETS OUR
your submission you can select the “submit for
SUBMIT FOR
DIGITAL PARTNERS’ GUIDELINES
DISTRIBUTION
distribution” button on the title overview page. This
will let our Inspectors know that you’ve completed
your submission and you’re ready to have CD Baby review 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
FINALIZE FOR
DISTRIBUTION
YOU WILL GET AN EMAIL WITH
FINAL APPROVAL INSTRUCTIONS
FINALIZE
MUSIC IS SENT TO PARTNERS WORLDWIDE
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. From the time you have given the final approval, the digital partners can take anywhere
from 1-4 weeks to 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).
5 THE GET STARTED GUIDE
Key Words
Key Words
Album
Language
Album/Single
Title
Example
Definition
Why do I need this?
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.
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.
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.
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.
Artist Name
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 Role
Maroon 5 (feat. Christina Aguilera)
primary
artist
featuring
artist
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.
Compilation
Album
“Greatest Hits of 2016” by Various
Artists
“BBC Radio 1’s Hits” by Various
Artists
6 THE GET STARTED GUIDE
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).
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.
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.
Our digital partners (iTunes,
Amazon, Spotify, etc.) require
that the artist name be listed
as “Various Artists” when
your album is listed as a
compilation album.
Key Words
Example
Definition
Why do I need this?
Composition
Type
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.
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.
Derivative Work - 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.
In order to legally distribute
a Cover Song, you must have
acquired an approved license.
Public Domain - 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.
Cover Song - 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.
Copyright
Owner
Explicit
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.
Lil Wayne - A Milli (Explicit)
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.
Lil Wayne - A Milli (Clean)
Jay Z (feat. Alicia Keys) - Empire
State of Mind
7 THE GET STARTED GUIDE
Key Words
Genre
Example
Definition
Why do I need this?
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.
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.
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.
Inspector
ISRC
Live Recording
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.
USS1Z9900001
The International Standard
Recording Code (ISRC) system is
the international system for the
identification of recorded music.
Each ISRC 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.
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.
8 THE GET STARTED GUIDE
Key Words
Performance
Language
Publisher
Example
Definition
Why do I need this?
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.
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.
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 musthave 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).
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”.
Release Date
Record Label
01/26/2017
11/29/1990
(MM/DD/YYYY)
Kill Rock Stars, EMI, etc.
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.
The record label is the Copyright
Owner and the one who is getting
paid for sales/royalties generated
by the release.
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.
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.
9 THE GET STARTED GUIDE
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.
Key Words
Example
Definition
Why do I need this?
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.
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.
A “sync” is anytime audio has
been paired up with a visual. A
sync license 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.
“Track title” 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.
This is the Universal Product
Code, 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.
Sync Licensing
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.
Track Title
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
UPC
012345678901
10 THE GET STARTED GUIDE