CD Baby sold to NJ-based company
Yesterday, Derek Sivers, founder of CD Baby, posted on his blog that the company was being sold to Disc Makers. This seems to be the final step in Sivers’ transition that started over a year ago when he announced he hadn’t been involved in the day-to-day at CD Baby for months.
Sivers wrote that, “The CD Baby staff, location, name, and everything else will stay the same, but I think you’ll start to notice more attention given to improvements that help you sell more music.”
I know a lot of indie musicians who absolutely love CD Baby in its current form. Some are also worried about this sale in fearing the home-grown feel of the customer service will be lost. We’ll have to wait and see.
It is a sad day. You can’t blame Derek for moving on, but I’m sure most CD Baby clients such as myself are quite concerned. Hopefully nothing good will be lost in the company’s transformation..
Ah, don’t worry. I really haven’t been there since 2002. The home-grown feel of CD Baby is what it is because of the cool people that work there, and they’ll all be there still.
Still a sad day man. You’re the heart and soul of that cozy nook of cyberspace
disc makers blows
It’s definitely the people at CD Baby who make it awesome but I will say that I was never a big fan of Disc Makers when I worked with them. Hope they don’t mess up a great thing.
An inside source indicates that the new owner isn’t a very nice guy. For example when he was visiting the facility before the buyout, he was overheard to make derogatory comments about an employee’s weight as well as the potential hepatitis C risk from how many people have tattoos at cdbaby (what the…???). Furthermore, Derek lied to his then employees in May about his decision to sell the company in a last ditch effort to confuse those privy to what was supposed to be a secret - the secret being that they were being sold to a corporation. Derek turned his back on his employees after they voiced their dissatisfaction with his method of running the business (rescinding profit sharing, sudden terminations, etc.). Selling cdbaby was something he said he would never do. Then, after three months of being uncertain as to their fate since the announcement in May that he was not selling the business because Discmakers’ offer was too low, cdbaby’s employees showed up to work last Monday only to find out they’d been had.
Well.. I hope that’s not true, but I suspect that there will be some adjustments to be made. The difference in social culture outside of Philly vs. Portland is huge.
I’m sure the new owners realize that the reason so many independent artists love CD Baby so much was the sense of humanity and trustworthiness provided by the good people working there.
Hey the new “Proud Papa” a.k.a. Tony of CD Baby issued a statement and pledged to maintain the principles for which CDBaby stands. Jersey guys aren’t always known for their diplomacy - either are drummers or punks, so I wouldn’t be so quick to be offended. I’m curious as hell to see what evolves with a Wharton grad running one of the most respected brand’s in the entertainment biz. Could be a good thing. Even for folks with prolific amounts of tattoos
@Derek Sivers -
Thanks, Derek!
-Pony
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