Indie distribution giant CD Baby, a long-running service used by many independent artists, has announced that it will no longer distribute CDs, vinyl, cassette tapes or DVDs.
In an announcement posted on May 19, CD Baby confirmed that it would be ending its physical distribution service and closing its warehouse. Customers have 60 days to pay for their inventory to be shipped to them; unclaimed inventory will be recycled.
Read the very brief announcement here.
CD Baby was founded in 1998 and has been one of the leading internet-based CD distributors ever since. It has expanded to become a digital distributor as well. It was acquired by Downtown Music Holdings in 2019.
Back in 2020, CD Baby closed its online retail store. At the time, the company said, "We're going to focus on what is making a difference for musicians today: our distribution, monetization, and promotion services. We WILL continue our physical distribution program because the majority of orders we ship are coming through Amazon and other retailers. If you've stocked us with CDs and vinyl, we'll still warehouse your product and fulfil those orders for you. We're just retiring OUR store."
Of course, digitally distributed music will remain online — yes, even the 2007 EP a certain Exclaim! editor recorded with his university band and hated from the moment it came out. It will remain for eternity.
In an announcement posted on May 19, CD Baby confirmed that it would be ending its physical distribution service and closing its warehouse. Customers have 60 days to pay for their inventory to be shipped to them; unclaimed inventory will be recycled.
Read the very brief announcement here.
CD Baby was founded in 1998 and has been one of the leading internet-based CD distributors ever since. It has expanded to become a digital distributor as well. It was acquired by Downtown Music Holdings in 2019.
Back in 2020, CD Baby closed its online retail store. At the time, the company said, "We're going to focus on what is making a difference for musicians today: our distribution, monetization, and promotion services. We WILL continue our physical distribution program because the majority of orders we ship are coming through Amazon and other retailers. If you've stocked us with CDs and vinyl, we'll still warehouse your product and fulfil those orders for you. We're just retiring OUR store."
Of course, digitally distributed music will remain online — yes, even the 2007 EP a certain Exclaim! editor recorded with his university band and hated from the moment it came out. It will remain for eternity.