Disc Makers Acquires Leading Online Independent CD and Download Seller CD Baby
August 5, 2008, (Pennsauken, NJ) — Disc Makers, the leader in CD and DVD manufacturing for independent artists and filmmakers, announced today the acquisition of CD Baby, the largest independent music seller in the world, following a 7-year close strategic partnership between the two companies.
CD Baby enables independent musicians to sell their music in both physical (CD) and digital (download) format through its online store www.cdbaby.com. The Portland, Oregon-based company works with over 240,000 artists worldwide, and its online music store receives over 100,000 visitors each day. With over 2 million digitized tracks under management, CD Baby is also the largest provider of independent music for Apple iTunes and other digital download sellers like Amazon MP3, Napster, and Rhapsody.
"I'm excited to bring together the two strongest brand names in the independent community," said Tony van Veen, President of Disc Makers. "CD Baby has paid musicians more than $81 million over the past 10 years for CD and download sales. It is one of the greatest tools created to allow musicians to make money from their music. Now artists can get manufacturing, CD sales, download sales, and web hosting – through CD Baby's Host Baby division – seamlessly and more easily than ever."
CD Baby will continue to operate as a separate company, focused on online CD sales, distribution, and download sales. CD Baby founder Derek Sivers commented: "It's amazing that this little hobby I started 10 years ago has so many musicians. Disc Makers was my first choice to take the company to new heights. Their operational expertise is just what little CD Baby needed to grow up."
Sivers will continue to be involved with CD Baby as a consultant.
To learn more about Disc Makers' duplication/replication services and its complete line of duplication hardware please visit www.discmakers.com.
To learn more about the online distribution services provided by CD Baby please visit www.cdbaby.com
About Disc Makers
In business since 1946, Disc Makers is the nation’s leading independent CD & DVD manufacturer, offering a wide variety of products and services, including state-of-the-art automated printers and duplication systems as well as complete CD & DVD duplication, CD & DVD replication, custom disc packaging, and vinyl record pressing for independent musicians, filmmakers, and businesses for the last 70 years. Disc Makers also offers a variety of additional services including download cards, posters, custom USB Flash drives, music distribution, in-house audio mastering and post production, DVD and CD-ROM multimedia authoring, award-winning graphic design, and their Blog, which offers free tools and professional advice from industry experts. Disc Makers’ main office and plant is located near Philadelphia in Pennsauken, NJ, and the company has regional offices in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, Seattle, and Nashville.
CD Baby (cdbaby.com) was started by musician Derek Sivers in 1998 as a way sell his CDs online and help some friends sell their music as well. CD Baby's service gives any artist worldwide distribution for their music. Through word-of-mouth only, CD Baby has grown into the largest seller of independent music, paying 240,000 artists more than $81 million over the past 10 years. Apple iTunes invited CD Baby to be one of their early backend digital content providers, and now CD Baby's digital distribution catalog provides over 2 million songs to digital music services like Apple iTunes, Rhapsody, Napster, Amazon MP3, and more.
Contact:
Steven Spatz
Chief Marketing Officer
sspatz@discmakers.com
1-800-468-9353