Bye-Bye, Baby!
August 4th, 2008
There’s a beautiful quote from Abraham Maslow: “Life is an ongoing process of choosing between safety (out of fear and need for defense) and risk (for the sake of progress and growth). Make the growth choice a dozen times a day.”
You might have seen in CD Baby’s 10th birthday announcement last March that I haven’t worked at CD Baby since last year. In fact I’ve hardly been there since 2002. I designed all the internal systems to run without me, so that I could be free to go learn and invent new things.
But now my new projects are exciting me so much that I decided to hand over CD Baby to someone that’s going to make it better than ever for you. I chose Disc Makers as the new owner because their president Tony Van Veen has been one of my favorite people for years, and I always felt they’d do a better job of running CD Baby than I would.
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.
So, this isn’t big news. Just letting you know that CD Baby is in better hands now, and I’m off to new things.
Wow. An example of letting go…..
I hope CdBaby will be continued with the same spirit you have created it.
Wow I commend you for your hard work and building a great company you are a great inspiration.
I hope they have the good sense not to change a thing. CD Baby is the best thing to happen to independent music in the Web’s history so far. I’d hate to see it lose what makes it special.
Derek has taken a wise decision, as ever, but I am sorry to see him leave. For us, being with CDBaby has been a great help to staying in business so we hope that Tony van Veen can maintain the same ethos.
My best wishes to both these guys in these turbulent times!
[...] I got an e-mail this morning, letting me know that Derek Sivers is selling CD Baby. I knew it had to happen someday. Derek never really intended it to become what it did, and the [...]
Thanks for your vision and leadership at CDBaby and getting it to this point Derek. I would be less than honest if I didn’t say that Disc Makers has *huge shoes to fill* and that I don’t see them staying the non-hyped course you held. I hope they do, but regardless, you showed us all that it *is* possible to thrive as independent musicians online. Thank you and we all look forward to what’s coming up next!
Congratulations, Derek.
As usual, you’re an inspiration.
Wow - Disc Makers is now the new owner?! I hope CD Baby still keeps the same fun indie-vibe feel and great customer service it always has. I’ll try to get used to the fact that you really are out of CD Baby, Derek. Nothing against Disc Makers - in fact, I’ve used them for each release I’ve had so far (8 of them)…just hoping the good things about CD Baby stay the same. And, I’m looking forward to whatever else you’ve got in store.
Regards,
KevOz
http://www.KevOz.com
Fare thee well! I’ll always remember that time when you advised me _not_ to turn into a programmer myself - funny days during/after the dotcom crash
Wow!
I met Mr. Van Veen at the TAXI Road Rally back in 2003, and I will say that he seemed like a pretty cool guy. Very sharp, too.
Being in charge of the CD Baby brand and “experience” is an immense responsibility - and an exhilirating reality.
I’ve been friends with Derek for 8 years and there’s an immense mutual respect between us for what the other has accomplished. I’ve always felt that if I could work anywhere else but Disc Makers, it would be CD Baby, because our missions are identical: serve the independent artist and help the artist achieve success with their music, regardless of how they define that success.
The weight of the responsibility of being the steward of CD Baby is almost palpable to me. The existing CD Baby team stays in place, the brand will retain its integrity, and we’re very excited about tapping new opportunities for artists to sell more CDs and downloads.
Derek’s built a great business these past 10 years, one for which there is a real need. I’m proud to be the new keeper of the flame.
Tony van Veen, president, Disc Makers
Wow, a big news! Congrats on leaving the past behind and moving on! You must feel very free.
I’m excited to follow you on your upcoming journeys.
ari
[...] CD distribution to the number one duplication (in my opinion) company in the country. Direct from Derek’s blog: You might have seen in CD Baby’s 10th birthday announcement last March that I haven’t worked [...]
As a satisfied user of both services, I can only view this as a positive step for the independent musician. One hopes that Tony will operate CDBaby with the same independent, all-inclusive, non-exclusive spirit that we all know and love Derek for!
Wow!
Congrats, Derek! Keep us posted on your new endeavors
Hey, congratulations! Freedom takes over!
Exiting new days for you, my friend!
Congratulations Derek. I’d met you even before I started my management company and considered you a class act from the start.
Onward and upward sir.
~Mike Savage
Congrats.
What’s next?
Good luck Derek - can’t wait to work with you on your new project!
Congratulations! Now on to your new adventures!
Wow, wow, wow… congratulations, Derek! Seems like a good match with DiscMakers.
Looking forward to your next steps, and wishing you the very best! Have fun.
Hi Derek. Thanks for all your hard work in the community. We really appreciate it. And good luck with your next venture!
Karen
10 beautiful years ! All the best for the next 10 years ! I will follow your new adventures with great interest.
Margaux
Thanks for everything, Derek. All the very best to you and many happy returns on the gifts you have shared with us all in spirit and inspiration. Keep us posted.
Cile
Keep that pioneering spirit alive, pal.
-P
Congrats and happy trails!
Derek- Smart move. Good for you, and enjoy what you’re doing now. Backpacking, living simply.
I’ve used Discmakers for most of my releases, and think they’re a good company. Hope they can handle both!
Derek- Smart move. Good for you, and enjoy what you’re doing now. Backpacking, living simply.
I’ve used Discmakers for most of my releases, and think they’re a good company. Hope they can handle both!
na tash a
http://www.natashamillerweb.com
if it weren’t for CDBaby i would never been heard outside of a few small clubs. i am in constant amazement of what CDBaby has enabled me to do musically and how it has given me exposure worldwide. Thanks for the vision, the fortitude in making it happen and i know the next round will be even better.
All the best Derek! What a great success story you are.
Tom.
CD baby is the best thing that ever happened to independent music and I am sad to see Derek go. He always kept it so personalized with his e-mails and cute/friendly sayings included in his inspirational words. I wish him the best and I truly hope that Disc Makers won’t change a thing.
CD baby is perfect just the way it is!
Derek
CD Baby! What an immense accomplishment. Good Luck with whatever you decide is next…for the sake of the indie music community, I hope you stay involved.
So is this the end of Derek Sivers indie music biz innovations, or just a new beginning?
Heheh… take a guess.
You are truly an innovator. Everybody is anxious to see what you do next!
Thank you for the inspiration.
Congrats Derek. I’m sure your next venture will also help others as did CDbaby. Its what you do! Best of Luck.
Derek,
I’m glad you “handed” this over to a company with a good reputation in the indie music field, nice move.
What about Hostbaby? Was that included in the transfer or do you still own it?
I’d like to hear more about the new projects you are working!
Best regards,
Michael
Congrats, Derek. ‘Look forward to your next adventure. Cheers.
Woah!
I didn’t see that one coming.
Thank you Derek for changing the world with CD baby. I can’t wait to see how you change the world with your new venture.
Good luck Disc Makers. I hope you continue in keeping CD baby be the best thing that has ever happened for indie music.
It will be interesting to see what happens. I just hope they don’t bloat it with options and deals and marketing and clutter. It’s nice being as simple as it is without any hype.
Here’s hoping you’re as successful in your next project, whatever it may be!
Oof. Here’s hoping I’m NOT! 85 employees was too much responsibility for me.
I hope future things I do are much smaller.
Thanks Derek, for selling my albums, and paying me money
Thanks for supporting and nurturing independent music.
Thanks for being an honest, straightforward human being.
Much love and best wishes to you in all your future endeavors.
/Jeff Smoots
For he’z a jolly good fellow .
Good luck with everything, but I doubt you’ll need it.
Let me know if there is ever anything I can do for…you have done so much for me and my peers.
Congrats Derek. Now the fun really begins. I look forward to participating in your next brain child. I’ve worked with Tony as well and think you made a wise choice in handing off the CDBaby reigns.
Well, first off I hate to see you not at the helm of CD Baby… but, I wouldnt want you to stay if you didnt want to.
You will be missed.
But like you have said you havent been there much lately anyway.
You have a life to live an I respect that… Enjoy, you deserve it.
Good for you, Derek. Best wishes in all your adventures.
Your (CD)baby is only ten~
I’m shocked and yet not surprised by this move. I’ve said it before: you are a true innovator.
Blaze your trail~
You have made it possible for people all over the world to access and purchase my music.
What will you do for an encore?
My lighter is lit and raised.
peace~
Rosendo
All the best Derek,
Thanks for all the help you have given us to get our music out to the children of the world.
Neil Monkey
The Funky Monkeys
New Zealand
Derek,
Congrats and thanks for starting CD Baby and allowing us indies to shop our music to the world.
Best Wishes on your new ‘risky’ endeavours.
“life is only a blue bag,,knock a squeeze out of it whenever you can”
Dereck, you been a pioneer and inspiration for the independent community and I’m sure you will continue to be. I wish you all the best for your future endeavours….I’ll be watching closely
Way to go, Derek! I am sure you will be just as big a success in your new venture! I am glad you can do something you love :-))
Lianne Drysdale
Congrats Derek & Tony, I’m sure we’ll have great new opportunities in the times to come… Like direct to order cd?
Like everyone else, I wish you well! I celebrate and congratulate you for this step.
For ALL of us who have benefitted from your
vision and creativity…thank you more than you know!
My hope for CD Baby is that it can continue to build on your sense of shared and generous community.
…To boldly go, where no man have gone before! The final frontier!
To new adventures! Cheers, mate!
Congratulations Derek - thank you for everything. May your future be bright.
Derek,
You are a man that always follows your heart. That’s why CD Baby was such a success. Keep me informed as to what you will be doing next.
Always follow your heart.
Love, Peace, and Blessings to you and yours
Tyrone K Sullivan
“The Muzik Director”
We love you Derek… Your personal brand has become a lovemark. Onwards and upwards…
You’re an inspiration and I wish you all the best in your new adventures! Look forward to hearing about it.
What you said is what we got, that’s precious in the music business!
Peace and music and best wishes.
Man, you are one way cool dude…You accomplished for so many what they dreamed might be possible but were too busy making music to execute. Thankyou thankyou thankyou for taking us around the world and into the future.
Diskmakers: you’ve got one tough act to follow. keep that spirit.
Derek,
Congrats! You have done a great job. Tony.. wishing you all the best with your new baby!
Keith Mohr
President
Indieheaven
http://www.indieheaven.com
You helped create a new vision of the artist service company as an effective device for artists to inexpensively get their CDs “out there” and to choose from an unbundled set of services in order to get control of their own releases.
The elegance in the simplicity of what your company offered materially helped change the dialogue about the recording industry, and the options available to the independent artist.
It’s great that you made this contribution to the way music is distributed. It’s great that you’ve found a buyer that you think will keep the candle burning.
I wish Diskmakers all the best, secure in the knowledge that it will keep your spirit of practicality and incremental improvement. Because you now have created the idea of a really workable artist services company, Diskmakers will understand that either it meets this need, or another company will arise to do so.
Best wishes to you in your new ventures. It will be fun to see what you do next.
best, Robert Nunnally
[...] At first I was alarmed by this news because I have been a CDBaby fan and affiliate for many years. But then I read the official announcement on Derek’s website and see he hasn’t been involved (other than ownership) in a long time. He says, “I haven’t worked at CD Baby since last year. In fact I’ve hardly been there since 2002.” [Read Derek’s full announcement]. [...]
Derek–
This story is so inspiring. I heard you speak once at a convention, and you embody the whole notion of living in the NOW, doing what feels right today–neither resting on laurels nor fearing the future.
There’s a lot to be learned from you, just in witnessing how you live your life. I admire it greatly.
Mary Ann Farley
[...] semana, Derek Sivers anunciou no seu blog que decidiu vender a sua empresa por uma quantia não revelada à Disc Makers, uma fabricante de [...]
Derek — best to you my friend. IT has been an enjoyable decade watching you do your thing w/ CDBaby. I’ve referred over a hundred artists to you with no fear of them being handed a bad deal. I was in Denver the other day, hoping to meet you, but learned that the event you were to speak at had been cancelled a month earlier.
Good luck to you. I hope someday I’ll actually get to shake your hand and say thank you personally for being a major inspiration to me and countless others.
chris k.
aka, goat
The Colorado Sound
Mile High Music Store, LLC
Rocky Mountain Music Network
Derek, When your “baby” grows up you’ve got to let it go and get on to YOUR next phase. You’ve managed to change the music world as we’d known it for the better and with Disk Makers the future looks good. I trust your idealism will continue into your future projects. I look forward to helping in any way I can.
Bon voyage!!!
Derek,
Best wishes to both you and CD Baby. I hope we all see what you come up with next, and can’t wait!
Thanks for CD Baby,
Joseph
Cheers and congrats to both Tony and Derek. We only live once…maybe…
Derek,
congratulations for having the courage to take your dreams in new directions. I look forward the learning what those may be, and helping in any way I can.
[...] CD Baby to Disc Makers. It seemed that many indie artists were a bit alarmed by this, but if you read about it on Derek’s blog, you’ll see that he hardly has been at CD Baby since ‘02. So, there obviously was - and [...]
D, we been through alot.You brought us out of retirement. What can I say. 2003 Majors tried to lock in. You Choose to stay. With Disc Makers its smart and progressive for them and the indie.
Blessings. Good. Smart. Choice makes for the right heart decesion. Were with Pacific Coast Jazz. I been with Disc Makers for a number of years.
I see major things on the Up and UP. The can be the BIG CDBABY indie for many years ahead.
Smart and wise change. Hay lets say your still the biological parent. Nothing wrong with adoptions we do it so our babies (aka Indie talk,lol) Can grow up a society of adjustments and growth. I look at it this way.
YOU were going to do it because you out grown the majors,now you can reinvent your self for the indies. Its a win win.
Were all going to the Grammies
With California FLight
100 tickets front and center
CDBABY & Disc Makers still making Babies, you’ed grown up D BABY.
CDBABY did the RIGHT Thing
Disk Makers is Great People they Know they’re business of MD/PD/D/
BUSINESS
They can BUILD quicker and smarter.
WOW!
Ilove it Great
I been a Disc Makers Loyalist for over 15 years
Now out of Retirement
2 companies I started with
1.CDBABY
2. Disc Makers
You got my Blessings
dont really deal with disc makers but CD baby was awesome
i guess i will now
or for awhile
ill miss you derek
great job !!!!!
That’s the way you do it, Derek! Congratulations on your miracle working skills and best of luck on your future ventures. You’ve done the world a world of good!
Thank you so much for giving musicians like myself a great opportunity and never-ending encouragement. Because of you and CD Baby, I found a new path. Best of luck to you, though you don’t seem to need any luck to do anything. I am sure CD Baby will keep your spirit, no doubt.
Thanks again for everything.
i will miss your guidance and strength, but wish you all things wonderful. keep grabbing the world by it’s tail both for you, and for all of us who follow.
much love,
rita mizrahi shamie
I hope that Disc Makers can do even a quarter of what you have done for indie musicians at CD BABY!!!!!
The last time someone bought a DD track was 7th Jan 2008. Sivers told us DD was the best thing thing since sliced bread. I don’t think so. I am totally underwhelmed.
Mark Whitty
I second Mary Ann’s comment above.
Kudos to you !
As an artist, I have used Discmakers since ‘93, before I had heard of CD Baby. When I first heard that Derek had sold, I was disappointed, as he has done an excellent job with CD Baby & Hostbaby, helping to fulfill long-sought-after dreams of many independent artists, who prior to CD Baby’s founding had seemingly unsurmountable options available to get their music out to the public. My main concern was that CD Baby may no longer be as diligent in marketing the artists’ music as before. But I’m sure it was not an easy decision for Derek to make, and as someone who has invested so much work into CD Baby, I don’t think he would hand over the reigns to Discmakers without believing they would be able to manage it just as good or better. If Discmakers puts as much effort into CD Baby as they do their CD manufacturing business, it will continue to prosper. I’m grateful for all the hard work Derek has put into CD Baby, from its founding to present, and I’m looking forward to working with Discmakers in both arenas.