"Content ID" seems to be growing but is that really good?

[mikeymike2000]

Tha artist gets the money (after the licensing partner and CD Baby take their cut), but unless you're getting millions of views, it ain't much. I literally made 1c in the month or so it was in place for me.

Ah -HA!

This is my point exactly. For you, me and everyone else it is insignificant. But for CD Baby, who has MILLIONS of artists and taking a 1/2 cent from each click, they get a f****** ridiculous amount of money for doing jack shit. And the REAL kicker is that WE PAID THEM to accept our music in the first place.

I think it is time for a coup de tat ladies and gentlemen. Seems like the music business is not really different from all the other businesses after all.

[ericmakesmusic]

Not really fair to say that CDBaby is making money for doing nothing (I've sold product through them for years so I'm a fan).

But there digital program has always worked the same way: you give them a CD, they digitize and make it available on itunes and every other streaming/digital service. The handle the collection, take a small percentage and deposit the rest into your account. I don't think there's anything shady about that. Pretty typical business practice as long as the percentage isn't unreasonable. And, remember they started this during the time when an independent artist couldn't even get onto itunes on his own.

The youtube sync license sounds like a good idea. If you make your music available to the tons of independent video producers on youtube, there's no way you can individually negotiate sync deals and manage collections with all of them. But encoding the content makes a lot of sense so that payment is automatic. So, if CDBaby his handling that encoding and collection, then it's not fair to say that they're doing nothing. Without the encoding you would have no way to know if 100 random people dispersed throughout the world used your songs without permission. Even if you didn't intend to charge them, you would at least want to know for promotional reasons.

[pboss]

I'm glad you posted this because It's a really good example of how the contracts we sign or opt into can play out, so it helps us as content makers to navigate the minefield. Overall, I think the Content ID is really cool, and I think that the details of loopholes like this are attempted to be dealt with (big generalized statement). While I don't believe Google always follows their own tag line (the evil reference), anything that helps us to track our copyrighted content and monetize it (or gain marketing from it) is better than not, I believe.

[mikeymike2000]

Yes, you are both right.

I was on a "high horse of principal" when I put this up. I still believe in the principal I argue but this has more to do with my entrepreneurial mind than the music mind. Believe me there are plenty of other businesses I can say "what, they get how much for doing that"!?

What I learned since then it is does not even matter either way for a person like me. (Someone who does not play out and has no following) getting music "out there" is an ego boost at best. It is cool that it is there and all set up for everyone but for those who just write, produce and repeat... don't get all bent out of shape over such a silly issue. Not worth the sweat.

Please feel free to prove my last paragraph wrong and show me the light.

I have a split personality. I am part musician/artist/the world does not understand me and part guy who just wants to make a tollbooth the the world is required to use.

[ericmakesmusic]

Oh wow! Now, I'm gonna be up thinking about this "toll booth" all night. That's a great idea. I'm sure if we put our heads together we can figure out a way to make that happen

[mikeymike2000]

Oh wow! Now, I'm gonna be up thinking about this "toll booth" all night. That's a great idea. I'm sure if we put our heads together we can figure out a way to make that happen

That is a quote from a book, don't remember what one but it was either Branson, Trump or Napoleon Hill.

[Silversun]

Interesting thread.

I may be missing something here, but I don't think it's CD baby being responsible for placing the ad. If it's on you tube then its you tube controlling the ad. If you're a posting content that get a shed load of hits then there's a chance you might be a revenue "partner" and get paid a percentage of the click through but I think essentially all ads on you tube make money mostly for you tube.

[mikeymike2000]

HA! This email just came through from CD Baby:
_________________________________________________
"we’ll be lowering the admin fee we take of MP3 sales on CDBaby.com from 25% to 9%"
__________________________________________________

(OK it was longer than that but that is the main point) They must have read this thread!