CD Baby Launches Music Sync Licensing Service to Independent Artists
CD Baby is partnering with music
licensing company Rumblefish to launch a sync licensing service for
independent musicians. CD Baby artists now can generate revenue by
licensing their music for movies, TV shows, ads, video games, apps, and
YouTube.
Portland, OR (PRWE January 19, 2012
Over the past decade, independent artists have earned significant
income from traditional licensing opportunities in TV and film, but with
YouTube quickly becoming the most popular online music-discovery
platform, there are countless opportunities to license music on a much
smaller scale.
“Sure, you can make a bundle by getting placement in a feature film,” said CD Baby
president Brian Felsen, “but you also can make money by getting your
song in 500 home movies of cats doing cartwheels. We are giving
independent artists the opportunity to do both. The equivalent of 9
years of video is uploaded to YouTube everyday. That’s a lot of video,
and most of it could benefit from including some great independent
music.”
CD Baby Sync Licensing, which launches today, is powered by Portland-based Rumblefish,
a leader in the music licensing industry. The program is free to all CD
Baby members. Artists can choose to opt in (or opt out) at anytime.
“CD Baby has always been a leader in independent music, and we’re
humbled to plug their amazing catalog into the worlds of social media
and traditional sync licensing,” said Rumblefish Founder and CEO Paul
Anthony. “The opportunities in sync licensing have never been bigger.”
In addition to being marketed for use in TV, movies and games, CD
Baby artists’ music will be included in a database of songs that YouTube
allows video-makers to choose from in their YouTube accounts.
“So if you or I upload a video of our birthday party or camping
trip,” said Felsen, “YouTube will allow us to throw some music in the
background with just a few clicks. You don’t even have to edit the video
– it’s built into YouTube. When a CD Baby artist’s music is used, then
that artist gets paid. If the video goes viral, the artist gets paid a
lot.”
YouTube also will analyze and identify videos that contain CD Baby
music prior to upload and pay royalties on those tracks as well. Artists
will even get paid for the videos they upload themselves.
“We’re really excited about this new sync licensing partnership,”
said Felsen, “as it opens up new revenue streams for independent
artists. Millions of people are watching music videos – and videos that
feature music – on YouTube every day. Now artists will get paid for it.”
January 19, 2012