CD Baby expands into India

CD Baby has expanded into India.

Ritnika Nayan, who wrote the book Indie 101: The Ultimate Guide to the Independent Music Industry in India, will represent CD Baby as well as its sister companies, including DashGo.

Today’s news comes on the heels of CD Baby’s recent expansion into Canada, Columbia, Southeast Asia, and the UK over the last 16 months.

It also follows last week’s news that CD Baby has partnered with Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME) in China to deliver its catalog of streaming-eligible tracks to three TME services, QQ Music, KuGou Kuwo.

US-based CD Baby represents over 750,000 recording artists, 170,000 songwriters, and over 9 million tracks across 800+ genres.

In March, CD Baby owner AVL Digital Group and its portfolio of businesses, including AdRev, DashGo and Soundrop were acquired by Downtown Music Holdings, the parent company of Downtown Music Publishing and Songtrust.

CD Baby currently has 19 representatives operating in 25 countries around the world.

“India has some of the richest music cultures in the world and artists are eagerly looking for opportunities to share their creativity with audiences around the globe.”

Heli Del Moral, CD Baby

“India has some of the richest music cultures in the world and artists are eagerly looking for opportunities to share their creativity with audiences around the globe,” said Heli Del Moral, VP of International Development at CD Baby.

“We encourage artists to stay independent and to access our world-class promotion tools to help them propel their music careers. Education is a top priority for CD Baby. Our mission in India is to simplify the process for artists and composers, and to give them the practical steps and information they need to successfully market and sell their music.”

“CD Baby is for the artists and it helps artists take control of their music, not just through digital releases, but also through education.”

Ritnika Nayan

Nayan said: “I have always been passionate about the independent music scene and music education has been my focus in the last few years. I feel CD Baby is one of the few companies that genuinely shares the same vision of empowering artists.

“CD Baby is for the artists and it helps artists take control of their music, not just through digital releases, but also through education. I feel truly blessed to be able to help the indie scene in India through CD Baby, this is exactly what our country needs right now.”

“India is a huge, vibrant market and presents a great opportunity for CD Baby.”

Tracy Maddux, AVL Digital

Tracy Maddux, CEO of AVL Digital, parent company to both CD Baby and DashGo, added: “India is a huge, vibrant market and presents a great opportunity for CD Baby.

“We believe that Priyanka and Ritnika are the right people to help us grow and learn about what artists and labels need in this diverse, intensely creative country. This is a very exciting expansion for us that marks our commitment and belief in the future of the indie music market in India.”

UPDATE: In a press release reporting CD Baby’s expansion to India earlier this week, it was inadvertently recorded that CD Baby had hired Priyanka Khimani as an executive to act as their legal counsel in India. 

We would like to clarify that Priyanka Khimani, who is  a recognised expert in the field of entertainment laws as well as the Founder and Lead Partner of a prominent law firm in India, has no formal relationship with CD Baby, in the capacity of an executive or otherwise, and has not been hired and/or engaged by CD Baby in any manner. The updated story above clarifies this point.Music Business Worldwide