HostBaby Teams up with Bandzoogle, for the Perfect Indie Artist Web Hosting Match

CD Baby’s HostBaby is partnering with leading music-oriented web hosting provider Bandzoogle. 

It’s a perfect match: Two committed independent music companies, founded and run by musicians, whose mission is to better serve the DIY and self-managed artists in a shifting digital business. Bandzoogle will now host artist sites for HostBaby, as the storied web hosting service winds down. 

“Bandzoogle shares our focus on artists, with tools that help them wherever they are in their career,” explains Tracy Maddux, CEO of AVL/CD Baby. “They have built the best hosting product for indie musicians, and they back it up with amazing customer service. Like us, they keep ahead of a fast-changing business and think hard about what tools will best support artists’ dreams and goals. I can’t think of a better partner in web hosting, and I’m glad we finally get to work more closely together to promote indie music as a whole.”

"Bandzoogle and CD Baby share similar values and goals: our sustained, honest efforts to provide all of the tools DIY artists need online today,” says Stacey Bedford, CEO of Bandzoogle. “We both have longevity in the industry (over 35 years combined!) and we are thrilled to be able to work together to help musicians."

HostBaby users will notice very little change as the partners work closely to migrate the sites slowly and seamlessly. They’ll keep the same domain, inbox, and other assets, as well as all hosting time purchased and all deals with CD Baby. They will also have the same high level of customer service and responsiveness they have grown accustomed to with HostBaby and CD Baby. “We aim to make this move so effortless and easy for users, they barely notice,” notes Kevin Breuner, VP of Marketing at CD Baby. 

In addition, users will discover a wide range of new, exciting tools for promoting their music and engaging their fans. These include highly customizable mobile-friendly templates, direct-to-fan eCommerce to sell music, merch, and tickets, as well as run crowdfunding and fan subscriptions, and integrations with popular platforms like Bandsintown and YouTube. As the transition occurs, HostBaby will not accept new sign ups.

“Our goal is to create or provide the strongest, most effective tools for artists to make the most of their creative lives and music careers,” Breuner states. “This partnership will allow us to move forward in a focused way, putting energy into new offerings while keeping our high standards of support and service.”

About CD Baby
CD Baby is one of the largest distributors of independent music on the planet, home to 650,000 artists and more than 9 million tracks that are made available to 100+ digital services and platforms around the globe. Artists on the platform are empowered to monetize their rights while maintaining control of their own careers, and have collectively earned over $600 million since the company’s founding. CD Baby’s Publishing Administration service allows over 160,000 songwriters to collect all of their publishing royalties and currently administers over 1 million songs, and its sync service has garnered artists placements in series like Stranger Things. CD Baby is a division of AVL Digital Group.

About Bandzoogle
Bandzoogle started with a single website built by Bandzoogle founder Chris Vinson for his alt-rock band, Rubberman. Now celebrating their 15th anniversary, Bandzoogle has grown to a team that is 80% musicians, and has powered websites for over 100,000 artists in 213 countries and territories. Along the way, Bandzoogle members have sold over $36 million in music, merch, and tickets directly to their fans, commission-free.

AllTrack Hires Former Tunecore CMO Lise Barbanti to Lead Marketing Efforts

AllTrack, the PRO for independent creators, has hired highly experienced marketing executive Lise Barbanti as VP of Marketing. Formerly the CMO of Tunecore, Barbanti has operated in a wide array of industries, spearheading marketing efforts at organizations ranging from global enterprises to groundbreaking small businesses.

Recently, she has devoted herself to startups, where potential customer education is key. “The companies I’ve worked for over the last two decades have all been in the business of disrupting their industries,” Barbanti reflects. “Most recently, I’ve been able to work with startups that were doing something that their industry had never done before,” including a platform that enables e-commerce sites to establish subscription features and a platform providing lightning-fast insurance underwriting solutions.

A thread runs through these diverse businesses, one Barbanti is embracing in her new role at America’s newest and most tech-driven PRO: educating people and removing layers of distance and complexity between customers and their ultimate goals. In this case, Barbanti and her team are hoping to reach independent music creators and inform them of their performing rights--and the royalties that go with them.

“In marketing, you take the mission defined by the CEO and craft clear and impactful messages around that,” reflects Barbanti. “AllTrack’s message and mission are clear. Independent artists, writers, composers and producers are often only partially aware of their rights. They typically don’t know about every financial opportunity available to them, and as a result they’re missing out on certain royalty streams. We hope to educate them and help them solve this dilemma as related to performing rights in a very easy way.”

AllTrack’s ease of use is very purposeful. The company is built to be radically more efficient and attuned to self-managed, single-first, and other non-traditional artists. “I’m excited to be able to work with such a dynamic team at bringing new era ideas and technology to the performing rights industry,” Barbanti notes.

“Lise has years of experience reaching out to consumers requiring new-era solutions, but who may not know where to start. And, she’s had a great deal of experience working with the very people AllTrack is built to service, independent music creators,” says Hayden Bower, founder and CEO of AllTrack. “We’re thrilled to have someone who truly understands the details of our industry leading our efforts to reach our core users, who have often been overlooked until now.”

About AllTrack

AllTrack is the first full service global performing rights organization (PRO) established to represent independent music creators – artists, songwriters, composers, producers and publishers. Its mission is to maximize compensation to its creator base by focusing on licensing their music and collecting their performance royalties from millions of potential commercial music users across the globe. AllTrack’s creators are compensated when their songs are performed by streaming services, TV, cable, radio and when their songs are played in bars, restaurants, nightclubs, hotels and hundreds of other types of businesses. AllTrack’s creators are also compensated when their songs are publicly performed live. An AllTrack license is an efficient, fair and ethical means for businesses to both utilize the music of its creators and comply with global copyright law. Through the ongoing development and use of cutting-edge technology designed to eliminate inefficiencies, AllTrack is committed to providing a near effortless compliance solution for creators and businesses, resulting in a hyper-efficient, fair and balanced marketplace for all. Please visit www.alltrack.com to learn more.

Soundrop and Save the Children Launch New Musical Side of Successful Create for Kids Program

As part of global humanitarian organization Save the Children’s Create for Kids program, Soundrop and its artists are donating tracks to build a unique compilation that highlights young musicians and artistic creativity. Alus and Astrid (of The Voice Kids UK fame) have already given music to the project, which will be released August 15, 2019. (More artists to be announced July 30.) Participating artists will donate their tracks for exclusive distribution as part of this charitable initiative, with 100% of reported revenue going to Save the Children.

In past years, Create for Kids has collaborated with creators on platforms like Twitch to raise money for charity’s diverse programs. Many of these creators had a strongly visual side to their work, leading to the project’s signature coloring book. This is the first collaboration with musical artists and a distribution service. 

It’s a natural fit for the creator-first, democratic distributor and its artists. “Our Soundrop Artists already make the world a better place every day through their positivity, creativity, and community building,” explains Soundrop Brand Manager Zach Domer (better known as “Pony”). “Joining forces for this project allows our creators to do what they do best for a cause that anyone can get behind: helping kids in need. The best part is that listeners and fans will be supporting Save the Children simply by streaming and downloading these songs as they normally would, so everyone wins!”
“We are looking forward to expanding on the success of our Create for Kids campaign by launching a special way for musicians to support the event,” says Lisa Smith, Associate Director of Digital Peer to Peer Fundraising for Save the Children. “Save the Children is very thankful to Soundrop for stepping up to partner with us on this exciting new project that will serve as an incredible platform for talented musicians to show off their work.”

For the Soundrop artists taking part in the initiative, donating a track was an easy decision, an extension of their values and goals as creators. “I am so excited to be part of the Save the Children compilation,” Astrid, age 10, notes. “It’s a charity helping children, which is the intention of my original song, ‘The Little Jazz Singer,’ to support other kids, like me, to be the best version of themselves! It’s my honour to support this charity!”

“Music has healing powers that can ignite a happy soul,” says Alus. “Donating a song to Save the Children is the least I can do to help children celebrate their creativity.”

Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. Since our founding 100 years ago, we’ve changed the lives of more than 1 billion children. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis – transforming their lives and the future we share. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.