CD Baby charges once per release, $9.99 for a single or $14.99 for an album, with no yearly renewal, then keeps 9% of digital and SoundExchange receipts. It suits occasional releases; six singles a year cost $59.94 up front. It scores 71 out of 100 on our documentation-based method.
It depends on how often you release. CD Baby is worth it for a few releases a year: you pay once, $9.99 per single or $14.99 per album as of October 2026, with no yearly renewal, and it keeps 9% of digital receipts. At six singles a year that is $59.94 up front, more than most yearly plans. If you have 10,000 monthly listeners and 1,000 Spotify followers, Dynamoi distribution pays you 90% of net receipts with nothing upfront, and you can run managed Meta and YouTube campaigns from the same account.
Disclosure: Dynamoi publishes this review and offers apply-only distribution. We have no affiliate relationship with CD Baby.
Score 71 / 100 · #6 of 7
Six singles at $9.99 each, one time
Six singles, year one
$59.94
Best for Occasional releases without a yearly plan
Watch for
Six singles cost more up front, the 9% share grows with revenue, social video and sync take 30% and 40%, and collaborators can't be paid automatically.
Published US-dollar prices. For our six-singles frame, the year-one cost is $59.94 before optional extras.
| Plan | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Single | $9.99 once | One-time fee per release. UPC and ISRC included; 150+ platforms. cdbaby.com/cd-baby-cost |
| Album | $14.99 once | One-time fee per release. No yearly renewal. cdbaby.com/cd-baby-cost |
| FastForward | $29.99 | Priority inspection, target one to two business days. Nonrefundable; some genres excluded. CD Baby: expediting inspection |
| Commissions | 9% to 40% | Digital and SoundExchange 9%; MLC 15%; social video 30%; sync 40%. CD Baby: how much it costs |
We rate each criterion 0 to 5 from CD Baby's published pages and weight it; scores within five points are a near-tie.
| Criterion | Weight | Rating | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year-one cost | 25 | 3/5 | Six singles at $9.99 each cost $59.94 up front, inside the $35 to $60 band. |
| Release controls and splits | 20 | 3/5 | A per-release workflow with UPC and ISRC included, but no automatic split payments to collaborators. |
| Royalty share and exit | 20 | 4/5 | No yearly renewal to keep releases live. CD Baby keeps 9% of digital receipts and more on optional collections. |
| Payout documentation | 15 | 4/5 | Weekly automatic payouts with published method minimums, fees and transfer times. |
| Promotion tools | 10 | 4/5 | Show.co, plus optional HearNow, Managed Ads and SymphonyOS products. |
| Rights and AI policy | 10 | 4/5 | The Downtown content policy is specific about AI training data and impersonation. |
The anchors for each rating are on the distributor list.
Store reporting, the distributor's processing and the bank transfer are separate clocks. These are CD Baby's own published estimates; we didn't measure them.
What CD Baby will accept, and what it offers beyond delivery.
Occasional singles or albums, and artists who would rather not carry a yearly distribution subscription, as long as they accept ongoing commissions and can pay collaborators themselves.
Already at 10,000 monthly listeners and 1,000 Spotify followers? Dynamoi also offers distribution by application, with no upfront fee and 10% of Net Receipts.
CD Baby suits artists who want a one-time release charge and accept a 9% digital commission. DistroKid's yearly plan can cost less for frequent releases, but upgrades, recurring extras and catalog protection change that comparison. Model your release schedule and exit plan before choosing.
FastForward costs $29.99. It prioritizes inspection and delivery, with a published one-to-two-business-day inspection target, but it can't control when stores make the release live. It is nonrefundable and some genres are excluded.
No. Base distribution is charged once per single or album, not as a yearly subscription. CD Baby still keeps commissions on the revenue it collects, and optional services have their own charges.
No. CD Baby's help center says an account can't route percentages to several payees. The account owner receives the money and pays collaborators separately.
No. Nine percent is the rate for digital streaming and download revenue and SoundExchange receipts. Optional collections differ: 15% on MLC, 30% on social video monetization and 40% on sync.
Read the current Downtown content policy rather than a blanket yes or no. It prohibits wholly or primarily AI content made with models trained on protected recordings without licenses, and it prohibits impersonation. You also need the usual master, composition and sample rights.
