“Panos’ Brew” is Sonicbids founder/CEO Panos Panay’s weekly (or more) post about whatever happens to be on his mind. Look for musings and observations on entrepreneurship, the state of the music business, his experiences with members, interesting things he’s seen in his travels, or just about anything else.
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The biggest (albeit relatively low-key) news in the indie scene this past week was the acquisition of CD Baby by Disc Makers. I know both of the guys that run the two companies and I’ll admit that I was caught a bit off guard, but not surprised. The thing just makes sense for Disc Makers.
I’ve been talking a lot about the modern indie artist tool kit (more in a subsequent post). Every artist basically needs to focus on four key areas that affect their career: Production, Distribution, Promotion, and Connections (the last bit is where Sonicbids comes in).
As the world changed in the past few years, Disc Makers was caught without a real stake in any of these areas, other than manufacturing, which at some point will move entirely away from CDs and even disappear. Buying a real player in the distribution area like CD Baby is a natural move.
The real surprise for me is the fact that the founder of CD Baby, Derek Sivers — who I know well and is a fellow Berklee alumn – is moving on. Like with all companies and groups (Pink Floyd?), when the founder moves on there’s a real void left that’s hard to replace (though not necessarily impossible to overcome). Will CD Baby be the same without Derek?
I have no idea, but if CD Baby was destined to be sold, then Disc Makers is the best home for it.
Panos
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