Audio Refugees: "CD Baby website redesign carnage"

Here's yet another blog linked above with more comment on the "relaunch."

Google Thread@CDBaby.Org

I've re-posted Chris's thread of Oct 29 since it has become the de facto current complaint line at cdbaby.org.

With no update from Brian Felsen in more than a month, this is the place to go if you still require frontline help@cdbaby.com

Rockin' with Joe Bear

I stumbled upon this fellow (linked above) while surfing through the CD Baby cyberspace trail. Some of you may find it of interest.

Is Hostbaby a Rip-off?

Let me just preempt Derek and his apologists by pointing out that this is a 3 1/2 year old criticism of Hostbaby, so possibly it's not relevant to today's relaunch debates, but I'm linking to this because I'm curious and want to know more:

1.) Did Derek sell Hostbaby to Discmakers as part of his sale of CDBaby.com?

2.) Is Hostbaby a subsidiary of CDBaby or is it a completely separate entity?

3.) Compared to other web hosting services, is Hostbaby--at $20 per month or $200 per year--a rip-off?

Leave your questions & comments here. . .

Discussion at Cubase.net

Click the link above to see comments including some apparently from Derek. . .

Are Things Back to "Normal" at CD Baby?

With no updates from Brian Felsen since way back on October 13, and with a highly notable decline in complaints and posts at cdbaby.org (around 250 in almost three weeks), have things finally got back to "normal", however we might define that, nearly four months into this bug-plagued website relaunch?

Most of us would hope so! There are definite signs that DD sales are back on track, and I've heard rumors that CD Baby has resumed email notification of artist payments. Can anyone reading here confirm this?

While the frontline staff seems to have addressed the hundreds of individual glitches of complaining artists in a satisfactory manner, I can personally attest that, since Derek sold the company to Discmakers in 2008, sales of physical discs have flattened or plummeted. Is this because the new search functionalities are apparently useless to us? Is it more difficult for the casual browsing customer to find, and therefore buy, our music? Based upon no scientific evidence but plenty of anecdotal comment, my guess to that is yes.

If CD Baby is now back to "normal" for most or all of us, then I'm happy for the company and its couple hundred thousand artists. But now I am faced with the problem I had back in July: mustering up the energy & will to visit my account and relearn to navigate its confusing myriad of virtual hallways and rooms. I didn't like what was offered in July, and I doubt that I will like it much better today. As I have often stated before, it's tons easier (and more fun!) to administer this blog than it is to visit my artist account. Before July 2009 I visited CD Baby everyday for just a few minutes. Now I visit this blog every day, again just for a few minutes.

Given the choice, I'd still rather be visiting CD Baby than running this blog. But the pessimist in me suggests that it's far too soon to expect that this will be the case. Any thoughts on this? Leave your comments here. . .