Excellent Service with a Suggestion for Improving Contributor Credits
Overall, I had a very positive experience with CD Baby. The distribution process was prompt, and the support team was extremely responsive, patient, and helpful throughout the submission and release process. I sincerely appreciate the excellent support I received. I would, however, like to offer a suggestion regarding the contributor metadata workflow. During the submission process, CD Baby provides separate fields for the Lyricist and the Music Composer. However, when adding the Music Composer, the system requires the ownership percentage of both the Lyricist and the Music Composer to be entered. This created confusion in my case because the Lyricist and the Music Composer are distinct creative roles. Moreover, it was not clear whether these percentages were required only for metadata purposes or whether they would also affect royalty payments and rights administration. In my case, the Music Director/Composer had been professionally engaged and compensated for his services, and I wanted to credit him appropriately without creating any ambiguity regarding ownership or royalty entitlement. Since the purpose and implications of the ownership percentage were not clearly explained, I was unable to determine the correct way to complete this section. Following the guidance provided by the CD Baby Support Team, I ultimately added the Music Director under "Other Contributors" with the role of "Music Director." While this enabled me to complete the submission, the contributor credits displayed on the streaming platforms are now not entirely accurate. My name is shown as both the Lyricist and the Music Composer, whereas it should appear only as the Lyricist, and the Music Director's credit is not displayed despite being entered in the metadata. I would therefore suggest either: providing a clearer explanation of whether the ownership percentages are required solely for metadata or whether they have legal and financial implications; or allowing contributor credits for Music Director/Composer to be entered independently of ownership percentages where appropriate. Additionally, if it is possible to correct the contributor credits for my current release so that my role is displayed only as the Lyricist and the Music Director is credited correctly, I would be most grateful. Thank you once again for providing an excellent distribution service and for your continued support.