CD Baby Pro — the publishing administration service offered by CD Baby — was discontinued in August 2023. Artists who relied on CD Baby Pro for international publishing royalty collection now have a gap in their setup that CD Baby's current offering, CD Baby Boost, does not fully address. This guide explains what changed, what Boost covers, and what to do if you are still underserved.
What happened to CD Baby Pro
CD Baby Pro was CD Baby's publishing administration product, offering multi-territory royalty collection for songwriters distributing through CD Baby. In August 2023, CD Baby (now owned by Downtown Music Holdings, the same parent company as Songtrust) discontinued CD Baby Pro as a standalone product. Artists who had CD Baby Pro found their publishing administration either ended or transitioned to CD Baby Boost, CD Baby's simplified replacement product. The discontinuation was not widely announced and many artists discovered it only when looking for royalties that were no longer being collected.
What CD Baby Boost does (and does not) cover
CD Baby Boost replaced CD Baby Pro as the publishing layer in CD Baby's distribution packages. It is important to understand Boost's specific scope:
- What Boost covers: US mechanical royalties via the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) and US digital performance royalties via SoundExchange. These are specifically US-domestic collection mechanisms.
- What Boost does not cover: international publishing royalties outside the US. This means UK performance royalties (PRS), UK mechanical royalties (MCPS), European and global PRO collections, and most international distribution of publishing income is not addressed by Boost.
- For UK artists specifically: if you are a UK artist using CD Baby with Boost, your US royalties may be partially addressed, but your UK PRS/MCPS income and international publishing income outside the US is not being collected by CD Baby or Boost.
- ISWC codes: Boost does not actively manage ISWC code issuance and registration, which is required for international PRO matching.
Why this matters for UK artists especially
UK artists who used CD Baby Pro assumed their UK performance royalties (PRS) and mechanical royalties (MCPS) were being administered. For UK artists, PRS and MCPS are the primary royalty collection mechanisms — they represent the majority of publishing income from UK and European streaming, broadcasting, and performance. CD Baby Boost's focus on US mechanisms (MLC and SoundExchange) means UK artists using only Boost have a significant gap in their publishing administration. If you have been using CD Baby for distribution since 2023 and have not separately joined PRS for Music and engaged a UK publishing administrator, there is a high probability that UK publishing royalties have been accumulating uncollected.
How to identify if you have a CD Baby Pro migration gap
Check these specific points to determine whether your current setup is complete:
- Are you currently a member of PRS for Music? If not and you write your own songs, you have a gap regardless of what CD Baby is or is not doing.
- Are your compositions registered with PRS? PRS membership alone does not register your songs. Log in to the PRS member portal and check your works registration.
- Do you have ISWC codes for your compositions? Check the PRS portal — registered works should have ISWCs assigned. Works without ISWCs cannot be matched by international PROs.
- Are you receiving quarterly PRS distributions that match your international streaming and broadcasting activity? A PRS statement that shows only domestic UK income is a sign that international reciprocal collections are not flowing correctly.
- Are your recordings registered with PPL? This is separate from publishing and separate from CD Baby's offering entirely.
Migration options for former CD Baby Pro users
Former CD Baby Pro users who have a publishing administration gap have the following options:
- Join PRS for Music directly and self-administer: registering directly with PRS gives you UK and international publishing income via PRS's reciprocal network. This is workable for a small catalog but requires ongoing administrative effort to maintain.
- Migrate to Songtrust: the same parent company that owns CD Baby (Downtown Music Holdings) also owns Songtrust. Songtrust provides broader territory publishing administration than CD Baby Boost. Note the $100 setup fee and 15% commission.
- Migrate to a UK-native publishing administrator: for UK artists, engaging a UK-native administrator with direct PRS and MCPS relationships provides more direct management of UK royalties. Code Group Music, Sentric, and others offer UK-native administration.
Preserving ISWC codes when switching
ISWC codes (International Standard Musical Work Codes) are assigned to compositions, not to administrators. If CD Baby Pro or Boost registered ISWCs for your works before the discontinuation, those ISWCs remain valid and are held by the relevant PRO. When moving to a new administrator, provide them with your ISWC codes so they can reference the existing registrations rather than creating duplicate entries. Duplicate ISWC registrations for the same composition create confusion at the PRO level and can delay royalty matching. Your new administrator should audit your existing ISWCs as part of onboarding.
What to do now
If you were a CD Baby Pro user and have not taken action since the August 2023 discontinuation, this is the priority order:
- Join PRS for Music if you have not already. This is the first action regardless of which administrator you choose.
- Register your compositions with PRS if they are not already registered. Prioritise your most commercially active releases.
- Request a publishing administration overview from your new or existing administrator, specifically covering: which of your compositions have ISWCs, which territories are currently being collected, and whether there are historical gaps to pursue.
- Consider a catalog assessment to quantify the income that may have been missed since August 2023.
Code Group Music offers publishing administration for former CD Baby Pro users looking for a UK-native replacement. Our catalog assessment identifies the specific gaps in your current setup and quantifies what active administration could recover. Start at codegroupmusic.co.uk/#catalog-assessment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Was I notified when CD Baby Pro was discontinued?
CD Baby notified affected users, but many artists report not receiving clear communication or not understanding the implications. If you have been using CD Baby for distribution since 2023 and have not separately set up UK publishing administration, checking your current setup is worthwhile.
Does CD Baby Boost collect UK royalties?
CD Baby Boost is focused on US collection mechanisms: the MLC (US mechanical royalties) and SoundExchange (US digital performance royalties). UK royalties via PRS and MCPS require separate registration and administration.
If I switch to Songtrust, do I get credit for being a CD Baby customer?
Songtrust and CD Baby are owned by the same company (Downtown Music Holdings) but operate as separate services. There may be transitional offers — check Songtrust's current promotions — but there is no guaranteed discount or migration credit.
Can I recover royalties from before I had proper UK publishing administration?
In some cases, yes. PRS can sometimes access historical usage data and distribute royalties for periods before your registration, subject to their holding period rules. A publishing administrator can pursue historical claims as part of onboarding. The window varies by PRO and territory.
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