Distribution company CD Baby will be expanding into Asia Pacific with the launch of a new office in Singapore and the appointment of Keith Tan to head up the region.
Tan has devoted years in Singapore to a wide range of music-related projects and will be founding the first Asian office for CD Baby, a significant move into a increasingly important market.
Meanwhile, CD Baby has made various new appointments in Latin America, the UK and EU and Canada.
Henriette Heimdal will be joining CD Baby’s London office as Market Development Coordinator.
Heimdal brings with her strong relationships across the European industry, having worked in recent years for trade association Worldwide Independent Network (WIN), representing the global independent sector.
Darryl Hurs is CD Baby’s new Canadian representative, based in Toronto. Hurs started Indie Week Canada almost two decades ago.
Johanna Rivera will join CD Baby representative Juan Peña in Colombia. Based in Bogota, her work will support artists from other South American and Spanish-speaking countries as well as Colombia, including parts of the Caribbean like the Dominican Republic.
In addition to experts on the ground, CD Baby is adding a series of Artist Support Centres around the world, starting with the UK in the coming months.
These centers will give specific advice in local languages tailored to the needs of local artists.
“We feel it is very important to be physically present in these regions. To this end, we are expanding our global team with industry professionals who believe deeply in our vision and share our passion for indie artists.”
Heli Del Moral, CD Baby
Heli Del Moral, CD Baby’s VP for International Development said: “CD Baby is committed to becoming a global leader and to serving independent artists around the world. We need to be present where the artists are, and to provide artists everywhere the ability to get support and access to our services the way our US artists do.
“We feel it is very important to be physically present in these regions. To this end, we are expanding our global team with industry professionals who believe deeply in our vision and share our passion for indie artists.”
Added Del Moral: “One of CD Baby’s true differentiators is that we are very focused on customer service. You should be able to pick up the phone and talk to a person, or get an email back promptly with an informed reply. We need people to answer in a local timezone who know the intricacies of the region and who can relate on a very local level.
“We have built the team with this in mind, and the people who care most for artists will help us have our best business. We see this less as internationalisation, and more as regionalisation.”
“Asia Pacific has a growing market of independent artists that are putting out content and music at a very high rate. We see potentially high growth in markets such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, The Philippines, Australia.”
Keith Tan
Keith Tan said: “Asia Pacific has a growing market of independent artists that are putting out content and music at a very high rate. We see potentially high growth in markets such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, The Philippines, Australia. We look forward to working with artists from these parts to assist them in their artistic journey.”
“I have long admired the DIY spirit and independent-to-the-core ethos of CD Baby.”
Henriette Heimdal
Henriette Heimdal said: “I have long admired the DIY spirit and independent-to-the-core ethos of CD Baby. The artist direct market is expanding daily throughout the world, and I am extremely excited to be joining the UK team as these opportunities continue to grow.”
Rich Orchard, Director for UK & EU Market Development, added: As we build increased and deeper relationships with our considerable UK & European artist base, I am hugely pleased to welcome Henriette on board. Her wealth of experience across those markets will be invaluable as we expand our European footprint in the months ahead.”
“I am looking forward to being part of the international marketing team of CD Baby representing Canada.”
Darryl Hurs
Darryl Hurs said: “I am looking forward to being part of the international marketing team of CD Baby representing Canada.
“I’ve run Indie Week for the last 18 years with the focus on helping indie artists and I look at this as an opportunity to step it up to a higher level. I am especially excited to help artists and businesses build success stories.”
Johanna Riviera said: “I am happy to be part of a team created by artists for artists. Colombia is a big market and the artists are ready to grow. We are the partner to make that happen.”
CD Baby artists earned over $100 million in 2018, and the company recently entered into a partnership with SACM, Mexico’s only Performance Rights Organization.
Music Business Worldwide
