With the recent announcement of the Indie/DIY music distributor CD Baby laying out the platform of a major international expansion, the service that is offered is now better than ever. With the hiring of senior staff in Latin America, the UK and EU,East Asia/Pacific and Canada the way forward is exciting and has a whole new current spin.
Darryl Hurs joins CD Baby as the company’s new Canadian rep and will be based in Toronto. Hurs is no stranger to the indie music scene and founded Indie Week Canada almost two decades ago as a hobby and oversaw its transformation into a major event for the independent music community. Cashbox Canada caught up with Hurs in Toronto and his enthusiasm is infectious.
“I am looking forward to being part of the international marketing team of CD Baby representing Canada,” Hurs says. “We have 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.”
“The new initiatives will allow us to be able to work with our global brand and actually help artists on a higher level. As we expand with a national and international team we will be adding research programmes so we will be able to include activities so the focus will be on education so artists can learn more about how to promote their brand. The whole idea is to have people on the ground that can help point the artist in the right direction.”
The new hire includes Henriette Heimdal, who joins CD Baby’s London offices as a Market Development Coordinator. Her previous experience includes stints with the indie trade association Worldwide Independent Network (WIN). “I have long admired the DIY spirit and independent-to-the-core ethos of CD Baby,” Heimdal states. “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.”
Johanna Rivera will join CD Baby as a representative in Juan Peña in Colombia. Based in Bogota, she will assist artists in the region, including Colombia, and other nations in the region, including the Dominican Republic. Prior to joining CD Baby, she spent two years at digital distributor/label services company Bquate.“I am happy to be part of a team created by artists for artists,” Riviera said. “Colombia is a big market and the artists are ready to grow. We are the partner to make that happen.”
Keith Tan, based in Singapore, will found CD Baby’s first office in Asia, which the company views as an increasingly important market for music. “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,” notes Tan. “We look forward to working with artists from these parts to assist them in their artistic journey.”
In addition to the list of new international reps, CD Baby is adding a series of Artist Support Centers around the world, starting with the UK in the coming months. These centers will provide localized artist support and regionally relevant expertise.
“Developing more of the International team means working towards localized services and messages”, Hurs explains. “Every country and every market is different so we will be able to target the artist’s needs in their specific area and also be able to communicate in the language of their own country. By developing our international services we will be working towards localized services and messages and I personally am excited to be part of this growing initiative. I plan on taking my indie experience and use it to grow and expand in Canada. We want to show the artist how to grow your brand.”
Darryl Hurs plans on using the skills he had developed over the years running the successful Indie Week. The combination of that and the exciting new platforms of the established CD Baby are sure to be a winner.
"I am personally reaching out and talking to the artists directly to connect and get their feedback" Hurs explains. "The response so far is really positive and it can only get better from here as we expand our horizons together."
Check it out so you can be part of the new story! Visit www.cdbaby.com