My understanding is CD Baby was never a 'label'. They chose a service model and operated more like a fulfillment service. E.g. we will store and ship CDs to customers for a fee, we will upload your stuff to iTunes for a fee, etc. Charging $40 to upload to itunes seems very reasonable. If Apple wanted to allow anyone anywhere to upload to iTunes with no quality control, they wouldn't use partners like CDBaby.
Furthermore, it makes no sense to think Apple was pissed about the $40 since that happened after Apple got pissed.
It looks like a very fair deal for small artists to me.
> Everything the guy did just screams amateur.
I disagree. At the very least, he is very smart. If you read those notes, it is clear that he has an incredible ability to distill and communicate what was important.
Furthermore, it makes no sense to think Apple was pissed about the $40 since that happened after Apple got pissed.
You can see CDBaby's pricing here: http://members.cdbaby.com/cd-baby-cost.aspx
It looks like a very fair deal for small artists to me.
> Everything the guy did just screams amateur.
I disagree. At the very least, he is very smart. If you read those notes, it is clear that he has an incredible ability to distill and communicate what was important.