CD Baby has announced a round of new hires that represent its commitment to “becoming a global leader and serving independent artists around the world”.
The new positions are spread across Latin America, the UK and EU, Canada, and East Asia/Pacific, with the aim of expanding or introducing CD Baby’s presence in these areas.
Heli Del Moral, CD Baby’s VP for international development, said: “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.”
Former WIN executive Henriette Heimdal joins CD Baby’s London office as market development coordinator.
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 said: “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.”
Darryl Hurs, founder of Indie Week Canada, is CD Baby’s new Canadian representative, based in Toronto.
“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,” he said. “I am especially excited to help artists and businesses build success stories."
It is very important to be physically present in these regions
Heli Del Moral, CD Baby
Johanna Rivera arrives to join CD Baby representative Juan Peña in Colombia. Based in Bogota, her work will support artists from other South American and Spanish-speaking countries, including parts of the Caribbean like the Dominican Republic.
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.”
Finally, Keith Tan will take charge of the first Asian office for CD Baby.
Tan commented: “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.”
Additionally, CD Baby is introducing a series of Artist Support Centres around the world, starting in the UK. These will give specific advice in local languages tailored to the needs of artists in those locales.
Del Moral said: “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.”
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