How do I add or edit songwriters on a legacy CD Baby Pro Publishing release?

*A note regarding CD Baby Pro Publishing

If you have already added songwriters to the first track of your release and require assistance entering songwriter splits and publisher information within your account, please read this Help Center article.

What will be covered:

• How to add or edit songwriters for a legacy Pro Publishing release that has already been distributed:
• How to add or edit songwriters for a legacy Pro Publishing release that has not been distributed yet:
  • Add a new songwriter to your Songwriter Bank
  • Edit an existing songwriter
  • Add an existing songwriter to a track
  • Remove a songwriter from a track

How to add or edit songwriters for a legacy Pro Publishing release that has already been distributed:

Has your release already been distributed? If so, you will not be able to add or edit songwriters on a release from within your account. To make corrections, you will need to submit a request through the CD Baby Pro Publishing Help Center request form. Please submit a request there instead of following the directions outlined in this article. 

How to add or edit songwriters for a legacy Pro Publishing release that has not been distributed yet:

If you are still working on submitting your legacy CD Baby Pro Publishing release for distribution, you are able to add and edit songwriters on that release from within your account. Please keep reading for further instructions!

Before adding or editing songwriters it's important to know the following information for each songwriter:

• Should they be collecting or non-collecting?
• What did the songwriter contribute to each track? Music, lyrics or both? 
• What percent of each track does the songwriter own? What are the songwriter splits? 
• Does the songwriter have a publisher?

Once you know the answer to these questions you will be ready to add or edit songwriter and publisher information for your legacy Pro release. 

You can add or edit your songwriter and publisher information from the Songwriter Information section of the Track Information page on a release. From this section, you can do the following:

• Add a new songwriter to your Songwriter Bank
• Edit an existing songwriter
• Add an existing songwriter to a track
• Remove a songwriter from a track

Follow the steps below to access the Songwriter Information section for a release:

1. Login to your account at cdbaby.com
2. Click on the Albums & Singles header
3. Click on the gray "View/Edit" button next to your release to access the Title Overview
4. Scroll down and click on "Tracks & Audio"
5. Under the first track, click on "Songwriter/Composer is required for this type of submission"
   • If you've already added a songwriter to this track but need to make additional edits, click on the songwriter name

Add a new songwriter to your Songwriter Bank

1. Click on "Add New Songwriter" in the Songwriter Information section
2. Type in the songwriter's full legal name
   • If the songwriter is affiliated with a Performance Rights Organization (PRO), you must enter the songwriter's name as it appears with their PRO
3. Select the songwriter's country of residence
4. To add a collecting songwriter, select "Yes, collect royalties for this songwriter"
5. To add a non-collecting songwriter, select "No, do not collect royalties for this songwriter"

Following these steps will add the songwriter to the track, in addition to them being added to your Songwriter Bank. 

If you add a collecting songwriter, you will see a "$" next to their name. If you do not see an option to select "Yes, collect royalties for this songwriter", that means Pro Publishing is not available in the songwriter's country of residence, and they will need to be added as a non-collecting songwriter. 

Edit an existing songwriter

From the Songwriter Bank, click "Edit" next to the songwriter you want to edit. You will have the option to change the songwriter's name and country of residence or change their status to collecting or non-collecting.

If you do not see an "Edit" option but instead see a lock, this means the songwriter's name is included on another release that has already been distributed. In this case, you cannot make edits to the songwriter from within your account.

If you need to make changes to a locked collecting songwriter, please submit a request through the CD Baby Pro Publishing Help Center request form. 

We cannot make changes to a locked non-collecting songwriter. Instead, you will need to add a new non-collecting songwriter. 

Add an existing songwriter to a track

From the Songwriter Bank, click "Add to this track" next to the songwriter you want to add. 

Remove a songwriter from a track

Songwriters that have been added to a track will show up in separate boxes below the Songwriter Bank. To remove a songwriter from a track, click on the red "x" on the right-hand side of the box. 

⚠️ Once you've added songwriters to a track you will need to enter additional information for each songwriter including music or lyrics contribution, percentage ownership and publisher information.

🗒️ If all information is the same for each track, you can click on "Apply this information to all tracks" and then hit "Save and Continue." This will overwrite any existing information you have on other tracks.

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*The CD Baby Pro Publishing service was discontinued as of August 8th, 2023. Any paid release which was signed up for CD Baby Pro Publishing prior to August 8th, 2023 is considered a legacy Pro release and will continue to receive Pro Publishing services. CD Baby now offers a new expanded suite of revenue amplifiers called “CDB Boost” instead.