How do I get paid from CD Baby?

• Pay Points
• Payout Methods
• Payout Processing Fees
  • Tax Withholding
• Adding/Updating Payout Information
• When will I receive my payment?
• What if I did not get my payment?

Once you've made money from distribution of your music, CD Baby will need a way to pay your money out to you from your CD Baby account. To do this, you'll need to provide us with some information. 

Read below for what information is required, and how to enter this in your account.

Pay Points

Pay Points are the threshold (dollar amount) which your account balance must meet in order to trigger a payment from CD Baby to you. 

You can set up how and when you wish to be paid by logging in to your account and clicking on "Payment & Tax Info." Click the Pay Point tab, and choose your desired Pay Point. 

Keep in mind that your tax information must also be complete before we can issue a payout. 

A note about Pay Points and processing fees:

If you are subject to tax withholding, those funds and the fee for your method of payment will be deducted from your balance before your payment is sent. If that puts your balance below the minimum for your method of payment, no payment will be sent.

These minimums are:
ACH/EFT: $1
SEPA/FPS/BECS/NPP/FPSHK/IACH: $3
SWIFT Wire: $20

In other words, your balance must be above both your Pay Point and the minimum threshold for your method of payment after taxes and fees in order to receive payment.

These are the recommended minimum Pay Points for bank transfers:

• • ACH: $10
  • IACH: $11
  • SWIFT: $45
  • USD SWIFT: $65

Payout Methods

Your payout method is the way in which CD Baby pays you. These are the following payout methods you can choose from:

• *Bank Transfer
  • Direct Deposit, ACH, IACH, EFT, EUR SEPA,
  • *Payoneer or Wire transfers
• Paypal 

*Bank transfers are available for checking accounts only. Savings accounts are not eligible for bank transfer.

*Payoneer is another way for artists outside the U.S. to receive payouts. It will not appear as a separate option, but you are welcome to enter your Payoneer details to use this method. If you have a Payoneer account, select "Bank Transfer" and add the routing and account number provided by Payoneer. 

We are currently unable to send payouts to people in Russia, Belarus, the Donbas regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, and the regions of Zaporzhzhia and Kherson in Ukraine.

We will continue to process payouts to all other regions of Ukraine for as long as we are able, but there may be extreme delays.

Attention all artists currently paid by check (legacy payout method):

If you have been receiving payouts by check from CD Baby, please note that this payment method will be discontinued for all users after May 1st, 2025. You will receive notice by email informing you to select a different payment method in order to continue receiving payment. 

Payout Processing Fees

Processing fees by location

Processing fees are required in order to process certain payout methods, and are non-refundable.

For all bank transfers, we remit payment in U.S. Dollars. At banks outside the U.S., the funds will be converted to local currency. The conversion rate will vary based on currency fluctuations. This means the deposited amount may change from week to week even if the U.S. Dollar amount remains the same.

Tax Withholding

If you are subject to tax withholding, those funds (along with any processing fees) will be deducted from your balance before your payout is sent. If that puts your balance below your Pay Point, no payout will be sent.

Your local bank may also charge a separate fee to receive these payouts; please contact them for confirmation.

Lastly, if you have payment and tax info saved in our system, and if you are over your Pay Point, you will be paid as usual. However, if you have not entered a tax ID, or if the tax ID is invalid, we will need to withhold at the default amount (24% for US persons/30% non-US persons). This amount will appear as withheld on your year-end tax forms.

Adding/Updating Payout Information

1. Log into your account at members.cdbaby.com. 
2. Under "Manage", click on "Payment & Tax Info" or from Account Settings, choose "Payment & Tax Info"
   
   
3. Select your method of payout. Once you enter your location, available methods of payout will be displayed, including Paypal and Bank Transfer (to checking account only).
4. Next, if you haven't already, you will need to add your Tax Forms. For instructions on entering your tax forms, see here

If you need to make changes to your payout method or pay point, please do so by Saturday at 11:59 PM Pacific Time to ensure that the updates will be reflected in your upcoming payout. Changes made after this time will not go into effect until the next pay cycle.

Payout Return Fees

If your banking information is not up to date, your bank may return the payout to your CD Baby account, in which case you may incur a return fee. 

When will I receive my payment?

If your balance meets or exceeds the pay point threshold you selected, a payment is generated at the beginning of each week. You will receive a payment email confirming this.

*Keep in mind, different financial institutions may take differing amounts of time to process and post that payment to your account, so we cannot guarantee specific days you will receive your payment. See chart below for estimates.

Once we send the payment notification email, the payment has already been initiated and we are unable to stop or change it. 

What if I did not get my payment?

Bank Transfer/Payoneer: 

If the bank account we sent your payment to is now closed, the bank will return the money to us. We'll add it right back to your CD Baby account balance so it can be included in your next payment.  We'll send you an email notification that your existing payment information has been removed so you can update it.

If the account holder name entered for your payment method does not match the name of the bank account holder, your payment will not be sent. We'll send you an email notification that your existing payment information has been removed so you can update it.

All other payout methods:

We have to wait 30 days from when the payment was originally sent before we are able to re-issue the payment. After confirming that your payment information is correct in your account, please contact us after that 30 day period to request the payment be re-issued.