Cdbaby.com

Cdbaby seems to be one of the more promising methods that I came across.  This website is somewhat confusing at first, most of the “how to” and “musician’s guide” links turned out to be banner ads.  Once I hit the right button though, I had a very smooth time figuring this site out. 

How it works:  Send cdbaby.com thirty five dollars and at least five copies of your CD.  They do the rest.  You outfit your band’s profile with whatever information you feel the rest of the world needs to know about you and cdbaby handles the rest.  Your CD is available to be bought online and in one of 2900 retail locations.  Or, fans can purchase and download the songs right from the website. 

After the one time $35 dollar fee, cdbaby takes a 9% cut from all download purchases and $4 off of all CD purchases.  You get paid every Monday through whatever pre-arranged method you chose. 

It is important to note that cdbaby.com will sell your CD, but they will not produce it.  While they do not require anything shrink-wrapped or super-polished, it is required that the CD you send them is self produced.  It is important to consider the hassles and costs of shipping your product to cdbaby.