About this episode

Ari Herstand interviews Molly Neuman about the evolving landscape of music distribution and the challenges faced by independent artists.

This week on the New Music Business podcast, Ari sits down with Molly Neuman, President of CD Baby, one of the largest independent music distributors in the world. Molly has spent decades advocating for independent artists and labels, helping shape the modern music industry through leadership roles at CD Baby, Downtown Music Holdings, and the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM). In this conversation, Ari and Molly dive into some of the most pressing issues facing musicians today, including artificial intelligence, streaming fraud, artist compensation, customer support, and the evolving role of music distribution. They discuss whether AI-generated music should exist, how streaming platforms are responding to generative AI, why artists are increasingly being affected by fraudulent streams, and what distributors like CD Baby are doing to protect independent musicians. Molly also shares her perspective on artist ownership, independence, and what success in the music business looks like in 2026. Follow Molly Neuman: https://www.instagram.com/mollydneuman/ https://cdbaby.com/ Check out Ari’s Take: https://aristake.com 03:45 – Molly Neuman's Journey to Becoming CD Baby…

People in this episode

Host: Ari Herstand

Guest: Molly Neuman

Topics covered

• music distribution
• independent artists
• artificial intelligence
• streaming fraud
• artist compensation
• music industry trends

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: CD Baby, Downtown Music Holdings, American Association of Independent Music (A2IM), Universal Music

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