Kevin Breuner exits CD Baby after 17 years to join BandLab

CD Baby SVP of Artist Engagement and Education Kevin Breuner has exited the D.I.Y. distributor for musician services and social music platform BandLab.

He leaves CD Baby as the company regroups after two brutal rounds of layoffs and the abrupt discontinuation of it’s its signature CD distribution service.

Breuner’s 17-year run at CD Baby focused on content, services, and an annual in-person convention designed to educate and elevate D.I.Y. and self-releasing musicians.

While no title was announced for his new role at BandLab, his mission will be the same. “I’m super excited to announce that today I officially joined the BandLab Technologies team to help build out their Artist Development & Education resources, ” Breuner wrote on LinkedIn. “Meng Ru Kuok and crew have built something special, and I’m honored to be a part of it moving forward.”

Kevin Breuner says Goodbye to CD Baby

“I’ve watched the independent spirit triumph as indies showed the world that their voice matters.”

“From the moment I walked into CD Baby on my first day (February 2006), I was on a mission. It was never a job for me,” Breuner wrote in an open letter to his colleagues at Cd Baby. “Having been a CD Baby artist since 2004 and a major label artist before that, I wanted nothing more than for every artist to understand how the tides of the industry was turning. Independent artists were gaining access and power and the ability to create a music career on their own terms. And best of all: reap all the financial benefits from their work and passion. All the while, the major label system was dismissive, as if this was just a passing fad (you know like the internet and digital music).”

Read his full letter here.

Bruce Houghton is the Founder and Editor of Hypebot, a Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, President of the Skyline Artists Agency, and a Berklee College Of Music professor.