Downtown Music has appointed Molly Newman as president of CD Baby, the company's direct-to-creator sales division. Newman replaces Scott Williams, former president of CD Baby. Williams will remain in his role as a consultant to Downtown and CD Baby.
In addition to Newman's appointment, CD Baby also announced that its chief operating officer, Christine Burnham, would be leaving the company.
Newman joins CD Baby from Downtown Music Holdings, the parent company of Downton Music, where he served as Chief Marketing Officer. He has nearly 30 years of experience in a variety of leadership roles, including serving as President of Songtrust, a subsidiary of Downtown Music. He has also served as Head of Music at Kickstarter and Interim President of the American Association of Independent Music. Newman is also a founding member of the influential band Bratmobile.
In his new role, Newman will oversee CD Baby as well as Soundrop, another direct-to-creator brand owned by Downtown.
“Molly's appointment marks an important milestone for Downtown Music,” Downtown Music CEO Peter van Rijn said in a statement. “Having led Songtrust to great success and then Downtown's marketing and communications team, Molly is perfectly suited to lead CD Baby in this new chapter. Her visionary leadership and deep understanding of the independent music industry will help elevate our direct offering to creators and further our mission to support and empower artists at every stage of their careers. We are incredibly grateful for Scott and Christine's contributions to CD Baby during their respective tenures. They embody our commitment to independent music creators and to providing the highest level of service to our partners across the rights spectrum and at every stage of their creative journey.”
Newman added, “I am excited to embark on this new chapter of CD Baby and Downtown's growth. I am passionate about providing independent artists with the tools and opportunities they need to succeed, and I look forward to working with the talented teams at CD Baby and Soundrop to continue to drive innovation and growth and build a thriving ecosystem for creators around the world. I'm incredibly grateful to Justin Kalifowitz, Andrew Bergman, and Peter van Rijn for their support and for this amazing opportunity.”