Downtown Music has named Molly Neuman president of its direct-to-creator division CD Baby. Neuman succeeds CD Baby’s previous president, Scott Williams, who will stay on as a consultant to Downtown and CD Baby.
In addition to Neuman’s appointment, it was announced that CD Baby COO Christine Barnum is leaving the company.
Neuman boards CD Baby from Downton Music’s parent company, Downtown Music Holdings, where she was chief marketing officer. She has nearly three decades of experience in various leadership roles, including her stint as president of Downtown Music subsidiary Songtrust. She also served as head of music at Kickstarter and interim president at the American Association of Independent Music. Neuman is a founding member of the influential band Bratmobile.
In her new role, Neuman will manage CD Baby and Soundrop, another direct-to-creator brand owned by Downtown.
“Molly’s appointment marks a significant milestone for Downtown Music,” said Pieter van Rijn, CEO of Downtown Music, in a statement. “After her highly successful stint leading Songtrust and subsequently leading Downtown’s marketing and communications team, Molly is the perfect fit to lead CD Baby in this new chapter. Her visionary leadership and deep understanding of the independent music landscape will elevate our direct-to-creator offerings and help us further our mission to support and empower artists at every stage of their careers. We are extremely grateful for Scott and Christine’s contributions to CD Baby during their respective tenures. They exemplify our commitment to independent music creators and to providing the highest standards of services to our partners across the rights spectrum and at every step of the creative journey.”
Added Neuman, “I am thrilled to embark on this next chapter of growth at CD Baby and Downtown. I am passionate about providing independent artists with the tools and opportunities they need to succeed. I look forward to working with the talented teams at CD Baby and Soundrop to drive innovation and growth and to continue building a vibrant ecosystem for creators around the world. I am extremely grateful to Justin Kalifowitz, Andrew Bergman and Pieter van Rijn for their support and this tremendous opportunity.”
