While researching TuneCore and CD Baby for individual posts on each, I came to the realization that these companies have some similarities and a few major differences.

Both companies offer digital distribution to the major mp3 sites (iTunes, Rhapsody, etc.), however they charge differently for this service which can make a huge difference. CD Baby charges a 9% commission on digital distribution with a set-up fee of $35. CD Baby also distributes to many smaller digital music sites so you get a wide distribution.

TuneCore charges a yearly fee of $19.98 for each album uploaded, they also charge one time fees for each song ($0.99) and for each digital store ($0.99 each for iTunes U.S., iTunes Europe, iTunes Australia, iTunes Canada, iTunes Japan, Rhapsody, MusicNet, Napster, eMusic and Sony Connect).

As far as selling CDs, CD Baby will handle sales and distribution of your CDs to stores at a cost of $4 CD. CDs sold through stores are special orders, so you shouldn’t expect your CD to be sitting on the racks. You will need to supply them with your CDs and re-supply them if they sell out. They do not produce CDs. CD Baby also offers credit card processing (old school carbon paper swipe machine) so you can sell your CDs live and accept credit cards.

TuneCore will duplicate your CD for fairly reasonable prices. They have low run (less than 1000 copies) and high run (more than 1000 copies) options, each costing less per unit produced in a tiered pricing structure (i.e. the more you have pressed, the cheaper it is per unit). While TuneCore won’t distribute your CD themselves, they do have a partnership with IndieMerchandiser.com that will distribute and warehouse your CD and other merch for about 15 to 30% of the shipping price depending on what you’re distributing through them. They do not sell to stores, but they do help you add an online store to your website and handle all the transaction for it. If you don’t have other merch, they also have a partnership with a company called Jakprints which can produce apparel and stickers at reasonable prices.

In the end, choosing which company to use really depends on what your needs and expectations are. For mp3 distribution CD Baby is good if you expect to sell less than 300 songs per year. If you expect to sell more than that, you’d probably want to use TuneCore as they don’t take a percentage commission. If you want to make your music available through stores, CD Baby is the only one of the two that offers this, however you must supply the CD.

Your best bet might be to use each company, selecting services as they fit your budget and goals. TuneCore’s CD replication services are fairly priced and very flexible.

CD Baby’s retail distribution is helpful, though you could outgrow it as time goes by. While CD Baby casts a wider net as far as the number of mp3 services that it can get you on, TuneCore covers all of the major services for less of an overall cost for a moderate amount of sales.

Either way, check out both sites and see what works best for you.