Case Study: CD Baby reduces chargebacks from 2.6% to under 0.1% with Kount Complete (Kount)

CD Baby Cuts Manual Reviews and Chargebacks with Kount

CD Baby, the world’s largest online distributor of independent music, faced recurring fraud that drove chargebacks to 2.6% and forced its controller to spend most of her time fighting attacks. Fraud came from card-testing of low-cost downloads, imposters creating fake artist accounts to collect commissions, and affiliate fraud, putting the company at risk of entering a chargeback program.

After deploying Kount Complete following a month with over $26,000 in losses, CD Baby saw chargebacks fall to about $850/month (under 0.1%), with revenue unaffected and legitimate orders preserved. Manual reviews dropped to part-time work, and Kount features like Order Linking and the Data Mart provided early fraud detection and actionable business insights.

CD Baby

Christine Barnum

Controller