WHEN DEREK Sivers, founder of independent music store CD Baby, emailed me today about his new projects for independent musicians, he stated that he has sold CD Baby. This surprised me, as I didn’t know that (1) he owned CD Baby, and (2) the company has been sold. But more compellingly, he added a link to his Website that explains why he sold the company.
As it turns out, Mr. Sivers bequeathed the proceeds of the 2008 sale to a charitable trust for music education. Here’s his plainly stated but majestically driven reason:
I didn't need or even want the money from the sale of the company. I just wanted to make sure I had enough for a simple comfortable life. The rest should go to music education, since that's what made such a difference in my life.
The rest of the story is on Mr. Siver’s Web site.
In the most sacred book Kitab-i-Aqdas, Bahá'u'lláh refers to music as “a ladder by which souls may ascend to the realm on high”. Mr. Siver’s story brings this to light. It’s a source of inspiration for those of us, me included, who struggle to keep the precarious but necessary balance of material and spiritual wealth in our lives.
