In 1979, Ferguson co-founded CD Presents as a concert promotion company.
 Ferguson's concert promotion career took an important turn when he was asked to produce West Coast shows for Public Image Ltd. during PiL's first two American tours (1980 and 1982).
The 1980 show in Southern California proved not only a memorable event in PiL's career:
As it did at the Sex Pistols' farewell shoot-out in San Francisco two and a half years ago, history hung in the air the night Public Image Ltd. came to Los Angeles' Olympic Auditorium.
  (Rolling Stone, June 25, 1980, p. 92)
It also marked the first concert appearance of Los Lobos, known at the time as a Tejano mariachi wedding band.

In keeping with the group's image, PiL balked at major label promotion to back its tour, insisting instead on working with smaller, independent promoters.
This led to the band's association with CD Presents, an informal partnership that put PiL and Ferguson on a collision course with music industry powers, most notably Bill Graham, head of the San Francisco-based Bill Graham Presents.

Graham held a virtual monopoly on concert promotion in Northern California and he stepped in on more than one occasion to postpone the San Francisco PiL show, ultimately maneuvering to persuade city officials to terminate the concert altogether.
This battle played to Lydon's own reputation as an anti-establishment hell raiser: "We've got to play this gig," [Lydon] exclaimed.
 "It's everything we came here to do on this tour.
 We gave them six gigs for these two, and we'll see which ones come off the most successful.
 That's what they're really afraid of."
Fearing riots if the PiL show was cancelled, city officials authorized CD Presents to proceed with the concert.

Either through the label or through its distribution system, CD Presents recorded, released or distributed the music of nearly 3,300 artists.
In 1983, the label released a compilation of the Avengers' material popularly known as The Pink Album.
Additionally, CD Presents released records from D.O.A, Butthole Surfers, and Tales of Terror.
CD Presents released the San Francisco group the Offs' First Record (1984) with a Jean-Michel Basquiat-designed cover.

During the 1980s, CD Presents released three volumes of punk recording compilations titled Rat Music for Rat People (1988), a collection of songs previously released by Go Records!
in 1982, featuring a number of the era's most notable punk bands: the Avengers, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag w/Henry Rollins, Circle Jerks, the Subhumans, and D.O.A. Vol.
2 (1984) showcased a number of Texas punk bands including, Butthole Surfers, Big Boys, the Dicks, MDC along with the Southern California hardcore band, Minutemen.
Rat Music, Vol.
3 (1987) featured the Adolescents, Naked Raygun and Mojo Nixon.
Vol.
3 also was one of the earliest records of producer/engineer Sylvia Massy (Johnny Cash, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Tool's Undertow), who mixed and engineered a number of the tracks.

CD Presents released albums from artists in other genres besides punk, including the avant-garde musician, poet and actress Lydia Lunch and electronic and the experimental post punk act Minimal Man.
In 1979, Ferguson co-founded CD Presents as a concert promotion company.  Ferguson's concert promotion career took an important turn when he was asked to produce West Coast shows for Public Image Ltd. during PiL's first two American tours (1980 and 1982). The 1980 show in Southern California proved not only a memorable event in PiL's career:
As it did at the Sex Pistols' farewell shoot-out in San Francisco two and a half years ago, history hung in the air the night Public Image Ltd. came to Los Angeles' Olympic Auditorium.   (Rolling Stone, June 25, 1980, p. 92)
It also marked the first concert appearance of Los Lobos, known at the time as a Tejano mariachi wedding band.
In keeping with the group's image, PiL balked at major label promotion to back its tour, insisting instead on working with smaller, independent promoters. This led to the band's association with CD Presents, an informal partnership that put PiL and Ferguson on a collision course with music industry powers, most notably Bill Graham, head of the San Francisco-based Bill Graham Presents.
Graham held a virtual monopoly on concert promotion in Northern California and he stepped in on more than one occasion to postpone the San Francisco PiL show, ultimately maneuvering to persuade city officials to terminate the concert altogether. This battle played to Lydon's own reputation as an anti-establishment hell raiser: "We've got to play this gig," [Lydon] exclaimed.  "It's everything we came here to do on this tour.  We gave them six gigs for these two, and we'll see which ones come off the most successful.  That's what they're really afraid of." Fearing riots if the PiL show was cancelled, city officials authorized CD Presents to proceed with the concert.
Either through the label or through its distribution system, CD Presents recorded, released or distributed the music of nearly 3,300 artists. In 1983, the label released a compilation of the Avengers' material popularly known as The Pink Album. Additionally, CD Presents released records from D.O.A, Butthole Surfers, and Tales of Terror. CD Presents released the San Francisco group the Offs' First Record (1984) with a Jean-Michel Basquiat-designed cover.
During the 1980s, CD Presents released three volumes of punk recording compilations titled Rat Music for Rat People (1988), a collection of songs previously released by Go Records! in 1982, featuring a number of the era's most notable punk bands: the Avengers, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag w/Henry Rollins, Circle Jerks, the Subhumans, and D.O.A. Vol. 2 (1984) showcased a number of Texas punk bands including, Butthole Surfers, Big Boys, the Dicks, MDC along with the Southern California hardcore band, Minutemen. Rat Music, Vol. 3 (1987) featured the Adolescents, Naked Raygun and Mojo Nixon. Vol. 3 also was one of the earliest records of producer/engineer Sylvia Massy (Johnny Cash, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Tool's Undertow), who mixed and engineered a number of the tracks.
CD Presents released albums from artists in other genres besides punk, including the avant-garde musician, poet and actress Lydia Lunch and electronic and the experimental post punk act Minimal Man.
David Ferguson (impresario)