Turn your catalog into capital, on your terms. A certain sum now instead of an uncertain future stream, plus, where it applies, a real tax advantage. We buy master recordings and/or publishing, from a single track to a full catalog, 100% or a partial stake.
Royalties decay, rates change and the pool gets diluted. A sale converts decades of uncertain, fully taxable income into capital you control now, and moves the downside to a buyer.
A strong multiple today often beats a discounted, decaying future stream, especially for older catalogs past their decay curve. You take the value forward instead of waiting decades to collect it.
Streaming-rate changes, platform dependency, currency swings, Spotify's 1,000-stream payout threshold and large-scale streaming fraud (an estimated 10% of streams, diluting the pool) all move to the buyer on a sale.
Proceeds fund new recordings, a tour, a business, debt paydown or, for a label, the next A&R cycle, with no equity dilution and no label interference.
For most rights holders the catalog is a dangerously undiversified single asset. A sale lets you rebalance into diversified, liquid holdings, or simply into certainty.
The single clearest financial incentive in the US: under IRC §1221(b)(3), a songwriter can elect capital-gains treatment on a sale of self-created works (around 20% federal) instead of ordinary income on royalties (up to 37%). That is an IRS-recognized structural advantage, not a loophole. Treatment varies by country and situation, see the disclaimer below.
An artist with a still-growing catalog, an estate planning for heirs, and a label recycling capital are three different conversations. We lead with the one that fits you.
Still producing, and your catalog may still be climbing. Buyers price on trailing earnings, which underprices a rising catalog, so the honest default here is usually a partial or fractional sale: capital now, upside and control kept. No debt, no label interference.
This is where the case to sell is strongest. A lump sum (or structured proceeds) is far easier for heirs to divide than an illiquid, admin-heavy royalty stream, and it avoids probate disasters. The capital-gains election is most valuable after decades of high ordinary-income royalties.
Asset-rich, cash-poor: value is locked in the back catalog and cannot sign the next artist. If you truly own your masters (not a time-limited license), selling legacy catalog unlocks non-dilutive capital to fund frontline A&R, clean the balance sheet and sell into an active market before further consolidation.
You decide what goes on the table. We structure around it, rather than forcing an all-or-nothing exit.
Net label share, the cash you keep after distribution and collection costs. Sell the recordings and keep your writer's share if you choose.
Net publisher's share. Sell the publishing and keep the masters, or the reverse. One copyright at a time, or both together.
A clean full sale, or a partial / co-ownership stake where you keep a share of income and a voice. One track, a project, or a full catalog.
Value is a multiple applied to your annual net share, smoothed over a trailing 3 to 5 years. Transparency is the differentiator: here are the ranges and the levers, not a black box.
Catalogs lose 20% to 40% of cash flow in years two to five, then plateau. Seasoned material (roughly 7 to 15 years) earns premium multiples; very young catalogs are the most discounted.
Growing catalogs get a premium; declining ones get a discount. Buyers often weight recent years more heavily, which penalizes a fading catalog.
Sync potential, genre, territorial reach and clean splits all push the number up. Legacy value often lives outside streaming: physical, radio, performance, sync and brand.
Multiples are rate-sensitive. They peaked in the 2020 to 2021 window and compressed as rates rose, then stabilized. A higher multiple is just a lower discount rate.
We put the trade-off in writing, because the sellers worth working with want it that way. Selling is not always a permanent, total surrender of control, but a full sale is permanent for the interest you sell.
limbo/ is an independent, founder-owned music-tech company, building since 2006. We work with a network of professional investor partners who provide the capital, while we protect and operate the works. That changes what "grow your catalog" actually means.
A large share of royalties goes uncollected: defective metadata, missing splits, unregistered works, unclaimed black-box money at societies. We align ISRCs and ISWCs across the MLC, SoundExchange, societies and DSPs, and chase what is owed.
We register masters for neighboring rights with international CMOs (PPL, GVL, SACEM and others), capturing performance income that US rights holders in particular often miss.
Co-ownership and negotiated use restrictions, so we are partners rather than strip-miners. The investor only profits if the catalog performs. We promise capability and process, never a guaranteed stream or fandom number.
The same infrastructure that runs limbo/ keeps a catalog working: a RESTful API, white-label distribution, independent in-house royalties, Merlin access, and real humans on the account. New to the idea? Start with what it means to sell your music catalog.
You assign some or all of the future income, and usually the underlying copyrights, in your master recordings and/or publishing to a buyer in exchange for capital today. It can be a full sale or a partial one, 100% or a co-ownership stake. We walk through exactly what transfers and what you keep in our guide to selling a catalog.
The common reasons: a certain lump sum instead of an uncertain, decaying royalty stream; transferring streaming, platform and fraud risk to a buyer; freeing capital for new work, a business or debt; estate and tax planning; and diversifying out of a single concentrated asset. In the US, a songwriter can elect capital-gains treatment on a sale (around 20% federal) rather than ordinary income on royalties (up to 37%).
The buyer collects the income on the interest you sold and, in a full sale, controls licensing of that interest. You keep anything you did not sell. With a partial sale or co-ownership you keep a share of the upside and a voice, and use restrictions (for example, no political-campaign use) can be written into the contract up front.
Value is a multiple of your annual net share, smoothed over a trailing 3 to 5 years. In 2024, publishing deals over $20M averaged roughly 16x net publisher’s share and masters roughly 13x net label share (Shot Tower Capital, via Billboard). Your multiple moves with vintage, trend, sync potential, clean splits and the rate environment. A free valuation is the only way to get a real number.
If your catalog is still growing, buyers price on trailing earnings, which underprices a rising catalog, so a partial or fractional sale is often the more honest fit: take capital now, keep upside and control. Heritage catalogs past their decay curve more often suit a full sale. We will tell you which side of that line you are on.
It depends on the structure. A full sale transfers the interest and its licensing control. Partial and co-ownership deals keep you on the cap table with negotiated approvals and use restrictions. For self-authored compositions, US copyright law also allows authors (or heirs) to terminate a grant and reclaim the copyright in a window beginning 35 years after the transfer, which softens the finality.
A free, confidential valuation against your real numbers. No obligation, no published rate card, no pressure. Tell us what you own and what you want, and we will come back with a structure and a number.
This is general information, not tax, legal, or financial advice. Treatment is jurisdiction- and fact-specific. Consult a qualified professional.