Music Moneyball

Music catalog valuation lives or dies on data quality.

In this episode of Music Fastball, we’re joined by valuation expert Alaister Moughan, who talks through the messy reality of music royalty data and why headline revenue numbers can be misleading when valuing catalogs.

We also dig into what happens after the deal. As institutional standards rise, funds are being judged not just on valuation at acquisition, but on how assets perform in day-to-day operations. We discuss why the handoff between valuation and operations often breaks down, and why closing that gap matters for accountability, reporting, and understanding performance over the life of a fund.

Brought to you by Standard Innovation.

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► About Standard Innovation

Standard Innovation is the data consultancy that helps music investment funds unlock higher valuations and exit multiples through better infrastructure.

► Episode Links

Moghan Music: https://www.moghanmusic.com

Standard Innovation: ⁠⁠⁠https://standard-innovation.com⁠⁠⁠

► Credits

Guest: Alaister Moughan — Founder, Moghan Music

Hosts: Tom Mullen, Sam Morey

Theme: “Meet Me” — Outlines (Written by Sam Cox) — Courtesy of Bespoke Records

Institutional investors are changing how music rights are evaluated.

In this episode of Music Moneyball, Brian Richards, Founder and Managing Partner of Artisan, joins us to explain what that shift looks like in practice, from pricing and capital structure to execution and exits.

Brian sits at the centre of the catalog market, advising funds, labels, and platforms on capital raising, portfolio sales, and complex financing. Drawing on that vantage point, he breaks down how expectations have evolved as the market has matured, why realised outcomes now matter more than narrative, and where differentiation still creates edge.

We also explore why headline multiples are misleading, how private credit has reshaped capital structures, and why secondaries are becoming a normal part of portfolio management rather than a red flag.

Brought to you by Standard Innovation.

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Newsletter: ⁠⁠https://standard-innovation.com/subscribe/music-moneyball⁠⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/standard-innovation-ltd⁠⁠

► About Standard Innovation

Standard Innovation is the data consultancy that helps music investment funds unlock higher valuations and exit multiples through better infrastructure.

► Episode Links

Artisan: https://www.artisan1.com

Standard Innovation: ⁠⁠https://standard-innovation.com⁠⁠

► Credits

Guest: Brian Richards — Founder and Managing Partner, Artisan

Hosts: Emma Griffiths, Tom Mullen, Sam Morey

Theme: “Meet Me” — Outlines (Written by Sam Cox) — Courtesy of Bespoke Records

The bar has moved in music rights investing.

As institutional capital continues to scale into the asset class, funds are being judged less on what they buy and more on how portfolios are run. Operating maturity is no longer a nice-to-have. It’s being priced into outcomes.

In our first Music Fastball episode, we introduce the Catalog Maturity Curve — a new operating benchmark for music investment funds. We explore how leading asset classes define operating maturity, why it now matters for music rights investors, and how maturity shows up in underwriting confidence, reporting, diligence, and exits.

Benchmark your fund with our quick assessment: https://standard-innovation.com/assessments/data-maturity-assessment

Brought to you by Standard Innovation.

► Stay up to date

Newsletter: ⁠https://standard-innovation.com/subscribe/music-moneyball⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/standard-innovation-ltd⁠

► About Standard Innovation

Standard Innovation is the data consultancy that helps music investment funds unlock higher valuations and exit multiples through better infrastructure.

► Episode Links

Standard Innovation: ⁠https://standard-innovation.com⁠

► Credits

Hosts: Emma Griffiths, Tom Mullen,

Theme: “Meet Me” — Outlines (Written by Sam Cox) — Courtesy of Bespoke Records

What separates enduring music rights companies from the rest?

In this episode of Music Moneyball, we’re joined by Golnar Khosrowshahi, Founder and CEO of Reservoir, to explore how a disciplined, data-led approach has shaped one of the most respected independent music companies in the world.

Golnar reflects on the deals that shaped Reservoir’s evolution, from TVT to Tommy Boy, and how they reinforced a long-term, music-first investment philosophy. We discuss how Reservoir evaluates music at the song level, prices risk realistically, and creates value through operational execution. The conversation also looks at Reservoir’s growing presence in emerging markets, where local partnerships position the business for the next wave of global music growth.

Brought to you by Standard Innovation. 

► Stay up to date

Newsletter: https://standard-innovation.com/subscribe/music-moneyball

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/standard-innovation-ltd/

► About Standard Innovation

Standard Innovation is the data consultancy that helps music investment funds unlock higher valuations and exit multiples through better infrastructure.

► Episode Links

Reservoir: https://www.reservoir-media.com

Standard Innovation: https://standard-innovation.com

► Credits

Golnar Khosrowshahi  — CEO and Founder, Reservoir

Theme: “Meet Me” — Outlines (Written by Sam Cox) — Courtesy of Bespoke Records

How do you take an artist whose prime was nearly a century ago and make them feel culturally relevant today? In this festive Music Moneyball special, Adam Lowenberg (CMO, Primary Wave) breaks down the playbook for reactivating legacy catalogs, using Bing Crosby as the case study.

We cover how Primary Wave builds multi-year marketing plans with estates, turns sexasonal spikes into long-term growth, and executes across digital, brand partnerships, sync, and global markets — balancing commercial ambition with artist integrity.

Brought to you by Standard Innovation.

► Stay up to date

Newsletter: https://standard-innovation.com/subscribe/music-moneyball

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/standard-innovation-ltd

► About Standard Innovation

Standard Innovation is the data consultancy that helps music investment funds unlock higher valuations and exit multiples through better infrastructure.

► Episode Links

Primary Wave: https://primarywave.com

Standard Innovation: https://standard-innovation.com

► Credits

Guest: Adam Lowenberg — Chief Marketing Officer, Primary Wave

Hosts: Emma Griffiths, Tom Mullen, Sam Morey

Theme: “Meet Me” — Outlines (Written by Sam Cox) — Courtesy of Bespoke Records

The music industry is standing at a crossroads where AI will either become the biggest new revenue stream in its history or trigger the largest transfer of value away from rights holders and into AI platforms.

In this episode, we sit down with entrepreneur and technologist Benji Rogers (Sureel AI, Lark42) to unpack what that means for music investors and catalog buyers. Benji argues that most funds are still pricing catalogs off 10–18x past revenues as if the next decade will look like the last, without modelling how AI will change what gets played, synced and surfaced by pushing the cheapest viable audio over premium IP.

We explore how attribution and licensing design could turn AI from an opaque threat into a metered, recurring revenue stream, and why unreleased, un-scraped and more novel recordings may soon become some of the most mispriced assets in the market.

At stake is whether music investors capture the upside of this shift — or accidentally finance the next major wealth transfer out of the music ecosystem.

Brought to you by Standard Innovation.

► Stay up to date

Newsletter: ⁠https://standard-innovation.com/subscribe/music-moneyball⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/standard-innovation-ltd⁠

► About Standard Innovation

Standard Innovation is the data consultancy that helps music investment funds unlock higher valuations and exit multiples through better infrastructure.

► Episode Links

Sureel AI: https://www.sureel.ai

Lark42: https://www.lark42.com

Standard Innovation: https://standard-innovation.com

► Credits

Guest: Benji Rogers — Co-President, Sureel AI; Partner, Lark42

Hosts: Emma Griffiths, Tom Mullen, Sam Morey

Theme: “Meet Me” — Outlines (Written by Sam Cox) — Courtesy of Bespoke Records

The smarter money in music is quietly moving into the overlooked layers of the market, where only a few operators have the infrastructure to compete. In this episode, we sit down with Tom Tyler, CEO and co-founder of Rezonate Music Rights, to unpack how he and co-founder and hit producer Cam Blackwood are building one of the most differentiated platforms in the space.

Drawing on Tom’s two decades in capital markets and Cam’s studio track record, we dig into Rezonate’s core thesis: producer and mixer royalties that are credible, cash flowing and meaningful in scale, yet historically underserved because they are operationally hard to underwrite.

Tom walks through how they combine transparent liquidity for producers with a purpose-built valuation and data stack, and how their partnership with Bridgepoint is structured to scale capital while keeping culture at the centre of value creation.

Brought to you by Standard Innovation.

► Stay up to date

Newsletter: https://standard-innovation.com/subscribe/music-moneyball

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/standard-innovation-ltd⁠

► About Standard Innovation

Standard Innovation is the data consultancy that helps music funds unlock higher valuations and exit multiples through better infrastructure.

► Episode Links

Rezonate Music Rights: https://rezonatemusicrights.com

Standard Innovation: https://standard-innovation.com

► Credits

Guest: Tom Tyler — CEO & Co-founder, Rezonate Music Rights

Hosts: Emma Griffiths, Tom Mullen, Sam Morey

Theme: “Meet Me” — Outlines (Written by Sam Cox) — Courtesy of Bespoke Records

The next wave of returns in music won’t come from buying bigger catalogs, but from buying smarter. In this episode, we sit down with Michael Poster, Partner and Chair of Music Acquisitions & Financing at Michelman & Robinson, to unpack how the market has broadened and matured, why “alternative” strategies aren’t alternative anymore, and how smart buyers are quietly creating value through structure, aggregation, and data-led uplift.

From sub-$10m deals to billion-dollar portfolios, Michael’s seen the full cycle: raising capital, rolling up catalogs, exiting to large asset managers, and now architecting the secondary sales that define the next phase of music as an asset class.

Brought to you by Standard Innovation.

► Stay up to date

Newsletter: ⁠https://standard-innovation.com/subscribe/music-moneyball⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/standard-innovation-ltd⁠

► About Standard Innovation

Standard Innovation is the data consultancy that helps music investment funds unlock higher valuations and exit multiples through better infrastructure.

► Episode links

Michelman & Robinson: ⁠https://www.mrllp.com

Standard Innovation: ⁠https://standard-innovation.com

► Credits

Guest: Michael Poster — Partner and Chair of Music Acquisitions & Financing at Michelman & Robinson

Hosts: Emma Griffiths, Tom Mullen, Sam Morey

Theme: “Meet Me” — Outlines (Written by Sam Cox) — Courtesy of Bespoke Records

At Music Moneyball, we believe value doesn’t come from just owning a catalog—it comes from how well you run it. In Episode 2, we sit down with Henry Marsden (Founder, Fix Music) to unpack why operational discipline and clean data are the real edge in music rights.

Henry’s seen this from every angle—touring as a musician with Elton John, building and selling an indie publisher, managing iconic catalogs, and now helping funds and rights owners unlock yield through better data operations.

Brought to you by Standard Innovation.

► Stay up to date

Newsletter: ⁠https://standard-innovation.com/subscribe/music-moneyball⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/standard-innovation-ltd⁠

► About Standard Innovation

Standard Innovation is the data consultancy that helps music investment funds unlock higher valuations and exit multiples through better infrastructure.

► Episode links

Fix Music: https://www.fixmusic.ai/

Standard Innovation: https://standard-innovation.com/

► Credits

Guest: Henry Marsden — Founder, Fix Music

Hosts: Emma Griffiths, Tom Mullen, Sam Morey

Theme: “Meet Me” — Outlines (Written by Sam Cox) — Courtesy of Bespoke Records

Is catalog value about owning the biggest hits, or knowing how to operate the rights you buy? Sachin Saggar (RedBrick Advisors) joins Emma Griffiths, Tom Mullen, and Sam Morey (Standard Innovation) to break down how the smartest buyers value music catalogs today—what drives premiums, where hidden basis points live, and why better data and infrastructure are the edge. Plus: AI’s real impact and the pitfalls investors still underestimate.

Brought to you by Standard Innovation.

► Stay up to date

Newsletter: ⁠https://standard-innovation.com/subscribe/music-moneyball⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/standard-innovation-ltd⁠

► About Standard Innovation

Standard Innovation is the data consultancy that helps music investment funds unlock higher valuations and exit multiples through better infrastructure.

► Episode links

RedBrick Advisors: https://redbrick-advisors.com

Standard Innovation: https://standard-innovation.com

► Credits

Guest: Sachin Saggar — Co-Founder, RedBrick Advisors

Hosts: Emma Griffiths, Tom Mullen, Sam Morey

Theme: “Meet Me” — Outlines (Written by Sam Cox) — Courtesy of Bespoke Records