Music Moneyball

How music ABS is reshaping the catalog market w/ Paul Sipio

Music ABS is changing how serious capital moves through the music rights market. In this episode, Paul Sipio, Managing Director at Apollo, explains how music went from a niche alternative asset to something institutional investors can underwrite, structure and finance at scale. We discuss the catalysts behind that shift, from streaming growth and public market validation to the rise of scaled, diversified catalogs. Paul also takes us inside Apollo’s work with Concord, and how creative ABS structures can give music companies more than a lower cost of capital. The conversation gets into why repeatable financing platforms matter, how they can support faster acquisition execution, and what funds need to have in place before they can access institutional capital. This episode follows the release of Standard Innovation’s new whitepaper, Music ABS and Institutional Readiness, which is available here: https://standard-innovation.com/guides/music-abs-and-institutional-readiness [ https://standard-innovation.com/guides/music-abs-and-institutional-readiness] Brought to you by Standard Innovation. ► Stay up to date Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://standard-innovation.com/subscribe/music-moneyball⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://standard-innovation.com/subscribe/music-moneyball] LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/standard-innovation-ltd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [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 Apollo: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.apollo.com [https://www.apollo.com] Standard Innovation: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://standard-innovation.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://standard-innovation.com] ► Credits Guests: Paul Sipio, Managing Director, Apollo Hosts: Tom Mullen and Emma Griffiths, Standard Innovation Theme: “Meet Me” — Outlines (Written by Sam Cox) — Courtesy of Bespoke Records

Music Moneyball Live: Breaking down the decay curve w/ Alex Bowler & Sachin Saggar

Decay curves have become one of the dominant frameworks used to value music catalogs, but how reliable are they really? Earlier this year, we brought together the UK music rights investment community in London for the first ever live recording of Music Moneyball. Standard Innovation CEO Tom Mullen sat down with Alex Bowler of Y Royalties and Sachin Saggar of RedBrick Advisors to unpack how valuations actually work in practice, from forecasting royalty earnings and modelling decay, to understanding how touring, viral moments and artist activity can materially change a catalog’s value. The discussion explores how decay curves are actually built, where they break down, whether there might be a better way to forecast future catalog earnings, and what we can learn from more mature asset classes like infrastructure and renewables. Brought to you by Standard Innovation. ► Stay up to date Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://standard-innovation.com/subscribe/music-moneyball⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://standard-innovation.com/subscribe/music-moneyball] LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/standard-innovation-ltd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [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. ► Credits Guests: Alex Bowler (Y Royalties) & Sachin Saggar (RedBrick Advisors) Host: Tom Mullen (Standard Innovation) Theme: “Meet Me” — Outlines (Written by Sam Cox) — Courtesy of Bespoke Records

Music Fastball: Turning passive music catalogs into active revenue w/ Ryan Hamilton

In this Music Fastball episode, we’re joined by Ryan Hamilton to explore two areas where catalog investors leave money on the table: deal optimization and commercial music usage across social platforms. First, we break down how the agreements and structures investors inherit can constrain catalog performance — and how taking a more active approach to catalog management can unlock greater commercial leverage and upside. We then explore one of the fastest-growing areas of music monetization: identifying and enforcing commercial music usage across platforms like TikTok and Instagram using AI tools that now make this possible at scale. Ryan is the founder of CTLGMGMT and brings nearly two decades of catalog management experience, helping rights holders and investors turn passive catalogs into active revenue-generating assets. Brought to you by Standard Innovation. ► Stay up to date Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://standard-innovation.com/subscribe/music-moneyball⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://standard-innovation.com/subscribe/music-moneyball] LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/standard-innovation-ltd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [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 CTLGMGMT: ⁠⁠https://catalogmgmt.com [https://catalogmgmt.com/] Standard Innovation: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://standard-innovation.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://standard-innovation.com] ► Credits Guest: Ryan Hamilton — founder, CTLGMGMT Host: Sam Morey, Standard Innovation Theme: “Meet Me” — Outlines (Written by Sam Cox) — Courtesy of Bespoke Records

Why music catalogs don’t fit a 5-10 year fund model w/ Josh Gruss

The catalog investment boom has largely been built around 5-10 year fund models. But does that structure actually fit the asset? In this episode, Josh Gruss, CEO of Round Hill Music, argues that some of the biggest returns in music come later than most investors expect, and that selling too early can leave a lot of value behind. We discuss how catalogs evolve over time, from streaming growth to sync and unexpected rediscovery, and why holding through those moments matters. Josh also reflects on selling assets that would likely be worth more today, and how that shaped his view on evergreen structures. Along the way, we get into what really drives catalog value, how Round Hill approaches portfolio construction, and why data is becoming a core part of their strategy. Brought to you by Standard Innovation. ► Stay up to date Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://standard-innovation.com/subscribe/music-moneyball⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://standard-innovation.com/subscribe/music-moneyball] LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/standard-innovation-ltd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [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 Round Hill Music: ⁠https://www.roundhillmusic.com [https://www.roundhillmusic.com] Standard Innovation: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://standard-innovation.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://standard-innovation.com] ► Credits Guest: Josh Gruss — CEO, Round Hill Music Hosts: Tom Mullen and Emma Griffiths, Standard Innovation Theme: “Meet Me” — Outlines (Written by Sam Cox) — Courtesy of Bespoke Records

Music Fastball: Fixing the hidden gaps in music catalog revenue w/ Richard Hinkley

This episode looks at an overlooked source of revenue leakage in music catalogs: recordings that aren’t set up to earn properly in the first place. We’re joined by Richard Hinkley from Repped Music, who has over 25 years of experience working at major record labels and now works with catalog owners and investors to identify and resolve operational gaps in recorded music. In this Music Fastball episode, we break down how gaps in availability, fragmented rights, and operational issues during catalog transfers can leave parts of a catalog underperforming — and why issues at the recording level ultimately limit downstream royalty generation. We focus on the operational layer: identifying where those gaps exist, validating what should be available, and ensuring catalogs are set up to capture the revenue they’re already driving. Brought to you by Standard Innovation. ► Stay up to date Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://standard-innovation.com/subscribe/music-moneyball⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://standard-innovation.com/subscribe/music-moneyball] LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/standard-innovation-ltd⁠⁠⁠⁠ [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 Repped Music: www.reppedmusic.com [https://reppedmusic.com] Email Richard: richard@reppedmusic.com [richard@reppedmusic.com] Standard Innovation: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://standard-innovation.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://standard-innovation.com] ► Credits Guests: Richard Hinkley — Co-Founder, Repped Music Host: Tom Mullen — CEO, Standard Innovation Theme: “Meet Me” — Outlines (Written by Sam Cox) — Courtesy of Bespoke Records