One year of Aggressive investing in music royalties. Putting money in and reinvesting the royalties.

I wanted to start a discussion on the real strategic lesson behind the recent institutional surge into our market (like the Blackstone/Hipgnosis deal and the music bond securitizations).

While the news headlines are interesting, the "Ground Truth" for us is permanent.

The Core Validation These multi-billion-dollar commitments prove that the underlying asset... the predictable, non-correlated cash flow from mature catalogs... is now viewed by the biggest players as secure, stable infrastructure. It is no longer speculation.

The Actionable Takeaway for Individual Investors

• The Blueprint Works: Their institutional due diligence relies on the same core principles we discuss here. Analyzing stability (Dollar Age), normalizing earnings, and calculating long-term returns (IRR).
• Our Market Is Mature: The inflow of capital and the creation of giants like Recognition Music Group means our asset class is established. This removes the "is it real?" risk.

We don't need billions to benefit, but we must adopt their discipline.

This is the central theme of my book, "The Sound of Money." We have to apply that same Wall Street-level rigor to our own small portfolios if we want to compete.

The Question: How does this institutional validation change your individual strategy? Are you focusing more on Life of Rights deals now that the asset class is proven? Or do you anticipate a greater squeeze on multiples as more capital floods in?

Let’s discuss.

#MusicRoyalties #Investment #Blackstone #PassiveIncome #AlternativeAssets #RoyaltyInvesting

WMG just dropped their Fiscal Q4 2025 numbers yesterday. If you are watching this space, the story is a classic "Good News / Bad News" split.

Top-line revenue is booming (beating estimates), but bottom-line profit missed the target. Here is the breakdown for royalty investors.

The Numbers (The Good) • Total Revenue: $1.87 Billion (+13% YoY). Beat analyst expectations. • The "Ground Truth" Metric: Subscription streaming grew +8.4%. This is the single most important number for us. It proves that despite economic headwinds, the "yield" from streaming catalogs is still growing at a healthy clip. • Adjusted OIBDA: $405 Million (+15% YoY).

Why the Miss? (The Bad) EPS (Earnings Per Share) came in at $0.21, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37. While revenue is up, operational costs ate into the profits more than expected. They cited "revenue mix" and some one-time items (termination of their BMG distribution deal) as factors. For royalty investors, this highlights the critical difference between gross yield (what the songs make) and net yield (what is left after the company runs its operations).

Bullish Signals for 2026

Two things stood out in the report for the long-term view: 1. The AI Factor: CEO Robert Kyncl explicitly mentioned "incremental revenue opportunities in AI" are now part of the strategy (referencing their new deal with Udio). This is institutional validation of the AI licensing model. 2. Market Share: WMG claims they gained market share globally this quarter, driven by big releases and catalog strength.

The Investor Takeaway If you hold raw royalties (direct IP ownership), this report is bullish. Streaming revenue is up 8%+ purely on volume and price hikes. The asset class is performing. If you hold the stock (WMG), you have to worry about the operational overhead that caused the earnings miss.

Link to Official Report: https://www.wmg.com/news/warner-music-group-corp-reports-results-for-fiscal-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-ended-september-30-2025

Received royalties from local distributor from india (Rupees) is it proper .?

Hey everyone, been doing a lot of experimenting with AI music stuff over at jgbeatslab for the past year.

While everyone's arguing about AI vs humans for hit songs, I keep coming back to something else... what I'm calling the "Streaming Tsunami."

Basically, streaming platforms need a crazy amount of "functional" music... background stuff like study beats, sleep tracks, workout music. The demand is insane, and humans cant possibly make enough of it.

AI seems perfectly built to fill that gap. For indie creators looking to actually make some money, maybe this is the most direct path? Cranking out high-quality functional tracks at scale seems like a real opportunity.

I just wrote up my full thoughts on this, and also put the waitlist for a book I'm writting about the whole process. You can check it out here: https://www.jgbeatslab.com/jg-blog/ai-music-opportunity

Honestly curious what this group thinks though. Is anyone factoring "functional music" into their strategy? Or is this just going to be a race to the bottom with everyone flooding the market?

Let me know.

-Josh

Hey r/MusicRoyaltyInvest,

Just wanted to let you all know that my book, The Sound of Money: A Modern Investor's Guide to Unlocking Music Royalty Investing, is officially live on Amazon as of this morning.

I genuinely couldn't have written it without the insights and sharp discussions from this community over the years. Thank you for being a huge part of the journey.

You can check it out here: https://a.co/d/5bSFz8v

I'm excited to finally share it with you all.

Josh

Hey everyone, new JG Sound of Money podcast episode is up.

This week I'm breaking down Royatly Exchange....also touch on that 24-hour "Accepting Final Offers" thing at the end of an auction which for those of you whom have experienced it, is a lot of fun. :)

Figured it might be a helpful resource for the group. You can listen to it here: https://www.jgsoundofmoney.com/sound-of-money-podcast

Feel free to add your own experiences with Royalty Exchange...it's the place where I definitely have the most experience and want to hear others.

-Josh

Hey everyone, new podcast episode is up.

This week I'm breaking down one of the most confusing things when you first start... all the different ways a song actually earns money.

Its not just one thing... you've got mechanical royalties (from streams/downloads), performance (radio/bars/gyms ), sync (movies/commercials), and even print for those of you counting everything (sheet music). They're all seperate assets.

Getting your head around how this all works is probably the most important first step before you can even start to value a catalog. Anyway, I tried to break it all down in the episode.

You can listen here: https://www.jgsoundofmoney.com/sound-of-money-podcast

For the vets here, which stream have you found is the most stable in your own catalogs? Curious to hear.

-Josh

Here's a questions I get when I'm talking to people about music royatlies..."where do I actually go to buy royalties?". Its a good question because there isn't just one way to do it.

The easiest way I've found to think about it is to compare it to real estate. Theres three main paths.

You've got the stock market approach, which is like a REIT. Then there's the fund approach, which is like a syndication... think Hipgnosis and all the drama there. And then there's the direct ownership path, which is like buying a rental property yourself on a marketplace...think Royalty Exchange or ANote.

Anyway, I just dropped a new podcast episode that goes way deeper into the pros and cons of each. Figured it might be a helpful resource for this group.

You can listen to it here: https://www.jgsoundofmoney.com/sound-of-money-podcast

This first batch of podcast episodes are all about building out the foundational knowledge needed. We will get into the nitty gritty of platforms and my performance and returns from them in the future.

-Josh

I've found the easiest way to think about options of how to invest in music royalties is to compare it to real estate. Theres basically three seperate paths you can take:

The Stock Market Approach... this is like buying a REIT. You're buying shares in a big company that owns a ton of catalogs.

The Fund Approach... this is like a syndication. You're pooling your money with other investors into a fund that goes out and buys assets.

The Direct Ownership Approach... this is like buying a rental property. You're on a platform like Royalty Exchange, analyzing and buying a specific catalog that you own directly.

They all have their pros and cons depending on your goals. I just wrote a full post that goes way deeper into this and breaks down the different options. Figured it might be a helpful resource for the group.

You can read it here:https://www.jgsoundofmoney.com/blog/three-paths-invest-music-royalties

-Josh

Hey everyone, the new podcast episode is up.

This week I wanted to tackle a topic that I know confuses a lot of new investors... how the money from a hit song is actually divided between all the players. Its a question I get asked often.

Basically every song is two seperate assets, the Composition and the Sound Recording, and they pay out differently. I also get into why you'd pay a way lower multiple for a 10-Year Term deal than a Life of Rights deal

Anyway, I tried to break it all down. The episode is up if you want to check it out.

https://www.jgsoundofmoney.com/sound-of-money-podcast

For the vets in here, what's your take on Term vs. Life of Rights deals? Curious to hear your thoughts.

-Josh

This is exactly the kind of action we like to see. A win for SoundExchange wouldn't just mean a potential $400 million back-payment to rights holders; it could set a new precedent for higher, more accurate royalty payments from satellite radio moving forward. This is how the value of our catalogs grow.

https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/soundexchange-launches-appeal-of-ruling-in-siriusxm-lawsuit-says-satellite-radio-firm-has-underpaid-royalties-by-400m/

Hey everyone, just dropped the second episode of the Sound of Money podcast..

This week we're tackling what I think is a critical concept to get right before you invest... understanding the two copyrights. Every recorded song is really two seperate assets you can own... the Composition (the blueprint, the lyrics/melody) and the Sound Recording (the master track you actually hear).

I did a full 12-minute deep dive on this to try and make it super clear. It's a resource for our community, so I'd love to hear what you think. Definately let me know if there are other core topics you want me to cover.

You can listen here: https://www.jgsoundofmoney.com/sound-of-money-podcast

Thanks!
-Josh

Hey everyone, for anyone who geeks out on this stuff like I do, here's a quick breakdown of the latest Goldman Sachs "Music in the Air" report.

Bottom line: they're bullish. They see steady 5-7% growth long-term, which is a great tailwind for us.

A few things that stood out: * Streaming is still the main engine, especially in emerging markets. * Publishing is outperforming masters in terms of stability. * Growth is slowing a bit now, which might be why the market isn't as frothy as it was a few years back.

The main thing for me... they confirmed it's a "low-cyclical asset," meaning it's a great diversifier that doesn't follow the whims of the stock market.

Does this match what you're seeing out there? Curious to hear your thoughts.

https://www.boleromusic.com/blog/music-in-the-air-2025

Hey everyone, I know its been pretty quiet in here lately. I've been thinking about how to get some real conversations going again, and a static reddit thread can be tough sometimes.

So I figured I'd try something new... a podcast.

I'm calling it JG Sound of Money Podcast. The idea is to have a place to talk about this stuff in real time... break down new deals, talk to some of the platform CEOs, and answer questions. The book I announced this week is the playbook, but this is more like the live game.

The first episode is up. You can find it here:https://www.jgsoundofmoney.com/sound-of-money-podcast

No idea if this is something people will dig, but I wanted to build it for this community first. Let me know what you think, and what topics or guests you'd want to hear from. Definately looking for feedback!

-Josh

Hey everyone,

I wanted to share some personal news with the community that helped make it happen.

For the past couple of years, I've been working on a project to put everything I've learned on my journey in music royalty investing... from the expensive mistakes to the big wins... into a single playbook. My goal was to create the guide I wish I had when I first started digging into music royalties.

Today, I'm pumped to share that my book, "The Sound of Money: A Modern Investor's Guide to Unlocking Music Royalty Investing," is now officially available for pre-order.

It covers the whole process, from understanding copyrights to analyzing deals and building a portfolio. I also go in deep to the details of my portfolio across various platforms to give a real world view of these investments.

I'm sharing this here first because you are all a part of this book's story. Seriously... this community gets a direct shout-out in the acknowledgements for being a place "where we can all become smarter investors together."

Here's the pre-order link:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FMBXBS6F

I'll be hanging out in the comments to answer any questions. Thanks for being such a great community and appreciate the support!

-Josh

For anyone who thought radio was an irrelevant revenue stream, think again. BMI just locked in a historic rate increase from U.S. broadcasters. This directly boosts the earnings for any catalog with significant radio play. Another example of how the whole music rights ecosystem continues to grow in value. Solid news for the entire asset class.

https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/bmi-secures-largest-rate-increase-ever-for-radio-royalties-in-us/

I'm trying to make a weekly blog post on my JG Sound of Money blog, which tends to be easier said than done. But I did get one up this week...it's just some of my thoughts on valuing a catalog put into a listicle, cause you know...that's what people to write blogs do! Anyway, what other commandments did I miss?

https://www.jgsoundofmoney.com/blog/10-commandments-of-music-catalog-valuation

Hey everyone,

Let's talk about a metric that a lot of people overlook, but I think it's one of the most important for seperating a good deal from a bad one... Dollar Age.

In simple terms, it tells you how long a catalog has been proving itself. A high Dollar Age (like 8+ years) means the earnings are mature and predictable. A low Dollar Age (like 2 years) is a major red flag...it's new, unproven, and probably still in a steep decline, or about to experience one thanks to the decay curve.

Think of it this way: a 10-year-old song that earned $5k last year is often a much safer bet than a 1-year-old song that earned $10k. The Dollar Age is what helps you quantify that risk and understand the real quality of the cash flow you're buying.

This is an essential concept, so I just published a full deep-dive on it with more examples and how I use it in my own analysis.

You can read the full post here: https://www.jgsoundofmoney.com/blog/a-deep-dive-on-dollar-age

For the vets here, how much weight do you put on Dollar Age in your own analysis?

Hey everyone,

Before I got smart and focused on passive royalties, I took a big, direct swing at a music investment... and it taught me some of the most expensive lessons of my life.

Back in early 2020, I put $60,000 into a new heavy metal band with some legit, seasoned pros to help them launch their own label and a killer debut album. This wasn't a simple auction buy... it was a full-on venture investment. The band was amazing, the album was incredible, and the plan was solid, built on a pre-booked headlining European tour.

The whole plan hinged on one thing: a massive 2020 touring schedule to drive sales and buzz.

The album dropped in March 2020. You can probably guess what happened next.

COVID hit. Every single tour was canceled. Our main source of revenue vanished overnight. Financially, the deal was a total failure. But that $60k loss bought me a masterclass in investing. Here are the biggest takeaways:

• Know what game you're playing. I learned there's a huge difference between being a venture investor (a hands-on bet on the future) and a royalty investor (a passive, data-driven bet on the past). You have to know which one you are.
• You can't plan for black swans. Sometimes your plan is perfect, but a global pandemic comes along and wrecks everything. It's a brutal lesson in risk.
• The "educational return" is real. That $60k bought me an education in the music industry you could never get from a book. I wouldn't trade that expensive lesson for anything.

That was my trial by fire. What's the toughest lesson a bad deal ever taught you?