Calculator
Music Catalog Valuation Calculator
Curious what your catalog could be worth to sell? Enter your trailing 12-month royalty income, tell us whether it’s declining, stable, or growing, and get an estimated sale-valuation range built on the standard 7–15× royalty-income multiple — plus a clear sell-vs-finance comparison so you don’t give up upside you didn’t mean to.
How music catalogs are valued
Catalog buyers don’t price songs the way fans do — they price cash flow. The headline number in almost every deal is a multiple of trailing 12-month royalty income. Across the market that multiple sits in a broad band of roughly 7–15×, and where you land inside it is driven mostly by how durable your income looks. We model three stability tiers within that band:
| Stability tier | What it means | Multiple band |
|---|---|---|
| Declining / older catalog | Income trending down or concentrated in older releases. | 7–9× annual income |
| Stable catalog | Income roughly flat year over year. | 9–12× annual income |
| Growing catalog | Income trending up with active releases or sync momentum. | 12–15× annual income |
Multiple bands from Standard catalog multiple band (~7–15x) from music-calculators-build-spec.md · as of 2026 · [verify]
Sell vs. finance
A valuation is only useful once you know what you’d do with it. Selling and financing solve very different problems:
| Sell the catalog | Finance against it (advance) | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash now | Lump sum | Lump sum (smaller) |
| Ownership after | You give it up permanently | You keep it; it reverts after recoupment |
| Future upside | Buyer keeps it | You keep it |
| Best when | You want a clean exit / believe income will fade | You believe income will hold or grow |
If keeping ownership matters to you, model the financing path with the royalty advance calculator. If you want to understand uncollected income before you value anything, run the publishing royalty calculator.
Example valuations
These rows apply the same estimator the calculator uses, across the three stability bands, so you can sanity-check the order of magnitude for your own income level.
| Annual royalty income | Declining (7–9×) | Stable (9–12×) | Growing (12–15×) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $10,000 | $70,000 – $90,000 | $90,000 – $120,000 | $120,000 – $150,000 |
| $50,000 | $350,000 – $450,000 | $450,000 – $600,000 | $600,000 – $750,000 |
| $150,000 | $1,050,000 – $1,350,000 | $1,350,000 – $1,800,000 | $1,800,000 – $2,250,000 |
| $500,000 | $3,500,000 – $4,500,000 | $4,500,000 – $6,000,000 | $6,000,000 – $7,500,000 |
A valuation estimate is not an appraisal or an offer. Buyers underwrite on income stability, ownership share, growth, and genre — your actual offer may differ substantially.
Where to sell your catalog
These are marketplaces and buyers that acquire music royalties. Links marked Informational are not paid partnerships — we list them because they’re relevant, not because they pay us.
Marketplace to sell part or all of your catalog to investors.
Learn more →European marketplace for trading music-royalty shares.
Sells fractional and whole royalty shares to fans and investors.
Affiliate disclosure: some outbound links may earn us a commission at no cost to you. We only ever show ranges and figures sourced in our methodology.
Frequently asked questions
How much is my music catalog worth?
Catalogs typically sell for a multiple of trailing 12-month royalty income — roughly 7–15x depending on whether income is declining, stable, or growing. Enter your annual royalties and pick the trajectory that fits to see an estimated range. This is an estimate, not an appraisal or offer.
What multiple do catalogs sell for?
We model three bands within the standard ~7–15x range: declining/older catalogs around 7–9x, stable catalogs around 9–12x, and growing catalogs around 12–15x. Real offers vary with ownership share, genre, contract terms, and the buyer’s own underwriting.
Should I sell my catalog or finance against it?
Selling gives you a lump sum now but you give up future upside permanently. Financing (a royalty advance) gives you cash now while you keep ownership — you repay from future royalties and the catalog reverts to you. Financing tends to suit artists who expect income to hold or grow.
Is this valuation an offer?
No. A valuation estimate is not an appraisal or an offer. It is a modeling tool to help you understand the rough order of magnitude before you talk to buyers. Every buyer underwrites differently and your actual offer may differ substantially.
Does owning only part of the rights change the value?
Yes. Buyers value the share you actually control, not the whole song. If you own 50% of a composition, your stake is worth roughly half of the full-catalog figure, before any other adjustments.
Does genre affect catalog value?
Genre can influence buyer appetite and how durable income looks (for example, catalog with steady sync demand or long streaming tails). We use the same income-multiple bands across genres rather than inventing genre-specific multiples, because public, verifiable per-genre multiples don’t exist.
Keep going
- Royalty advance calculator — cash now without selling.
- Publishing royalty calculator — find income you’re not collecting.
- Guides — how catalog deals actually work.
Estimates are for informational purposes only and are not financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Actual offers and figures vary by provider, contract terms, and current market conditions.