Fractional CFO for music companies
Royalty accounting is the gating skill for any music finance function. Mechanical, performance, streaming, sync and neighbouring rights each recognise on their own logic, DSP statements land late and fragmented, and every artist and release carries its own split, advance and recoupment position.
Early work is almost always rebuilding the royalty ledger so accruals match what statements eventually deliver: catalogue-level streaming income by DSP and territory, advances and recoupment by artist and release, label- and publisher-share splits flowing through to net revenue, and a royalty payable balance that ties to the underlying contracts.
Flow provides fractional CFO, financial modelling and FP&A to music companies across labels and publishing, distribution and rights administration, catalogue and royalty platforms, and artist and creator tools. Startup CFO support is staffed by people who have closed royalty periods before.
KPIs to track for "music" startups
We're very 'KPI-driven' fractional CFOs, and we make sure to monitor the right metrics for your startup.
Monthly listeners
Total streams
Royalty payout ratio
Label / distribution share
Catalogue revenue
Streaming share by DSP
Sync / licensing revenue
Advance recoupment rate
New release contribution
Artist retention
Financial modelling for "music" startups
As fractional CFOs, we build KPI-driven financial models that are insightful and easy to maintain.
Financial modelling is both art and science - models must be robust, but also understandable, and useful for both internal planning and VC fundraising purposes. Hire a fractional CFO who knows how to handle both sides of the equation.
Royalty accrual by stream type
Mechanical, performance, streaming, sync and neighbouring rights accrued on their own recognition logic and reconciled to DSP and CMO statements as they land. Closes the gap between statement timing and revenue period.
Catalogue-level revenue build
Streaming income modelled per release by DSP and territory, with new-release versus catalogue contribution split out. Identifies which assets carry the P&L and which are dead weight in the catalogue.
Advance and recoupment position
Artist advances tracked against recouped earnings per release and per agreement, with unrecouped balances modelled as recoverable or impaired. Tells you which signings are paying back and which will be written off.
Splits waterfall
Gross royalty income stepped through label, publisher, distributor, producer and artist share splits to net contribution per party. Makes a complex contractual stack legible at close and survives audit on every release.
DSP and territory mix
Revenue split by DSP and territory with payout rates, FX and CMO timing modelled separately rather than averaged. Surfaces concentration risk on a single DSP changing its rate card.
New-release contribution
New releases modelled against expected first-12-month performance, marketing spend, advances and recoupment to a per-release IRR. Replaces a release calendar built on enthusiasm with one built on contribution.
Founders and investors we've worked with
We've supported winning builders across music and beyond.
TBô
We acted as fractional CFO to TBô, a Zurich-based tech-enabled DTC male underwear brand, building a bottom-up financial / operating model with cohort-level KPIs and positioning the company for its next venture round.
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Onlogist
We acted as fractional CFO to Onlogist, a Hamburg-based online marketplace for last-mile vehicle transfer, providing confidential valuation guidance and operating model support.
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Marcura
We acted as fractional CFO to Dubai-based Marcura, owner of maritime payroll and B2B payments platform MarTrust, advising on the strategic e-Wallet vendor selection and supporting product/finance integration.
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Hector
We acted as fractional CFO to Hector Aurumi, a Dubai-based specialist software house with AI/ML, IoT and data science expertise, providing confidential valuation guidance to the management team.
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Bonart
We've worked as fractional CFO with Bonart, a Zurich-based independent Swiss strategic advisory and execution platform for PE and investor fundraising, providing long-term confidential valuation guidance.
See moreRecent fractional CFO track record
See our fractional CFO and financial modelling experience across music and beyond.
Simple pricing
No hidden costs, no complicated long-term contracts. We understand how important flexibility is for music startups.
Per month
- Accounting / FP&A tech stack implementation
- Monthly financial statements and reporting pack
- Quarterly board pack with detailed financial analysis (with variance analysis vs. budget, relevant KPI observations etc.)
- Investor-friendly output
Per month
- Everything in Core, plus
- Operating model (via an online platform like Runway or Excel-based)
- Ongoing model maintenance, refining projections, burn/runway management
- Customer cohorts modelling, churn and retention analysis
- LTV / CAC, unit economics analysis
- Cap table management
Per month
- Everything in Grow, plus
- M&A / fundraising support; review of business plan
- Pitch deck preparation
- Investor approach strategy / list building
- Due diligence support and deal negotiation
- Valuation as required and free access to Multiples Pro
Packages shown are illustrative, final pricing is tailored to client requirements.
Explore our fractional CFO offering for similar verticals
We're a specialized fractional CFO to digital media companies.
Our fractional CFO experience spans across all digital media verticals.
Explore other sectors
We know tech inside & out.
We provide fractional CFO services to companies operating across the entire tech.
More services
We help you scale by providing fractional CFO advice, through fundraising and a successful M&A exit.
VC fundraising for music companies
We help you prepare materials, reach out to investors in our extensive network, negotiate fair term sheets and structure the VC round.
Learn moreM&A for music companies
We advise winning tech companies on M&A exits, and over the years successfully executed numerous transactions with both financial and strategic buyers.
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Schedule a call to get a health check on your business and see how we could help.
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