Simple steps to maximize your catalog's valuation and close deals faster. Most artists leave thousands—even millions—on the table by skipping these basics.
You've built a catalog worth six or seven figures. But when it's time to sell or get an advance, buyers scrutinize every detail. Missing documentation, incomplete metadata, or unregistered rights can reduce your valuation by 20-40%—or kill the deal entirely.
The good news? Most of these issues are fixable in a matter of weeks. Here are the five most impactful things you can do to maximize your catalog value and close deals faster.
💡 Pro Tip
At Creative Funding Agency, we offer a free pre-submission review to check all these items before you approach buyers. We'll identify missing docs, flag metadata issues, and ensure you're maximizing your valuation from day one.
Before you approach buyers, you need to know exactly what you own. This means creating a complete inventory of:
Why This Matters:
Buyers won't close a deal if they're uncertain about what they're buying. Missing tracks, unclear ownership splits, or undisclosed encumbrances (like existing publishing deals) can reduce your valuation or disqualify you entirely.
Action Step: Create a spreadsheet listing every track, its ISRC code, ownership splits, release date, and revenue performance. If you're missing information, track it down before you start talking to buyers.
Metadata is the DNA of your catalog. If it's wrong or incomplete, you're losing money—and buyers will notice.
What to Check:
Common Metadata Problems:
Why This Matters: Clean metadata = accurate royalty tracking. Buyers want to see consistent, verified income streams. Metadata errors cause revenue leakage, which reduces your catalog's value.
Action Step: Log into your distributor (DistroKid, TuneCore, CD Baby, etc.) and review every track's metadata. Fix errors immediately. If you're missing ISRC codes, request them from your distributor or generate them via your PRO.
If your music isn't registered with the right organizations, you're leaving money on the table—potentially thousands per year in unclaimed royalties.
Essential Registrations:
What they collect: Public performance royalties from radio, streaming, live venues, TV, bars, restaurants
Where to register:
⚠️ Register BOTH as a songwriter AND as a publisher (if you own your publishing).
What they collect: Mechanical royalties from streams, downloads, and physical sales
Where to register:
What they collect: Digital performance royalties from non-interactive streaming (Pandora, SiriusXM, internet radio)
Where to register: SoundExchange.com (FREE for performers and rights holders)
💰 Real Impact
Artists with 1M+ annual streams who aren't registered with PROs and mechanical rights orgs can miss out on $5,000-$15,000+ per year in unclaimed royalties. Buyers will discount your catalog if they see revenue leakage.
Action Step: Register with your PRO (both as writer and publisher), sign up for The MLC, and create a SoundExchange account. Submit your catalog to all three organizations within the next 30 days.
Neighboring rights (also called "related rights") are royalties paid to performers and rights holders when music is played on radio, TV, and public venues outside the United States.
Most U.S. artists don't collect these royalties because they're not automatically registered—but if your music is streamed internationally, you could be missing significant income.
What Are Neighboring Rights?
When your recording is broadcast on radio or TV in countries like the UK, Germany, France, Canada, Australia, and 70+ others, performers and master rights holders are entitled to royalties.
In the USA, terrestrial radio doesn't pay these royalties (only SoundExchange for digital radio). But globally, terrestrial and digital radio both pay neighboring rights.
Where to Register:
💵 Potential Revenue:
If your music gets radio play in Europe, Canada, or Australia, neighboring rights can generate $1,000-$50,000+ per year depending on your airplay. Even mid-tier artists with moderate international streaming see $2,000-$5,000 annually.
Why This Matters: Buyers want to see all revenue streams maximized. If you're not collecting neighboring rights, buyers will either discount your valuation or pursue the unclaimed royalties themselves (and you'll lose that value).
Action Step: Register with SoundExchange (USA) and sign up for a neighboring rights service to collect internationally. Start this process at least 3-6 months before selling your catalog.
Buyers will ask for complete financial documentation of your catalog's performance. This includes:
If you can't provide clear, organized statements covering at least the past 12-24 months, buyers will hesitate—or reduce their offer.
Before you approach buyers, let our team review your documentation for:
We'll create a checklist of exactly what you need to fix, saving you weeks of back-and-forth with buyers and potentially increasing your valuation by 10-30%.
Get Your Free Pre-Submission ReviewAction Step: Download all statements from every revenue source for the past 24 months. Organize them by quarter or month, then send them to us for review. We'll identify gaps, flag inconsistencies, and ensure you're maximizing every dollar.
Beyond the five core steps above, here are a few more ways to increase your catalog's appeal:
A well-documented, properly registered, and fully optimized catalog can fetch 20-40% more than one with missing data, incomplete registrations, and revenue leakage.
The work isn't glamorous—auditing tracks, fixing metadata, registering with PROs—but it's the difference between a $500K valuation and a $700K valuation. Or between a 30-day closing and a 6-month nightmare.
At Creative Funding Agency, we've seen artists increase their valuations by six figures simply by addressing these five areas. Let us help you do the same.
Schedule a free pre-submission review with our team. We'll identify gaps, fix documentation issues, and ensure you're getting the maximum valuation when you sell or get an advance.