RECORD LABEL BUSINESS PLAN

I. Executive Summary

Company Description

RivetSound draws its name from rivets—small, strong fasteners—and sound, symbolizing a platform that securely connects artists to fans. We operate in the music technology sector as a direct-to-fan marketplace and artist services platform. Our core offerings are digital distribution, on-platform merchandise storefronts, fan relationship management (CRM), payment routing, and analytics. What makes us competitive is transparent revenue splits and contract-free, modular deals, plus built-in fulfillment and tax reporting to remove administrative friction for independent artists. We build, run, and maintain the platform, onboard artists, integrate payment and fulfillment partners, and run targeted marketing to drive artist discoverability. We put artists in control of their careers.

Our lean leadership includes a CEO and Lead Developer supported by specialist marketing and support staff focused on onboarding, artist success, and platform reliability. We target independent U.S. creators—DIY artists, producers, and small labels—who want control over distribution, merchandising, and fan monetization. Short-term goals are to launch the platform in 2026, validate unit economics, and prove product-market fit through targeted artist cohorts. Long-term goals are to scale nationwide, become a primary marketplace for independent music, and deliver predictable, sustainable income streams for artists. Short-term: launch and prove unit economics; long-term: scale nationwide and sustain artist incomes.

Problem

Independent musicians in the United States face concrete barriers: label deals that take over 50% of earnings, streaming platforms that provide opaque data, saturated digital channels that raise discovery costs, and a fragmented set of tools that scatter sales and force creative concessions. These factors produce unstable revenue, limited fan targeting and growth, legal and financial loss of rights, and excessive spending on disparate services.

One line: The market lacks an integrated, affordable ecosystem that delivers transparent distribution, merchandise sales, and direct fan engagement—creating a clear need for a unified solution.

Solution

Independent U.S. artists face opaque revenue splits, fragmented tools, and pressure to sign predatory deals. We offer a direct-to-fan marketplace that combines digital distribution with a career-management toolkit so artists control releases, sales, and promotion from a single dashboard—reducing admin, preserving rights, and keeping financial relationships direct.

The platform bundles release and merchandise management, campaign tools, audience analytics, and integrated payment processing into one workspace. Centralized operations cut admin time, analytics turn streams into actionable growth, and integrated payments speed revenue delivery while artists retain 100% creative rights. One-line: Artists control releases, sales, and promotion from one place.

Mission Statement

Our mission is to empower the next generation of independent artists by giving them the tools, transparency, and platform to build sustainable careers on their own terms. We put an artist-first approach at the center of every decision and commit to ensuring creators are fairly compensated while fans can directly support the artists they love. Through practical innovation and clear revenue mechanics, we remove entry barriers so a more diverse, vibrant music ecosystem can thrive.

Key Success Factors

These are the concrete targets and capabilities that must be met to achieve financial and operational goals.

• Hit 30-month breakeven by June 2028 to prove sustainability and secure follow-on funding.
• Reduce Seller Acquisition Cost from $750 to $550 by 2030 through optimized digital marketing and organic growth.
• Maintain high repeat order rate among super fans to sustain marketplace liquidity and steady artist revenue.
• Complete $150,000 platform development in 2026 to provide the technical foundation for future features.
• Scale to EBITDA of $3,042,000 by year five to validate the hybrid revenue model and market position.

Financial Summary

Key financial outcomes for the record label over the first three years.

Funding need: initial capex of $212,000 and early operating funding to cover negative cash until breakeven; minimum cash position reaches -$166,000 in May 2028. Payback: 49 months on initial investments; Breakeven: June 2028. Marketing scales to $1.7M annually by Year 5.

Financial outlook: losses early, operational breakeven in June 2028, and positive EBITDA by 2028.

Funding Requirements

We need USD 1,158,000 to launch and operate through a 49-month payback window, covering platform build, two years of marketing, key salaries, capex, and a working-capital bridge to breakeven.

Forecasts show an EBITDA loss of USD 446,000 in 2026 improving to a USD 3,042,000 profit by 2030, a minimum cash position of -USD 166,000 in May 2028 with breakeven in June 2028, and an implied IRR of 0.03%; marketing scales to USD 1.7M by year five and tech costs trend to 3.0% of revenue.