Music Fastball: What are you actually buying in a catalog deal? w/ Cliff Fluet

Most music catalog deals start with the price — but they’re ultimately won or lost on the rights.

In this two-part Fastball, we’re joined by Cliff Fluet (Partner at Lewis Silkin) to explore the legal side of catalog operations and how it impacts where funds sit on the Catalog Maturity Curve — how clearly rights, obligations and key dates are understood and managed.

Part 1 focuses on a deceptively simple question at the heart of every catalog transaction:

What are you actually buying?

Cliff explains why financial investors approach diligence differently from record labels, why deals often anchor on price before the real work begins, and how gaps in title, documentation or consents can completely change the economics of a deal.

Part 2 will explore what happens next: how buyers operationalise those rights once the transaction is complete.

Brought to you by Standard Innovation.

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Standard Innovation is the data consultancy that helps music investment funds unlock higher valuations and exit multiples through better infrastructure.

► Episode Links

Lewis Silkin: ⁠⁠https://www.lewissilkin.com

► Credits

Guest: Cliff Fluet, Partner, Lewis Silkin

Host: Tom Mullen

Theme: “Meet Me” — Outlines (Written by Sam Cox) — Courtesy of Bespoke Records