KBRA Releases Research – Track Split: Differentiating Publishing and Recording Income

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--KBRA releases research on performance and trends of the music asset-backed securities (ABS) sector.

The distinction between publishing and sound recording rights has long shaped how investors assess music catalogs, but streaming has blurred many of the historical differences. Recording income, once viewed as less stable and more cyclical, now shares similar cash-flow characteristics with publishing income, benefiting from greater predictability under subscription-based streaming models and reduced exposure to format and piracy risks. Recording rights capture most per-stream revenue, while publishing rights benefit from a wider range of uses and regulatory protections, yet both are increasingly driven by the same global listener and platform dynamics. Across KBRA’s rated music-royalty securitizations, performance results indicate that catalog quality, diversity, and transaction structure have greater influence on credit outcomes than the relative mix of publishing versus recording exposure, as both rights now provide steady, recurring income streams within a converging valuation and risk framework.

KBRA has assigned 76 ratings on music royalty ABS across 15 issuers since 2020, totaling approximately $11.5 billion in issuance.

Click here to view the report.

Related Publications

• Music Royalty ABS: The Beat Goes On
• Sound Check: Music ABS Performance

About KBRA

KBRA, one of the major credit rating agencies, is registered in the U.S., EU, and the UK. KBRA is recognized as a Qualified Rating Agency in Taiwan, and is also a Designated Rating Organization for structured finance ratings in Canada. As a full-service credit rating agency, investors can use KBRA ratings for regulatory capital purposes in multiple jurisdictions.

Doc ID: 1011784