Bach to Rock Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Bach to Rock is a music education franchise teaching kids and adults through private lessons, group classes, and band play. Franchisees run the music schools, managing instructors, scheduling, and student enrollment.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Bach to Rock franchise requires a total initial investment of $259K – $574K, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 7.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $587K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 18 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $259K – $574K
- 49th pct Education
- Avg gross sales
- $587K
- 25th pct Education
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- 16th pct Education
- Units
- 59
- 51st pct Education
- SBA charge-off
- 0.0%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Education · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Education avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- Total investment $259K – $574K including a $50K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $587K/year (median $541K).
- Verdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 84/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 18 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- America's Music School LLC
- Parent company
- B2R Holdings LLC
- Ultimate parent
- WE AY Topco, LLC
- Predecessor
- East Coast Music Production Camp, LLC
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer, Spark Harbor
- Jeff Phillips
- Incorporated in
- MD
- HQ
- 4910 Cordell Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20814
- Auditor
- Baker Tilly
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $3.0M
- vs $3.5M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Jeff Phillips
- Headquarters
- MD
- Founded
- 2011
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 21
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 32% below the typical education franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $50K | $50K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $20K | $40K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $189K | $484K |
| Total initial investment | $259K | $574K |
Source: Bach to Rock 2026 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $259K – $574K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $40K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 6.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 10.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 7.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $250 |
| Training fee | $1K |
| Transfer fee | $25K |
| Renewal fee | $9K |
| Inventory (initial) | $2K – $5K |
| Total fee load | 10.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 32% below the education norm.
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$59K
10.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
13%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
7.6 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $587K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $541K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- Historical Total Sales / Net Sales and operating cost data (unaudited, franchisee/affiliate-reported)
- Sample size
- 47 units
- vs category median 14 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $199K→$1.3M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 7 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 234 Education brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $587K/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.4x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 10.0% (near the Education average).
Disclosure
Transparency score 7/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System expanding at 11.1% CAGR over 3 years across 59 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Education averages
How Bach to Rock Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 59
- Opened
- 3
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 9
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 85%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +11.1%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +11.1%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 3
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 2
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 20 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 18
- Loan volume
- $6.2M
- Median loan
- $310K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 100.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 4
- Defaults
- 0
- Typical loan rate
- 6.0%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 8.5%
- brand beats franchise avg ↓
- Jobs supported
- 98
- 2.8 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 50%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 100% went to startups / new businesses, 0% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in fine arts schools, franchised businesses charge off at 8.5% vs 14.1% for independents — franchising is associated with 40% lower SBA default risk in this category.
Top lenders financing Bach to Rock franchisees
Showing 3 of 4 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Bach to Rock's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 4 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 6 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 4-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 18 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 0.0% — 100% below the 16.0% national norm, i.e. lower lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Bach to Rock presents moderate-to-cautious risk due to undisclosed profitability metrics, slow unit growth, and capital-intensive business model lacking transparent performance data.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation is required to be disclosed in Item 3
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Baker Tilly
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 84 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Unit Volume) disclosed despite $579K average revenue claim — prevents accurate ROI validation
- 02MEDNet income not disclosed — unable to assess profitability or payback period on $254K-$544K investment
- 03MINORSlow unit growth of 6.7% YoY with only 59 locations suggests mature/saturated market or recruitment challenges
- 04MEDHigh initial investment ($254K-$544K) relative to disclosed revenue ($579K) creates thin margin for error
- 05MINORMusic education franchises face high operating costs (instructor salaries, instrument inventory, facility rent) with seasonal demand volatility
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 10.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 5,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 5 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Maryland |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Maryland |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed in Item 3
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 40 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 24 hrs
- Training location
- Bethesda, Maryland
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Harmony Gateway
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Harmony Gateway
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
57 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Bach to Rock · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Bach to Rock franchise?
The total investment to open a Bach to Rock franchise ranges from $259K – $574K, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Bach to Rock franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Bach to Rock FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $587K. The median is $541K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Bach to Rock's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Bach to Rock has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 18 loans, meaning 0.0% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Bach to Rock franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Bach to Rock has 59 total units in the United States, including 50 franchised units and 9 company-owned units. 3 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Bach to Rock a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Bach to Rock as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 84 out of 100 (higher is better), based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.