Little School of Music Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $248K – $335K
- Disclosed sales
- $734K
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Little School of Music is a music education franchise offering lessons on piano, guitar, and other instruments for kids and adults. Franchisees run the studios, managing instructors, scheduling, and enrollment.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Little School of Music franchise requires a total initial investment of $248K – $335K and an ongoing 8.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $734K[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - issued 12 to 24 months ago; a newer filing is likely on file
Evidence: partial✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored4 of 5 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $248K – $335K
- 52nd pct Education
- Avg gross sales
- $734K
- Company-owned only1 outlet
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- 44th pct Education
- Units
- 1
- 2nd pct Education
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Education · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Education median · 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
- COSTTotal investment $248K – $335K, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $734K/year (company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance).
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 44/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHFlat: no net change in franchised outlets in the latest year (0 opened, 0 closed) (Item 20).
- FLAGRevenue data based on only 1 outlet. Treat as directional, not definitive. Ask franchisees directly for current unit economics.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Once Upon A Tune, LLC
- CEO title
- President and CEO
- Mindy Cabral
- CEO experience
- 19 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- TX
- HQ
- 1320 Arrow Point Drive, Ste 501-90, Cedar Park, TX 78613
- Auditor
- Metwally CPA PLLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $62K
- Most recent fiscal year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Mindy Cabral
- Headquarters
- TX
- Founded
- 2023
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 1
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 50% above the typical education franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
The filing's Item 7 TOTAL row prints $248,172 to $335,072. Its own line items add to $248,172 to $345,072. The total is shown as the franchisor printed it; the lines are listed as printed. Filing's arithmetic: the 18 printed lines sum to $248,172.36 / $345,072.36 (whole dollars 248,172 / 345,072) while the printed TOTAL is $248,172.82 to $335,072.82 (headline 248,172 / 335,072).
Full Item 7 breakdown18 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| APPLICATION FEE | $499 | $499 | |
| INITIAL FEES | $25K | $25K | |
| TRAVEL AND LIVING EXPENSES WHILE TRAINING | $3K | $15K | |
| RENT / REAL ESTATE DEPOSIT | $0 | $9K | |
| REAL ESTATE SITE SELECTION | $0 | $1K | |
| UTILITY AND MISCELLANEOUS SECURITY DEPOSITS | $0 | $1K | |
| LEASEHOLD IMPROVEMENTS | $25K | $50K | |
| FURNITURE, FIXTURES, AND EQUIPMENT | $24K | $28K | |
| OPENING INVENTORY AND EQUIPMENT | $106K | $132K | |
| OFFICE SUPPLIES | $5K | $7K | |
| GRAND OPENING | $20K | $20K | |
| INSURANCE | $3K | $5K | |
| Signage | $2K | $5K | |
| LICENSING AND PERMITS | $2K | $2K | |
| TECHNOLOGY SETUP FEE | $8K | $9K | |
| SECURITY SYSTEM | $8K | $10K | |
| PROFESSIONAL LEGAL / FINANCIAL SERVICES | $3K | $5K | |
| ADDITIONAL FUNDS (Three Months) | $15K | $20K | |
| Total initial investment | $248K | $345K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $248K – $335K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $15K – $20K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- N/A
- Paid to franchisor at signing
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- Tiered by sales volume · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 11.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 8.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $225 |
| Training fee | $25K |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $4K |
| Inventory (initial) | $106K – $132K |
| Total fee load | 11.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 80% above the education norm.
Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance
Based on a single outlet - not a system average
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for Little School of Music until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$309K
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Little School of Music unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance
Based on a single outlet - not a system average
- Avg gross sales
- $734K
- Per unit, per year
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- Total Revenue (the Gross Revenue line, Tuition, Materials & Concerts) for the Jan-Dec 2023 calendar year at the ORIGINAL Santa Clarita, California location - the final actual column of a 2013-2023 historical table, which the filing then reuses as the 'Baseline prior to Projections' for a ten-year forward projection. That location was NOT a franchisee during any year shown, because the franchise system did not yet exist, so its royalty, branding, local advertising and internet fees are IMPUTED rather than paid; cost of goods was not tracked before 2023 and shows as $0 for 2013-2022. Rent is non-standard - the lease includes property taxes - and 2020-2021 revenue was suppressed by California COVID-19 closure orders
- Sample size
- 1 outlet
- vs category median 16 · small
- Reporting year
- 2023
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2023
- Transparency
- 6 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 204 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 $734K/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 2.5x. Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 11.0% — above the Education median of 9.0%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 6/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence. Sample size of 1 outlet — treat as directional only.
Operator retention
Net unit growth roughly flat at 0.0%.
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 medians
How Little School of Music Compares
Category median of published Education brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 1
- Opened
- 0
- 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
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +0.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +0.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Continuity rate
- 100.0%
- Units that stayed open
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 1 state reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
1
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Single-unit franchise with unverified financials, no territory protection, and franchisor stability concerns presents substantial execution and scalability risk.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
Item 3 discloses no litigation. Item 4 discloses no bankruptcy.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Metwally CPA PLLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Figures from the audited financial statements of Once Upon a Tune, LLC (the franchisor; brand "Little School of Music"), audited by Metwally CPA PLLC. Statements are in whole US dollars (no scaling). Most recent fiscal year ended December 31, 2024; prior period June 9, 2023 (inception) to December 31, 2023. Total Revenues for FY2024 = $62,000, consisting entirely of "Royalties - related party"; FY2023 revenue was $0. Other income of $536 (dividend/interest income $328 + realized/unrealized gain $208) is reported separately as Other Income, not in revenue. Net loss FY2024 = ($71,233). Balance sheet at 12/31/2024 reconciles: total assets $39,510 = total liabilities $130,305 + members' equity (deficit) ($90,795). Single entity; no parent/guarantor mixing.
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
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: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 44 / 100 verdict
- 01MINOROnly 1 operating unit with unknown growth trajectory indicates unproven scalability and potential system collapse risk
- 02MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk; franchisor can open competing units in your market
- 03MINOR8% royalty on $537k revenue = $43k+ annual ongoing fees with only 1 unit for support infrastructure
- 04MINOR10-year term is unusually long for an unproven single-unit franchise system
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 11.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 1,500 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 3 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 50 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | TX |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Item 3 discloses no litigation. Item 4 discloses no bankruptcy.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 110 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 36 hrs
- Training location
- Valencia, CA (Live Virtual or In-person); franchisor office/online and franchisee location
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 3 mo
- From signing to launch
- POS system
- QuickBooks Online
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: QuickBooks Online
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Little School of Music franchise?
The total investment to open a Little School of Music franchise ranges from $248K – $335K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Little School of Music franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Little School of Music FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $734K. Important context: Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance; Based on a single outlet - not a system average. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Little School of Music?
Little School of Music is franchised by Once Upon A Tune, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Little School of Music FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Little School of Music FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Little School of Music's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Little School of Music (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Little School of Music franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Little School of Music has 1 total units in the United States, including 1 franchised units and 0 company-owned units.
Is Little School of Music a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Little School of Music as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 44 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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.