Bottom line
- Total investment $335K – $444K including a $25K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.6M/year (median $1.4M). Estimated payback in 2.7 years.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 46/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 58 loans (below the industry average).
- System contracting at -5.4% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Yale framework · single-unit ROIC
Returns Analysis
Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.
The model · Yale framework
What would one Music Go Round unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
29%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Music Go Round units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$316K
on $1.6M purchase
Total debt
$1.3M
SBA $0.8M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Franchisees operate retail locations specializing in buying, selling, and trading new and used musical instruments and equipment. Day-to-day operations include inventory management, customer service, instrument appraisal and repair coordination, and leveraging the brand's online presence to reach both local and remote customers.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
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 phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Music Go Round presents caution-level risk due to minimal system growth, undisclosed Item 19 financials, thin profit margins, and no going concern issues but questionable franchisee ROI clarity.
Score breakdown · what drove the 46 / 100 rating
- 01MINORStagnant unit growth of only 2.9% YoY with only 35 locations suggests mature/declining system
- 02MINORNo Item 19 financial performance disclosure despite $1.58M average revenue — opacity around actual franchisee profitability
- 03MINORNet income margin of only 9.3% ($146,957 on $1.58M sales) is thin and leaves little room for error or unexpected costs
- 04MINORHigh initial investment ($335K-$443K) combined with slow growth indicates recovering or struggling system
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
Item 20
Franchisee Contacts
Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.
Franchisee contacts
43 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Music Go Round · FDD (2026) PDF