FranchiseVerdict
Musicologie logo
FV-01719·MODERATEExcellent95

Musicologie

Education - Tutoring & Test PrepFranchising since 2023Website
Investment
$191K – $364K
68th pct Tutoring & Te…
Avg revenue
$604K
30th pct Tutoring & Te…
Royalty
7.0%
18th pct Tutoring & Te…
Units
8
31st pct Tutoring & Te…
SBA default

Bottom line

  • Total investment $191K – $364K including a $60K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $604K/year (median $648K). Estimated payback in 2.3 years.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 63/100.
  • Emerging franchise — only 3 years of franchising with 8 units. Early-stage systems carry higher risk but may offer better territory availability.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Musicologie Franchising, LLC
Incorporated in
Ohio
HQ
1400 W. Third Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43212
Auditor
Maloney + Novotny LLC
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$54K
vs $152K prior year

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 Musicologie unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $604,136
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: education
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $191K–$364K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $15K–$30K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

28%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$85K
EBITDA margin
14.0%
Total invested
$300K
Payback
43 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing

What would 25 Musicologie units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

49.9%

7.57× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

1.88×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$846K

on $4.2M purchase

Total debt

$3.4M

SBA $2.1M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

Musicologie franchisees operate music education and instruction centers offering lessons, ensemble training, and performance opportunities. Daily operations include scheduling/managing student lessons, instructor coordination, facility management, and community music events. Revenue streams typically derive from tuition, private lessons, group classes, and potentially retail instrument sales.

CEO
Joseph Barker
Founded
2022
FDD year
2025
States available
2

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$191K – $364K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$15K – $30K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$60K
Royalty
7.0%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
9.0%
vs 9–13% typical
Payback period
2.3 yrs
From v3 / Item 19

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$604K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$648K
Item 19 type
Historical
Sample size
6 units
vs category median 12
Range (low → high)
$321K$944K
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
8 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Revenue rank30th
vs Education - Tutoring & Test Prep peers
Investment cost rank68th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank18th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank31th
vs Education - Tutoring & Test Prep peers
Risk score rank62th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
8
Opened
2
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
6
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
25%
vs corporate-owned
Multi-unit owners
1.0%
2023
2+2
Franchised units
2024
0
Franchised units
2025
0
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 15 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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 15 states
Not registered

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.

No SBA loan data available for this brand.

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

63
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE63 / 100

Musicologie presents substantial risk due to going concern status, microscopic unit count, high investment-to-income ratios, and unverified financial claims—suitable only for well-capitalized investors with music industry expertise and strong risk tolerance.

Score breakdown · what drove the 63 / 100 rating

  1. 01HIGHGoing Concern status indicates parent company financial distress or viability questions
  2. 02MINOROnly 8 units system-wide with unknown/likely stagnant growth trajectory raises scalability concerns
  3. 03MINORHigh initial investment ($190k-$363k) against modest average net income ($121k) yields 1.6-3 year payback with no margin for error
  4. 04MINOR7% royalty on gross sales (not net) creates cash flow pressure during low-revenue periods
  5. 05MINORAbsence of Item 19 financial performance representation limits transparency and verification of claimed averages
  6. 06MEDMinimal franchise system size suggests limited corporate support infrastructure and franchisor resources

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Drive Time
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
No
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
Ohio

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
40 hrs
On-the-job training
18 hrs
POS system
MyMusicologie
Operating tech stack

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

15 numbers

Locked
(808) 586-••••
HI
(360) 902-••••
WA
(217) 782-••••
IL

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Musicologie · FDD (2025) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above