A message from Chris
Before you read on
£2.1B
UK recorded music revenues in 2023
Source: BPI
83%
of UK music revenue now from streaming
Source: BPI
40M+
tracks released per year globally
Source: MIDiA
1%
of artists generate 90% of all streams
Source: MIDiA
Context
Why this matters
right now.
01
The streaming economy has matured
Streaming revenues are no longer growing fast enough to carry labels. The labels that win now are the ones that build intelligence systems — not just distribution.
02
AI has shifted the leverage point
The cost of producing AI-driven audience insight, campaign automation, and sync intelligence has collapsed. Independent labels can now operate with the intelligence layer of a major.
03
Catalogue is underpriced
Most independent catalogues are sitting on untapped sync, licensing, and direct-to-fan potential. The window to build this before the market catches up is now.
04
Founders can't do it all
The creative and commercial demands of running a label have never been higher. The founders who scale are the ones who build systems — not those who try to do everything themselves.
What success looks like
The outcomes we're building toward.
Catalogue monetisation
Untapped revenue activated across sync, licensing, and direct-to-fan
Audience intelligence
A living data picture of who listens, where, and what they value
Marketing automation
Campaigns that run without requiring constant founder attention
Revenue predictability
Systems that turn catalogue into compounding, measurable return
Industry benchmarks
What the numbers show is possible.
These represent industry medians for independent labels with comparable catalogue size and audience profile. Actual results depend on catalogue quality, existing data infrastructure, and execution.
Sync & Licensing
£2,000–£20,000
per placement
Independent labels with an active sync strategy typically secure 5–15 placements per year per 200-track catalogue. TV and documentary placements average £500–£5,000; advertising campaigns £2,000–£20,000. Sync was the fastest-growing revenue stream for UK independents in 2023, up 11%.
Source: BPI 2023 / Music Week
Streaming optimisation
+35%
algorithmic reach within 12 weeks
DSP profile optimisation, editorial pitch submissions, and metadata hygiene consistently deliver a 35% uplift in algorithmic reach. A single successful editorial playlist placement on a 50k-follower list generates 200k–800k additional streams. Consistent release campaigns outperform ad-hoc by 40–60% in first-week numbers.
Source: Spotify for Artists / DistroKid 2024
Direct-to-fan revenue
15–20×
more revenue per fan than streaming
The average Spotify stream returns £0.003–£0.004. A Bandcamp transaction averages £12–£18. An engaged mailing list of 5,000 subscribers returns £0.80–£2.00 per subscriber per year. Even a 1–3% superfan conversion from an existing streaming audience changes the revenue profile materially.
Source: Bandcamp / Mailchimp Music Benchmark 2024
Marketing automation
3×
more consistent release cadence
Labels running automated release campaigns maintain 3× more consistent output than those working manually. Meta ads targeting music audiences deliver 30–80 streams per £1 spent for established artists. Systematic campaign infrastructure compounds — each release builds on the last rather than starting from zero.
Source: Meta for Music / MIDiA Research 2024
The roadmap
How we get there.
00
Weeks 1–3
Discovery & Planning
Deep audit of existing catalogue, revenue streams, audience data, and brand positioning. Includes a full-day in-person workshop (~6 hours) to align stakeholders and surface key insights. Define the strategic baseline.
Deliverables
- →Revenue stream map
- →Audience & market audit
- →Competitive landscape
- →In-person workshop (~6 hrs)
- →Strategic brief
01
Weeks 3–4
Strategy & Architecture
Build the intelligence architecture — data infrastructure, attribution model, and the full-funnel strategy framework.
Deliverables
- →Intelligence architecture
- →Attribution model
- →Full-funnel playbook
- →KPI framework
02
Months 2–3
Build & Launch
Execute on the strategy. Launch campaigns, activate channels, establish rhythms and reporting cadence.
Deliverables
- →Campaign launch
- →Channel activation
- →Reporting dashboard
- →Optimisation loop
03
Month 3+
Scale & Optimise
Systematically scale what works. Expand into new territories, channels, and revenue opportunities based on live data.
Deliverables
- →Scale playbook
- →Territory expansion
- →New channel tests
- →Quarterly reviews
04
Ongoing
Embedded Intelligence
Transition from project mode to embedded partnership. CI becomes a permanent extension of the AEI intelligence function.
Deliverables
- →Embedded team model
- →Continuous optimisation
- →Strategic counsel
- →Annual planning
How we work
The operating model.
Investment
A phased investment, with a decision point after every stage.
Recommended first commitment
Transition Phase & Planning
£5,000 fixed
AEI owns all outputs. There is no obligation to continue.
Includes
- ■Stakeholder interviews
- ■Focused knowledge-transfer sessions
- ■System and dependency mapping
- ■Full-day in-person workshop (~6 hours)
- ■Use-case prioritisation
- ■Initial operating model
- ■Eight-week delivery roadmap
- ■Defined scope and pricing for the next phase
Data & Governance Foundation
~£15,000
Approximate — refined after discovery. Undertaken only after the discovery findings have been reviewed and approved. This is where we begin architecting and building the second brain for the business — a living intelligence layer that captures, connects, and surfaces everything AEI knows.
Includes
- ■Data-access blueprint
- ■Target architecture
- ■Second brain architecture & build
- ■AI and data policy
- ■Security and role-based access model
- ■Governance and release process
- ■Technical delivery backlog
- ■Measurement framework
Prioritised Proof of Concept
~£20,000–£30,000
Approximate — refined after discovery, once the first use case, data requirements and success measures are known. This phase includes exclusive access to LabelOS — CI's proprietary operating system for music labels — configured and deployed specifically for AEI.
Includes
- ■One agreed proof of concept
- ■LabelOS deployed exclusively for AEI
- ■Data integration within the agreed scope
- ■User testing
- ■Security and governance review
- ■Measurement against agreed outcomes
- ■Release, iteration or stop recommendation
Managed AI & Data Capability
TBC
An optional ongoing engagement from month three. Some or all of the existing data lead budget could be redirected into this broader managed capability. Initial three-month term, followed by a rolling monthly agreement.
Includes
- ■Monthly steering and prioritisation
- ■AI and data strategy
- ■Technical development capacity
- ■Governance and model reviews
- ■Knowledge-base management
- ■Team support and training
- ■Measurement and reporting
- ■Continued development of approved use cases
A reallocation of capability investment
This does not necessarily need to be treated entirely as new transformation spend. Following the departure of AEI's data specialist, some or all of the existing role budget could be redirected into a broader managed capability — combining strategy, data, AI engineering and governance while reducing dependency on any one person.
Estimated annual investment
£40,000–£50,000
~£5,000 / month
A single monthly investment covers all phases through to completion and rolls into continuous Managed AI & Data Capability — so AEI is never without strategic, technical, and intelligence support. Only the £5,000 transition phase is committed to initially. Every subsequent phase is separately approved.
Prices exclude VAT, third-party software, cloud usage and any substantial data-platform costs. Any additional expenditure will be agreed before it is incurred.
How we operate
Our working principles.
Intelligence first
Every decision is grounded in data. We build systems that surface insight before you need to ask.
Speed over perfection
Music moves fast. We ship, learn, and iterate — not plan for six months.
Founder-aligned
We operate as an extension of your team, not an external vendor. Our incentives match yours.
Long-term thinking
Catalogue value compounds. We build for the asset, not just the campaign.
Today's conversation
What we want to understand.
Use this section to guide the conversation. Select priorities at the bottom and we'll send you a summary of what we discussed.
01
What does success look like for AEI in 12 months?
Not vague growth — a specific picture. Revenue target, team size, catalogue value, key milestones.
02
Which revenue streams are underperforming relative to the catalogue?
Where is the biggest gap between what the catalogue should be generating and what it actually generates today?
03
What does the current data and intelligence setup look like?
What systems exist? What's tracked? What decisions are currently made without good data?
04
Where is founder time going that it shouldn't be?
What operational work is consuming creative and strategic bandwidth? What would you stop doing tomorrow if you could?
05
What's worked before — and what hasn't?
Any past campaigns, partnerships, or initiatives that moved the needle. Any that didn't, and why.
06
What would make this engagement clearly worth it?
The specific outcome — financial, operational, or strategic — that would make you say yes, this was the right call.
Capture your priorities
What matters most to AEI right now?
Select everything that applies. We'll use this to shape what we focus on first.
Ready to move
Three steps to getting started.
01
Book a call
Confirm needs and priorities we can build and measure together — this is us, now. We'll use today's conversation to align on what success looks like for AEI, what's already working, and where we can move the needle fastest.
02
Agree terms
Once we're aligned on scope and commercial terms, we'll issue a short engagement letter and schedule onboarding.
03
Begin Phase 00
We kick off with the discovery and audit — going deep on the catalogue, data, and market to build a fully informed strategy.
Let's build this together.
The intelligence to turn your catalogue into a compounding asset exists. We're ready to build it.