Music and art franchise finance
The median brand here reports average revenue of $426,682 a unit. Percentage fees at the median brand come to 9.9% of sales. The median cost to open runs $208,630 to $475,794.
Music and art franchises at a glance
- Averan Franchise compares six music and art franchise brands, each from its own 2026 FDD.
- The cost to open a music and art franchise runs from $51,650 at Young Rembrandts to $756,100 at School of Rock.
- School of Rock reports the highest average sales of these brands, at $683,344, and Young Rembrandts the lowest, at $143,084.
- Franchise fees take 5% to 11% of sales across the six brands where Averan Franchise works out the figure.
These figures come from each brand's 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, as the brand reported them, and were read by Averan Advisors.
Find a music and art brand
This guide covers six brands, each from its own 2026 FDD. Open one, or pick two and compare them.
All 6 brands
The brands in this group
Each brand has its own page on how its locations make money, with every figure set out against the brand’s disclosure document it comes from.
- Bach to Rock Sales by months open · Program, instruction, site and marketing costs for franchised and affiliate-owned schools
- Children’s Music Academy 22 locations · No Item 19
- School of Rock Only profit and loss in the brand’s disclosure document belongs to company schools
- We Rock The Spectrum No financial performance representation
- Young Chefs Academy 30 locations · Net margin published by format
- Young Rembrandts Revenue by group · Royalty ladder flat across four fifths, then a monthly minimum triples the effective rate at the bottom
The figures, brand by brand
| Measure | Median | Brands | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average sales per unit | $426,682 | 4 of 6 | Median of each brand’s disclosed average |
| Median sales per unit | $381,934 | 4 of 6 | Median of each brand’s disclosed median |
| Initial franchise fee | $50,000 | 6 of 6 | |
| Royalty | 7.5% | 6 of 6 | Headline rate |
| Brand or advertising fund | 1.5% | 6 of 6 | |
| Fees paid to the brand | 9.9% | 6 of 6 | Royalty, brand fund and other fees paid to the brand or its affiliates, as a share of average sales |
| Cost to open, low | $208,630 | 6 of 6 | |
| Cost to open, high | $475,794 | 6 of 6 | |
| Profit margin | 24.2% | 3 of 6 | Each brand’s own profit line; definitions differ |
| Labor, share of revenue | 26.5% | 3 of 6 | |
| Building costs, share of revenue | Fewer than three disclose | 2 of 6 | |
| Unit growth over each FDD’s Item 20 period (2025, or 2023 to 2025) | 10.6% | 6 of 6 | (End − start) ÷ start |
| Customers lost over each FDD’s Item 20 period (2025, or 2023 to 2025) | 3.1% | 6 of 6 | Terminated, non-renewed, reacquired and ceased, ÷ opening units; transfers excluded |
Each figure is the median of the brands that disclose it, and the Brands column counts them.
How we calculated this
Revenue is each brand's own reported figure on its own unit basis, so the median describes the group and no single brand. Growth and customers lost are our calculations from each brand's outlet table. Where fewer than three brands disclose a figure, no benchmark is shown.
The model
The business model the top performers in music and art are running
What the top performers can do that others cannot
Five of the six brands here sell a place for a child. Rostering against demand is the constraint: wages run 26.5% of sales at the middle brand, more than any other line.
What the customer is buying
The customer buys a place held week after week. At one of them the model is different: the customer buys an outing, usually booked for a group, which asks something else of the owner. A location at the middle brand sells $426,682 a year, and the median top group sells $962,480. The offer is the same at both ends of that range, so the difference is volume.
Who the customer is, and how often they come back
This is a retention business. The money is made in the second year of a customer, not the first month, so the number that decides the year is how many stay. A median 32% of locations reach their own brand’s average, so most of the system is below the number the brand advertises, and the gap usually comes from low demand. Effort is usually not the cause. The top group sells $962,480 against $120,920 at the bottom. Trade area and site set that range before an owner takes a booking.
How the money works
Opening costs $51,650 to $756,100 across the group, and inside one brand the top of the range is typically 2.1 times the bottom. At the middle brand the cost stack runs wages 26.5%, occupancy 15.9%, cost of sales 10.0%, franchise fees 9.9% of sales. What is left runs 24.2% at the middle brand, which is $232,920 a year at the top group and $29,263 at the bottom. The percentage changes little between them; the dollars change a lot. Cash and earned revenue arrive in different periods here, so the cash forecast matters more than the profit line in any given month.
Top performers
These are the things that separate top performers in music and art
Across the music and art brands that publish both figures, the median top group of locations sells $962,480 a year and the median bottom group sells $120,920. Across these brands, a median of 32% of locations reach their own brand’s average.
Decided before you open
- Opening cost against sales.The top group sells $962,480 a year against a build that tops out at $756,100, so at the heavy end of the range a location sells $1.27 for every dollar it cost to open.
- Rent as a share of sales.Occupancy runs 9.8% of sales at School of Rock and 22.0% at Young Chefs Academy, the two brands that disclose it. Top-group locations put more sales through the same square footage, with longer earning hours, a second daypart, and a site picked for traffic.
Live operating levers
- Five of the six brands here sell a place for a child.
Business model attribute
- Service
- A place for a child, paid by the month or term
- Unit economics
- Places filled times the fee for each place
- Wages by brand.Wages run 26.5% of sales at the middle brand and 14.7% to 34.0% across the three that disclose it. The levers are scheduling against booked demand hour by hour, sales per paid hour, and keeping part of pay variable. On the top group’s $962,480 of sales, a point of wages is $9,625 a year; on the bottom group’s $120,920 it is $1,209.
- Cost of goods by brand.Products and materials take 10.0% of sales at the middle brand, 0.5% to 36.7% across the three that disclose it. The levers on this line are buying on the brand program, holding the price list instead of discounting to close, and counting waste weekly.
- Profit margin.Of the three brands that publish a profit line, the middle one keeps 24.2% of sales, from 16.0% to 24.2%. The cost lines above move by a few points between the highest-selling and lowest-selling locations while sales move by multiples. At a 24.2% margin, the top group earns $232,920 a year and the bottom group $29,263.
- Fees as a share of sales.Fees run a median 9.9% of sales across six brands, from 5.0% to 11.0%. Where a minimum applies, lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. At $962,480 the fees cost $95,430 a year; at $120,920 they cost $11,989.
Context you underwrite around
- First-year build-up.One of six filings in this group shows how a new location builds up. The others do not show it.
- Brands without sales bands.Two brands publish only an average, with no sales bands.
Operating levers
What each brand’s top performers actually work on
These are the levers each brand's filing supports. Each brand has up to five, read from its own 2026 FDD. Filter by type of business, or open a brand for the figures underneath.
6 brands
Bach to Rock
Music and art
- Wages. Wages take 26.5% of sales, against 24.2% kept at the end. The levers are staff productivity, scheduling against demand hour by hour, and the balance of base pay to commission.
- Sales depend on admissions. The doors are open whether anyone comes or not, so the owner works on how many come through in an open hour and what each spends beyond the ticket.
- Service and retail mix. Retail sales and the share of customers on higher service tiers raise revenue per hour without adding hours or rooms.
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 10.5% of sales. No minimum royalty applies, so the charge rises and falls with sales.
- Cash needed in the first year. This filing shows how a new location builds up: the month sales cover costs, and how much cash you fund before then.
Children’s Music Academy
Music and art
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 8.0% of sales. A minimum fee also applies, so lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum.
- Enrollment. The license sets the number of places. Track how many are filled, the price of each, and how long families stay.
School of Rock
Music and art
- Products and materials. Products and materials take 36.7% of sales, against 24.2% kept at the end. The levers are buying terms, price discipline and waste.
- Occupancy cost. Rent and building costs take 9.8% of sales here. The rent is fixed when the lease is signed, so this share falls only as sales per square foot rise.
- Enrollment. The license sets the number of places. Track how many are filled, the price of each, and how long families stay.
- Fees. Fees run about 11.0% of sales. No minimum royalty applies, so the charge rises and falls with sales.
We Rock The Spectrum
Music and art
- Enrollment. The license sets the number of places. Track how many are filled, the price of each, and how long families stay.
- Fees. Fees run about 5.0% of sales. No minimum royalty applies, so the charge rises and falls with sales.
Young Chefs Academy
Music and art
- Enrollment. The license sets the number of places. Track how many are filled, the price of each, and how long families stay.
- Wages. Wages take 34.0% of sales, against 16.0% kept at the end. The levers are staff productivity, scheduling against demand hour by hour, and the balance of base pay to commission.
- Occupancy cost. Rent and building costs take 22.0% of sales here. The rent is fixed when the lease is signed, so this share falls only as sales per square foot rise.
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 9.3% of sales. A minimum fee also applies, so lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum.
Young Rembrandts
Music and art
- Enrollment. The license sets the number of places. Track how many are filled, the price of each, and how long families stay.
- Gift cards. Gift cards are sold before the service is delivered, and sales peak around the holidays. A gift card is deferred revenue until it is redeemed, so cash and earned revenue arrive in different periods.
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 11.0% of sales. A minimum fee also applies, so lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum.
Music and art cost lines as a share of sales
Three of the six music and art brands in Averan Franchise disclose what their locations spend on wages, rent and space, or cost of goods. Each figure is a share of the average location's sales, from the brand's 2026 FDD. Rent and space covers rent and the other costs of the premises.
| Brand | Wages | Rent and space | Cost of goods |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bach to Rock | 26.5% | Not disclosed | 0.5% |
| School of Rock | 14.7% | 9.8% | 36.7% |
| Young Chefs Academy | 34.0% | 22.0% | 10.0% |
Common questions
How much does a music and art franchise cost to open?
Among the six music and art brands in Averan Franchise that publish it, the cost to open runs from $51,650 at Young Rembrandts to $756,100 at School of Rock, according to their 2026 FDDs.
Which music and art franchise costs the least to open?
Young Rembrandts has the lowest starting cost of the music and art brands in Averan Franchise, at $51,650 to $60,100.
Which music and art franchise has the highest average sales?
School of Rock reports the highest average sales of the music and art brands in Averan Franchise, at $683,344 in its 2026 FDD.
What do music and art franchise fees cost as a share of sales?
Across the six music and art brands where Averan Franchise works out the figure, franchise fees take 5% to 11% of sales.
Questions owners ask next
The figures above raise these, and each one is answered on its own page.
- Money arrives before the service does. How should that be booked?It explains deferred revenue and why the bank balance and the profit line disagree.
- At what level of sales does a minimum fee stop costing me more than the percentage?It works out the sales level where a minimum fee stops applying.
- How much cash do I fund before a new location covers its own costs?It builds a 13-week forecast for the months before break-even.
- How much of Item 19 can I rely on?It explains what an Item 19 financial performance representation tells you and what it leaves out.
- What should I be looking at every week?It lists the handful of numbers that move before the P&L does.
Run your own numbers.
The Franchise Numbers Check runs the same checks on your own numbers. It scores where you stand and compares you with Item 19 of your brand’s FDD. It works out what one location earns and spends, and builds a 13-week cash forecast. Checks whether you are ready to open another one. It is free and it runs in your browser.
Launch the diagnostic →What share of your revenue is staff?
We review your unit economics and cash forecast and build your reporting around wages measured against enrollment week by week, occupancy cost against the hours a room is actually used. The reporting also sets a second-location gate on cash.
Talk to AveranWhere these figures come from
Every figure here comes from the brands' 2026 FDDs and is unaudited by us. We are unaffiliated with the brands. The medians, growth and customers lost figures are our own calculations. The figures describe past performance at other businesses. They are not a projection of your results. This page is an educational summary and is not an offer to sell a franchise or financial, legal or tax advice. All trademarks belong to their owners. How Averan reads a Franchise Disclosure Document.