# beatBread vs Future Mode Deal Terms Future Mode prices like a traditional label advance. beatBread prices like a specialty funder.^[Royalty Financing Primer, Utopia for Tenwest / Future Mode, Nov 2026. Sources: beatBread offer letter (2022); Future Mode distribution agreement (Oct 2026).] | Lever | beatBread (real deal) | Future Mode (recent deal) | |---|---|---| | Advance | $28,417 | £20,000 | | Funded by | beatBread, its investors and lenders | Future Mode balance sheet | | Upfront fee | $228 + 2.8%, added to balance ($1,024) | None | | Ongoing fee | Distributor 15%, then beatBread 24% of the recouping half | 20% while recouping, 15% after | | Share that recoups | 50% (50% flows through) | 100% | | After recoupment | Artist 92%, beatBread 8% to term end | Standard 15% distribution fee | | Term | 3 years, or until recouped | 5 years or until recouped, max 7, then rolls yearly | | Buy-out | 120% of unrecouped, or formula + 4% override | 130% of unrecouped, not before month 12 | | Scope | Two named catalogue masters | Everything distributed in the term | | Legal form | Sale of future revenue. Standard form. | Distribution licence with recoupable advance. Bespoke. | ## Yield gap (my rough maths, not from the primer) Same base case: £1,000 advance, £100 a month in statements. - **Future Mode** earns 5 points above its standard fee: £5 a month for about 12.5 months, so about £62. - The average balance is about £500, so this is roughly 12% a year, before losses and costs. - **beatBread** earns £10.20 a month for about 31 months, plus about 3.6% upfront, so about £350. - On a similar average balance, this is roughly 25% a year, before losses and costs. - Future Mode's aim is "better pricing and friendlier to the artist". At 100% recoup, the artist gets nothing until the advance is repaid. This conflicts with the "friendlier" aim. > [!warning] Implication > The incremental fee alone may not cover a lender's cost of capital plus losses. The case needs one of these: > - a discount on the advance against forecast value > - distribution retention counted as return > - a higher fee ## Where Future Mode stands - **Ahead** - It is the distributor, so it controls the pipes and the statement data. - A day-one fee already exists. - Artists are already on the platform. - Splits are respected through the distribution contract. - **Not yet** - Thin history on emerging artists. - Book of about 30 artists. - No forecast-against-actual record. - Masters only. Publishing goes elsewhere. - Scale needs outside capital. ---- tags: #boat links: [[Music Royalty Financing MOC]] [[Royalty Advance Deal Mechanics]] [[Competitor Teardown - beatBread Duetti RoyFi]]