Catalog

What Catalog does

Catalog Records Inc. was a Brooklyn-based private company founded in 2021 that operated catalog.works, a direct-to-fan digital music distribution and sales platform aimed at independent musicians and small independent record labels. The platform's core technology was a self-serve web application that enabled artists to upload music, sell digital downloads, and stream releases to supporters while retaining 100% of download revenue, with the company taking 0% commission — a structural break from incumbent marketplaces charging 15-30%. Platform features included automatic revenue splitting among collaborators at point of sale, fan email capture for direct artist-to-supporter communication, private demo sharing with scheduled and published release controls, and a referral rewards system that paid fans a percentage cut when their referrals generated sales. Distribution was exclusively direct through the catalog.works storefront with no intermediary resellers, and the company supplemented the marketplace with a companion editorial publication called Liner Notes (notes.catalog.works) that featured interviews and essays on independent music culture as a community and discovery layer.

Catalog's business model was freemium on both sides: artists signed up for free standard accounts, and select independent labels were onboarded with lifetime free accounts. The company took no transaction fees, meaning monetization depended on volume and community goodwill rather than per-sale economics. Go-to-market was product-led growth combined with community-led content marketing through Liner Notes, Instagram, X, and word-of-mouth referral mechanics. Customer segments were primarily solo independent artists and small boutique labels (including Simsara Music, pi pi pi, Motion Ward, Sure Thing, SLINK, Fast At Work, and several solo artists such as Low Leaf, denis biblioni, and Sandy Chamoun), with music collectors and fans as a secondary persona. The company raised a 2021 seed round from Acequia Capital and Inflection with no disclosed dollar amount and remained a 1-10 employee operation throughout its life. As of 2025, the platform has ceased operations and displays a shutdown announcement at fin.catalog.works.

Name

Catalog

Legal name

Catalog Records Inc.

Website

https://catalog.works

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Catalog was a Brooklyn-based direct-to-fan digital music platform that let independent artists and small labels sell downloads and stream releases while keeping 100% of revenue with no platform fees, supplemented by the Liner Notes editorial publication. The platform ceased operations in 2025.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Independent Music Distribution

NAICS

Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, Book, and Miscellaneous Retailers (459)

SIC

Retail-Record & Prerecorded Tape Stores (5735)

akta.pro primary industry

Recorded Music Retail & D2C Merch Bundles (MPAIAAAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Master Rights Ownership & Catalog Management (MPAIAAAB)

Keywords

• Direct-to-fan music
• Independent music distribution
• Digital music sales
• Music marketplace platform
• Artist revenue splits

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Digital Download Sales: Platform takes 0% commission on digital download sales, allowing artists to keep 100% of revenue. This commission-free model differentiates Catalog from traditional marketplaces.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Catalog is a web-based direct-to-fan music distribution and sales platform where independent artists and labels upload, stream, and sell digital music downloads while retaining 100% of revenue with no marketplace fees. The platform provides automatic revenue splitting with collaborators, fan email collection, referral rewards, and flexible release controls (private, scheduled, published). Companion editorial publication Liner Notes covers independent music and artists.

Product overview

Catalog operates as a unified direct-to-fan music platform with two primary offerings: the core Catalog platform for music sharing, sales, and distribution (enabling artists to keep 100% of earnings with no fees, share releases privately or publicly, and split revenue with collaborators), and Liner Notes, an editorial music blogging companion. The platform also runs a label onboarding program offering lifetime free accounts for select labels. There are no modular add-ons or separate tiers—the platform's features (referral rewards, supporter email collection, streaming for supporters) are built into the single product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Liner Notes: Music journalism editorial arm of Catalog, featuring interviews and essays about independent music artists and labels.

Products and services

• Catalog

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• TuneCore: TuneCore distributes independent music to Spotify, Apple Music, and other DSPs for a per-release or subscription fee. It addresses the same pain point of artist-owned distribution and revenue retention that Catalog targeted.
• DistroKid: DistroKid is a self-serve music distribution service enabling independent artists to upload and distribute to major streaming platforms. It competes for the same independent musician customer base with a low flat-fee subscription model.
• AWAL: AWAL offers independent artists distribution, marketing, and royalty collection services to major streaming platforms. It serves the same indie-label and artist customer base seeking alternatives to traditional label deals.
• CD Baby: CD Baby is one of the original independent music distribution services, enabling artists to sell downloads and stream on major platforms. It competes for the same DIY indie musician segment.
• Bandcamp: Bandcamp is the dominant direct-to-fan music platform for independent artists, allowing downloads, streaming, and merchandise sales. It is the closest analogue to Catalog's D2C music marketplace model with a similar indie-first ethos and fan-ownership philosophy.

Emerging players

• Audius: Audius is a decentralized music streaming platform that similarly emerged from the Web3 music cycle. It targets independent artists with artist-controlled distribution and token-based incentives, making it a close category peer that survived the same market shakeout.
• Amuse: Amuse is a mobile-first distribution platform for independent artists offering free and paid tiers. It targets the same product-led, self-serve onboarding approach that Catalog used for artist acquisition.
• UnitedMasters: UnitedMasters provides independent artists distribution to streaming platforms plus brand partnership and monetization opportunities. It targets a similar indie artist segment with a more developed revenue-sharing and services model.
• Stem: Stem provides distribution and transparent royalty splitting for independent artists and labels. Its automatic revenue split functionality directly parallels Catalog's collaboration payment feature.

Broad incumbents

• SoundCloud: SoundCloud is a broad audio platform widely used by independent musicians for hosting, streaming, and fan engagement. It overlaps with Catalog's discovery and direct-upload model but operates at significantly larger scale with a freemium/Pro tier revenue model.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/catalogworks
• Instagraminstagram.com/catalogworks
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/catalogworks

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Catalog