Creative & production services

Books and taxes for audio production studios.

A jingle project for a regional car dealer, session musicians paid by the hour, a sync licensing fee for a client's ad, and a new mic preamp for the control room. Gus sorts all of it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.

Book a call What we handle
  • From $197 a month
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever
AprilExample month
$7,400
what you made

April came in at $7,400. The Redwood Auto jingle needed a four-piece session band for one afternoon, so I kept those musician payments in their own line instead of your regular studio overhead.

  • Redwood Auto jingle projectJingle and production projects
  • Sync license, client adSync licensing income
  • Session musicians, 4 playersSession musician fees
  • Neumann preampStudio equipment
  • Pro Tools subscriptionSoftware
Money in$16,800
Money out$9,400
Set aside for taxes$1,700
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Audio production books go wrong at the session player and the sync fee.

A generalist sees a studio with a software bill. Your business hires session musicians by the hour or the project, earns sync licensing fees when a track lands in someone else's ad or video, and runs on studio gear that is your entire production line. When the books blend those, you cannot see what a project actually costs to make.

  1. 1

    Session musicians look like a single studio expense

    A four-piece band brought in for one afternoon session gets paid in cash or a handful of small transfers, which can disappear into a general studio expense line instead of showing up as real per-project labor cost.

    What we doKeeps session musician fees in their own line and tracks what you have paid each player toward the 1099 threshold.
  2. 2

    A sync licensing fee looks like a jingle project fee

    Getting paid because a piece of music you produced landed in a client's ad or video is a different kind of income than being hired to produce something new, and treating them the same hides how much of your income comes from music already made.

    What we doKeeps sync licensing income in its own line so you can see what past work keeps earning versus new production work.
  3. 3

    A control room upgrade gets filed as a supply

    A quality preamp, monitors, or an outboard compressor can cost thousands, and filed as a supply purchase it wrecks the month and misses the equipment write-off.

    What we doFlags preamp and outboard gear purchases the day they show up, logs them as equipment, and gets the accountant's call on how to write them off.
  4. 4

    Mixing and mastering get billed the same as full production

    A quick mixing or mastering pass on a client's own recording is a different scope and cost than producing a jingle from scratch, but both can get billed the same flat rate if the invoice does not separate them.

    What we doKeeps mixing and mastering income separate from full production work so you can see which service actually pays better per hour.
  5. 5

    Studio rental to outside clients gets mixed with your own work

    Renting out studio time to another producer or band is real income tied to the space, not to your own creative work, and mixing the two hides what your studio itself is worth.

    What we doKeeps studio rental income in its own line, separate from your own production and jingle income.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for an audio production studio.

Set up once for how you get paid and what you spend. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.

Money in

  • Jingle and production projectsFull production work, billed per project.
  • Mixing and mastering feesWork done on a client's own existing recordings.
  • Sync licensing incomePayments for past work used in ads, film, or video.
  • Studio rental incomeTime rented out to other producers or bands.

Money out

  • Session musician feesPlayers paid by the hour or the project for a specific session.
  • Studio equipmentPreamps, monitors, and outboard gear, logged so they get written off right.
  • SoftwarePro Tools, plugins, and sample libraries.
  • Room and gear maintenanceAcoustic treatment, cabling, and equipment repair.
  • Sync licensing site feesFees paid to a licensing site or agent for placing tracks.

What we watch for you

  • Sync income

    What past work keeps earning through licensing, separate from new production.

  • Musician spend

    What you pay session players against total income, tracked toward 1099 season.

  • Project margin

    What a jingle or production project brought in against musician and gear costs.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe across production and sync income, tracked monthly so April holds no surprise.

Ask Gus

Things audio production studio owners ask Gus.

Text him like you would text anybody. He answers in plain English, and when a question is above his pay grade, an accountant looks and gets back to you.

I paid four session musicians in cash for one afternoon. How do I track that?

Keep whatever record you have, even a simple note of names and amounts. I book it as session musician fees and track each player toward the 1099 threshold for the year.

A track I produced two years ago just landed in a national ad. Is that a new sale?

I book it as sync licensing income, kept separate from new production work, so you can see what your past work keeps earning on its own.

Just bought a $2,200 preamp for the control room. Does that all come off this year?

Usually it can. I logged it as equipment, not supplies, and flagged it so the accountant makes the call with your whole year in view.

The tax side

The tax side of an audio production studio.

Most of what goes wrong here is session musicians paid off the books and gear filed as supplies.

What your return has to get right

Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.

  • Session musician 1099sAny player not on payroll paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps the running total all year, even for cash payments you report to him.
  • Studio gear as a deductionBusiness equipment can usually be written off the year you buy it, with 100 percent bonus depreciation for property acquired after January 19, 2025, covering most preamps and outboard gear.
  • The pass-through deductionMost owner-operated audio studios can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income when production and sync income is tracked cleanly all year.
  • Self-employment tax for solo producersA one-person studio pays 15.3 percent self-employment tax on top of income tax, so the set-aside has to cover both, even when session musicians are paid in cash.

Deductions audio production and jingle studios miss

Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.

  • Preamps and outboard gear
  • Studio monitors and headphones
  • Pro Tools and plugin licenses
  • Sample and loop libraries
  • Session musician fees
  • Acoustic treatment
  • Instrument maintenance and repair
  • Sync licensing site fees
  • Continuing education courses
  • Business insurance
  • Portfolio and demo hosting
  • Cabling and studio supplies

General information about 2026 federal rules, not advice for your business. Your accountant looks at your actual numbers before anything gets filed.

All year, not just April

An audio production studio's year, kept every month.

Projects and licensing income both land on no fixed schedule. Your books stay current no matter the mix, and the return follows. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.

  1. January

    Plan the year

    Last year's return gets started, the musician 1099 list is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.

  2. April

    Filed. Done.

    Your return is filed and signed, session musicians and sync licensing all accounted for. The set-aside covered it since January, so the bill is not a surprise.

  3. July

    Halfway check

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and how sync licensing income has moved since January.

  4. October

    Before year end

    Gus looks at studio gear worth buying before December and flags any renewal or licensing site fees piling up.

What you get

Starts at$197a month

What you pay depends on what your business needs, and it does not move after that, busy season or slow. No hourly bills, no surprise invoices, no setup fee.

Book a call
  • Monthly bookkeeping

    Every transaction sorted into categories set up for audio production and jingle studios. You never categorize a thing.

  • An accountant checks every transaction

    Real review, every month, before your books close. Not a spot check.

  • Your business tax return, filed

    Prepared, reviewed, and signed by that same accountant every year.

  • The monthly number

    What you made, what you spent, what to set aside for taxes.

  • Your own bookkeeper

    A real person assigned to your business, in the app whenever you need them. No hold music.

  • On your books all year

    Every month, not just in April. Your team speaks up whenever something is worth your attention.

  • Cancel any time

    No contract. No cancellation call. Your books are yours.

Straight answers

Questions audio production studio owners ask first.

I pay session musicians in cash most of the time. Can Gus still track that for taxes?

Yes. Keep a simple record of who you paid and how much, and Gus tracks each player's total across the year so the 1099 list is accurate by January 31.

Does sync licensing income get taxed differently than production project income?

It is still ordinary business income either way. Gus keeps it in its own line so you can see how much of your income comes from past work versus new projects.

Do I write off a new preamp all at once?

Often you can. Preamps and outboard gear can usually be deducted in the year you buy them, and sometimes spreading the cost out is the better call. Gus flags the purchase and the accountant decides with your whole year in view.

I rent out my studio to other producers sometimes. Does that count as separate income?

Yes, Gus keeps studio rental income in its own line, separate from your own production and jingle work, so you can see what the space itself is worth.

My books are a year behind. Is that a problem?

No. Send whatever session logs and bank statements you have. Gus sorts musician payments and sync income into the right lines within a week.

Is a real accountant checking my books?

Yes. You get your own bookkeeper, Gus does the first pass on every transaction, and an accountant checks every one before your month closes. That same accountant prepares, signs, and files your business return. Goatkeeper is not a CPA firm, and we never pretend a person looked when they did not.

What does it cost, and can I cancel?

It starts at $197 a month, depending on what your business needs. No setup fee, no hourly bills, no contract. Cancel any time from the app, and your books go with you.

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Book a call

Pick a time. That's the whole signup.

Fifteen minutes with a real person on our team. They look at where your books are, tell you straight what it takes to get caught up, and get you set up on the spot if it fits.

  • $197 a month to start
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever