How Michelle Zalabak Found Her Dream Career in Music and Finance

When a major label decides whether to acquire an artist's catalog, someone has to put a number on it. That’s where Michelle Zalabak BM ’10 comes in. As a deal analysis manager at Warner Music Group (WMG), Zalabak helps determine the value of artist catalogs—"all the music that you and your parents grew up listening to"—that the entertainment conglomerate is considering purchasing.

"What that entails is looking at historical earnings, projecting future earnings based on what we believe the growth rates will be, and using that information to help determine the value of the catalog that we are purchasing," she explained.

It's a role that sits squarely at the intersection of music and finance, two passions Zalabak didn't always know she could combine.

Zalabak grew up “surrounded by the entertainment industry” in Glendale, California, and was drawn to both music and math “due to the amazing teachers that I had.”

At Berklee, where she majored in professional music, it was her electives that sent her down the right path. Among them were finance courses with Linda Gorham. “I took her classes thinking that I should learn about investing if I ever wanted to invest in the stock market. After that, I couldn’t get enough of finance!” she said. "It just sent me down a rabbit hole.”

Everyone I know that has been successful in this industry has had to carve their own path and think out-of-the-box.

— Michelle Zalabak BM ’10

Music business courses with John Kellogg heavily influenced how she teaches at UCLA today—she lectures at the Herb Alpert School of Music—and Advanced Legal Issues and Contract Negotiation with Jay Fialkov informed how she approaches the deals that come across her desk at WMG.

“In that class, we had to represent different sides of the negotiation,” Zalabak explained. She favored the artist’s side “to force myself out of my comfort zone, since I knew that I wanted to work for a label.” That perspective informs her approach to deal negotiations: “How can we do right by the artist?”

After graduating, Zalabak worked outside the music industry for a decade, including a stint with Berklee City Music in Los Angeles, before pursuing an advanced degree at Loyola Marymount University. “Even when I was getting my MBA, I knew that I wanted to find a way to combine finance and the music industry but wasn’t quite sure how,” she said.

The answer came through a post-graduate internship at Warner Chappell, a division of WMG—and she’s been there since.

How Music Catalog Deals Are Valued

Michelle Zalabak evaluates deals by asking these key questions:

1. How has this catalog performed historically? “Strong past performance could lead to strong future performance.”
2. How do we think this catalog will perform in the future? “Do we think we can market this effectively, get sync placements, and expand their audience? Are we the right label for this?”
3. Are there any roadblocks? “Uncleared samples or a band member who is unwilling to compromise on a deal point are the kinds of things that can kill a deal.”
4. What type of deal are they looking for? “A joint venture, pressing and distribution, or a royalty deal? These deal structures can be combined in different ways.”
5. How much are they looking to get? “Sometimes you have to do a reality check when the artist is asking for $10 million on a catalog that is barely worth $2 million.”

Outside of WMG and UCLA, Zalabak sits on the advisory board of We Make Noise, a nonprofit founded by fellow alum Erin Barra BM ’06, where she continues supporting underserved youth and advancing gender equity through music.

Her winding career through the music industry is proof of her own advice. “There is no traditional path to success,” Zalabak said. “Everyone I know that has been successful in this industry has had to carve their own path and think out-of-the-box. Trust yourself: You know your talents and goals better than anyone.”

Learn more about Michelle Zalabak.