In today’s music business, the race to acquire and manage legacy catalogs has been defined by high-stakes valuation and the promise of perpetual returns. We have seen billions of dollars deployed on the basis of a seemingly inherent and enduring power of iconic IP. Yet, from a strategic and operational perspective, and the fact that these assets never live in a vacuum, there is a glaring inefficiency. While Digital Service Providers (DSPs) like Spotify and Apple Music are optimized for audio consumption, the industry’s most dynamic, high-value platform — YouTube — remains consistently and grossly underutilized.

For years, the industry viewed YouTube as merely a video repository, which has proved to be a fundamental and egregiously costly error. YouTube is the world’s second-largest search engine and a powerhouse DSP in its own right — a narrative Lyor Cohen emphasized in his “$8 Billion Letter.” We view the platform through a different lens: It is the ultimate ecosystem for brand preservation and revenue generation.

However, for many legacy artists, this ecosystem is in disarray. Search for a legend, and you are often met with a fragmented reality: pixelated bootlegs, unofficial uploads outranking official channels, and a visual identity that feels frozen in a bygone era. This neglect dilutes the brand and leaves significant revenue on the table.

To correct this, we operate on a specific methodology we call the Brand & Revenue Blueprint, which we have successfully deployed for icons including Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Linda Ronstadt and others. It relies on three core pillars.

Reclaiming the Brand Narrative

The first step in modernizing a legacy brand is winning the battle for attention. In many instances, user-generated content (UGC) indexes higher than official artist channels simply due to neglect. When an official channel suffers from infrequent uploads, poor metadata or low-resolution assets, the algorithm — and the fans — drift elsewhere.

This issue must be approached with the precision of a media company, including by upscaling archival footage to meet modern HD standards, redesigning thumbnails to compete in a crowded feed and rigorously correcting metadata. This is not just digital housekeeping; it is brand elevation. By reintroducing tentpole content with a polished, authoritative presentation, you ensure that the official channel dominates search results. We are effectively telling the algorithm that the artist is active, relevant and the definitive source of their own history.

Protecting Rights & Brand Integrity

Once the official channel is established as the hub, the vast ecosystem surrounding it must be addressed. YouTube’s claiming capabilities are robust, yet often misunderstood or passively managed.

For legacy artists, the volume of UGC uploaded by fans over the last two decades is immense. Many rights holders view this as a nuisance, but it should instead be viewed as a revenue stream and branding opportunity, with an emphasis on capturing revenue from the “long tail” of content that many labels and estates miss.

However, this requires a nuanced, operational hand; YouTube content optimization companies must act as a neutral extension and partner to artists’ teams, labels and distributors, policing brand integrity without alienating the fan base. This means aggressively managing bootlegs and unauthorized full albums, and, increasingly, monitoring the rise of AI-manipulated uploads that threaten the authenticity of the artistry — in essence, protecting the IP while monetizing the fandom.

Extending Lifetime Value: Repackage for the Modern Fan

Finally, nostalgic search habits must be converted into recurring consumption. It is not enough to simply upload a music video from 1985. You have to speak the language of 2026.

This involves reimagining existing IP into new media formats, including utilizing YouTube Shorts to capture younger audiences with bite-sized, viral-ready moments; deploying 24/7 themed live streams to drive “lean-back” consumption, turning the channel into an always-on broadcast station; and creating visualizers that give audio-only tracks a visual footprint.

This active content strategy revitalizes the brand footprint. It creates a multi-hyphenate ecosystem where the artist is not just a musician, but a content creator, a broadcaster and a visual storyteller.

George Karalexis is co-founder/CEO of Ten2 Media. His expertise as a media executive, strategic advisor, and serial entrepreneur spans 15-plus years across multi-sector leadership, with a focus on music, marketing strategy and tactical team building. Donna Budica is co-founder/COO of Ten2 Media. With a degree in finance from The Wharton School and an MBA from USC Marshall, she leads corporate strategy and operations at Ten2 and its subsidiaries.