Metabrainz Foundation INC EIN 20-1644586 Form 990 (PDF) Claim this org

Metabrainz Foundation INC

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Provides open access to unbiased new music information and datasets. For fiscal year 2025 it reported $524K in revenue, $478K in expenses, and $411K in net assets.Pt I

Founded
2004
Type
Public charity (501(c)(3)) · Education
Location
Covina, CA
Website
metabrainz.org
Filings
6 on file (2020–2025)
Revenue
$524KFY2025
Expenses
$478K
Net assets
$411K
People
8
Filings
6
Updates
0
More identity details & actions ⌄
EIN  20-1644586 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Covina, CA Founded 2004
Form 990 (PDF)
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Size
$100K–1M
What they do
Provides open access to unbiased new music information and datasets.
Leadership
Robert Kaye · President/Exec Director · $101K
Money in and out
$524K revenue, $478K expenses
Bottom line
84% program efficiency
Where the money goes · FY2025
Total revenue
$524K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$478K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$411K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $46K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.84 Management & general $0.16
Program efficiency
84%
of spending reaches programs-0.1% vs prior filing year
Operating runway
10.3mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate▲ +23% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
+9%
revenue over expenses, this year▲ +182% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2025 · Form 990
Revenue
$524K
FY2025▲ +11%
Expenses
$478K
FY2025▼ -9%
Total assets
$411K
FY2025▲ +13%
Total liabilities
$0
FY2025
Total revenue
$524K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$478K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$411K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$46K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$411K
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B84%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 38
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 46

Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CMetabrainz Foundation INC
EINHdr · item D20-1644586
Principal addressHdr · item CCovina, CA
WebsiteHdr · item Jmetabrainz.org
Year of formationHdr · item L2004
State of legal domicileHdr · item MCA
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFEducation (B82)
Ruling yearIRS BMFDec 2004

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a8
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b6
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13No
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14No
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aNo
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2No

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
President/Exec Director
$100,916Pt VII · Sec A
$31,757Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Robert Kaye’s $101K as President/Exec Director is at the 84th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1612 $100K–1M education nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 2 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Robert Kaye$100,916$127,001$120,273$120,169$97,138$94,716
Nicolas Tamargo De Eguren$31,757$29,331

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

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Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

1 program service account for $401K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2025.
01

The metabrainz foundation creates and maintains open SOURCE/OPEN data projects such as musicbrainz, listenbrainz and bookbrainz. Musicbrainz is essentially the wikipedia for music, where volunteers provide the information on music from all around the world. Bookbrainzis a similar project but for print media and books.

$401Kprogram expense

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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Program service revenue$431K · 82%
Contributions & grants$74K · 14%
Other revenue$12K · 2%
Investment income$7K · 1%
Program service revenue82%$431K
Contributions & grants14%$74K
Other revenue2%$12K
Investment income1%$7K
Total revenueLn 12$524K

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.84 Management & general $0.16
Program services84%$401K
Management & general16%$77K
Total functional expensesLn 25$478K

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$411K
Total assetsLn 16$411K
Total liabilitiesLn 26$0
Total net assetsLn 32$411K
Months of cash on handcomputed10.3

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2025 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $411K · Operating expenses/yr $478K
10.3 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $401K · Total expenses $478K
84%
Management & General
Management & general $77K · Total expenses $478K
16%
Fundraising
Fundraising $0 · Total expenses $478K
0%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $0 · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $81K
Solicited contributions below reporting floor
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $74K · Total revenue $524K
14%
Government reliance
Government grants — · Total revenue $524K
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $431K · Total revenue $524K
82%
Investment reliance
Investment income $7K · Total revenue $524K
+1%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $431K · Total expenses $478K
90%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $524K · Prior year $472K
+11%
Revenue CAGR
FY2020 $389K · FY2025 $524K
+6%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $411K · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $524K · Expenses $478K
+9%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $411K
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $411K · Total assets $411K
100%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) — · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $411K
Excludes program-related investments (Pt X, ln 13)
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Robert Kaye · Reported title PRESIDENT/EXEC DIRECTOR · Highest reported compensation $101K · Total expenses $478K
21%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $133K · Total expenses $478K
28%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 84%
Overhead ratio 16%
Revenue growth 11%

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2023
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$105

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Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2025 (Latest)$524K revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2024$472K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$423K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$442K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$514K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$389K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2025IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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