Job Description:
At Warner Music Group, we’re a global collective of music makers and music lovers, tech innovators and inspired entrepreneurs, game-changing creatives and passionate team members. Here, we know that each talent makes our collective bolder and brighter. We are guided by four core principles that underpin everything we do across all our diverse businesses:
Music is Everything: Music is our passion, and we can never get enough. Tastes, trends, and tech will change, but great artists and songwriters will always be our driving force.
Global Growth, Local Expertise: Music is a global language. Through communication and collaboration, our success can come from anywhere and translate everywhere.
Innovation and Insight: Pushing the boundaries requires the best information and the boldest imagination. We use both to create the future.
Empowered by People: Like the artists we serve and the music they make, our differences make us stronger. This is a place where every talent can belong and build a career.
We remain committed to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. We know it fosters a culture where you can truly belong, contribute, and grow. We encourage applications from people of any age, gender identity, sex or sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, religion or belief, disability, and any other protected characteristic or identity.
Consider a career at WMG and get the best of both worlds – an innovative global music company that retains the creative spirit of a nimble independent.
Job Title: Legal And Business Affairs Manager / Senior Manager, ADA
The level of this position will depend on the experience of the successful candidate.
A little bit about our team:
Our UK Legal and Business Affairs team is responsible for negotiating and drafting commercial contracts on behalf of the business, as well as providing commercial and legal support. We are seeking a qualified lawyer to provide legal and business affairs support to the distribution and label services arm of WMUK.
Your role:
The role includes providing legal advice on the full spectrum of legal issues faced by the distribution and label services business, drafting and negotiating a variety of commercial agreements that help build and maintain the current ADA roster of indie labels and artists. and providing in-house legal support and advice to the ADA team.
This is an exciting opportunity for a media and entertainment lawyer to join the ADA team at a time when the profile and opportunities for independently distributed labels and artists has never been higher. ADA gives the indie community access to an unparalleled global distribution system and a dedicated team that provides a complete spectrum of marketing, merchandising, promotion, and music licensing services.
Here you’ll get to:
- You will draft and negotiate distribution and label services agreements (including any amendments and extensions thereto).
- You will instruct finance in respect of running, amending and analysing P&Ls to ascertain commercial potential of new deals and prepare deal summaries for ADA.
- You will prepare deal memos to seek approval from the business.
- You will support ADA’s commercial team to prepare T&C’s relating to label competitions.
- You will liaise with ADA’s international affiliate teams to ensure we are exercising the full scope of our distribution / manufacture / services rights.
- You will maintain relationships with the music lawyer and indie label communities and promote ADA’s services.
About you:
- You are a qualified solicitor preferably with some pre or post-qualification experience in a music/media/rights based private practice law firm or in-house in a relevant business.
- You have a sound understanding of relevant intellectual property law.
- You are a confident negotiator across a broad spectrum of commercial contracts, a team player but also confident working with a relative degree of autonomy in respect of matters within their experience.
- You have excellent attention to detail.
- You have sound commercial acumen.
- You are proactive, have the ability to work well under pressure, and are good at prioritising workload.
- You are a clear and confident communicator, personable, and you are keen to learn and enjoy building relationships with the business and colleagues.
We’d love it if you also had:
Enthusiastic music lover.
Experience of working in an independent record label.
An existing network of contacts in music/media/rights based private practice law firms and/or the indie label/artist community.
About us:
As the home to Asylum, Atlantic, East West, Elektra, FFRR, Fueled by Ramen, Nonesuch, Parlophone, Rhino, Roadrunner, Sire, Warner Records, Warner Classics, and several other of the world’s premier recording labels, Warner Music Group champions emerging artists and global superstars alike. And our renowned publishing company, Warner Chappell Music, represents genre-spanning songwriters and producers through a catalogue of more than one million copyrights worldwide. Redefining what it means to be a music company in the 21st century, our consumer brands include trend-setters like UPROXX, Songkick, HipHopDX, and EMP. We’re the home to WMX – the next generation services division that connects artists with fans and amplifies brands in creative, immersive, and engaging ways – and Alternative Distribution Alliance (ADA) – the ground-breaking global distribution company for independent artists and labels.
Together, we are Warner Music Group: Music With Vision & Voice.
Love this job and want to apply?
Click the “Apply” link at the top of the page, or apply directly with your LinkedIn. Applying with LinkedIn will import all of the information you put in your profile, but will still allow you to upload a resume and cover letter.
Don’t be discouraged if you don’t hear from us right away. We’re taking our time to review all resumes, and to find the best people for WMG.
Thanks for your interest in working for WMG. We love it here, and think you will, too.
WMG is committed to inclusion and diversity in all aspects of our business. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and will evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, religion or belief, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, disability, pregnancy, childbirth or any other characteristic protected by law.
