Head of Legal – UK, NE, ANZ in London

Company Description

Believe is a global artist development company. We empower local artists, labels and publishers to grow their audiences at each stage of their careers with expertise, respect, fairness and transparency. Operating in 50+ countries, with more than 2,000 employees, Believe offers a full range of services including audience development, publishing, marketing and distribution, with a tailor-made approach to fit any artist, label or publisher. Believe champions independence and innovation through a unique model that combines local expertise with a global tech platform, delivering exclusive solutions for artists to promote and monetize their music thanks to strategic partnerships with leading global digital service providers. With a leading portfolio of brands that includes Nuclear Blast, naïve, TuneCore, Groove Attack, Sentric, AllPoints and Byond, Believe artists generated more than 800 billion streams worldwide in 2024 across all genres, and were recognized with more than 70 leading industry awards. Believe is a simplified joint-stock company under French law.

Job Description

As Head of Legal – UK, NE & ANZ, you will serve as the senior legal lead for the regional business of a music company operating across digital and physical distribution, artist services, and sync licensing. This is a standalone, high-impact role with full responsibility for all legal, regulatory, contentious and risk matters across the UK, Northern Europe and Australia & New Zealand, requiring strategic oversight, commercial acumen, and hands-on operational execution. You will act as the principal legal advisor to the regional business while ensuring alignment with Group legal strategy and frameworks in a complex, international matrix organisation.

The role requires autonomy, sound judgement, and the ability to drive matters forward efficiently across multiple internal stakeholders and approval layers. The role reports directly to the Managing Director Operations, with a functional dotted line to the Group Chief Legal Officer. You will have clear escalation protocols to Group Legal for material disputes, regulatory investigations, precedent-setting matters. You will operate within defined delegated authority thresholds for contractual approvals and dispute resolution, with mandatory escalation to Group Legal for matters exceeding agreed financial, precedent or regulatory risk thresholds.

Type of Person We Are Looking For

We are seeking a commercially astute, highly autonomous legal leader who thrives in a complex and fast-moving international environment. The successful candidate will demonstrate:

• A proactive, solutions-driven mindset — someone who identifies paths forward rather than obstacles
• The ability to work with minimal supervision, taking full ownership of matters from instruction to completion
• A “can do” attitude with a strong problem-solving capability combined with sound commercial judgement
• Confidence in navigating a sophisticated, multi-layered organisation and securing alignment across functions
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Very strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to build trust and credibility at all levels across sales teams, senior leadership, operational teams, and Group stakeholders
• Resilience and composure when managing competing priorities in a fast paced, high pressured environment
• Deep commercial fluency in the music ecosystem; someone who understands artist/manager dynamics, maintains strong credibility with external music lawyers, and approaches legal frameworks as a tool to win and secure competitive deals.

Key Responsibilities

Commercial:

• Serve as the primary legal advisor for the region across music distribution (digital and physical), artist services, and sync/licensing activities.
• Lead the drafting, review, negotiation, and structuring of agreements including:
• Artist distribution agreements (digital and physical)
• Label services agreements
• Artist services and revenue-share arrangements (for the UK Business and our Joint Ventures)
• Sync licensing agreements (film, TV, advertising, gaming, digital platforms)
• Content exploitation and platform agreements
• Marketing, branding, merchandising, and promotional partnerships
• Advise on copyright, neighbouring rights, publishing, royalty structures, and rights ownership issues.
• Oversight of copyright enforcement strategy across the region, including digital infringement matters, takedown processes and coordination with Group anti-piracy functions.
• Ensure contractual frameworks are commercially robust, operationally workable, and compliant with Group standards.
• Partner closely with A&R, Sales, and Business Development to proactively structure competitive, forward-thinking deals to help attract high-profile talent and high-value label partners.

Governance, Risk & Compliance

• Act as the sole lead for the Regional legal function, with full ownership of legal risk management.
• Implement and adapt Group-level legal guidelines, templates, and approval processes to the UK legal and regulatory framework.
• Work closely with the Group’s Contract Administration team, navigating multi-layered approval workflows and ensuring contracts progress efficiently through internal governance channels.
• Operate effectively within a complex matrix structure, understanding how to secure approvals and drive outcomes across multiple stakeholders.
• Advise on contractual breaches, disputes, and pre-litigation matters, managing external counsel where required.
• Proactively partner with department heads to anticipate and mitigate legal exposure.

M&A/Growth

• Support and lead legal aspects of any local M&A activity, joint ventures, acquisitions, strategic investments in coordination with Group Legal and executive stakeholders.
• Conduct legal due diligence, support transaction structuring, manage transaction documentation, and assist with post-acquisition integration from a legal perspective.
• Contribute to broader regional growth strategies, identifying legal pathways for catalog acquisitions, strategic joint ventures, and new business models that expand the company’s market share across the UK, NE, and ANZ.

Disputes & Litigation

• Full ownership of all pre-litigation, litigation, arbitration, regulatory investigations and enforcement matters across the region.
• Development and execution of dispute resolution strategy, including early case assessment and settlement frameworks.
• Supervision and management of external counsel, including budget oversight and performance management.
• Oversight of contractual enforcement actions and defence of claims.
• Strategic advice to senior leadership on litigation, financial and reputational risk exposure.
• Reporting of material disputes and investigations to Group Legal and Executive stakeholders in line with escalation protocols.

Cross-Functional & International Collaboration

• Collaborate closely with local teams (Sales, A&R, Operations, Finance) to improve contractual processes while balancing commercial objectives and risk management.
• Liaise regularly with the Group Legal Department on strategic matters, escalations, global templates, and international initiatives.
• Maintain and leverage a strong network of relationships with music law firms, advisors and relevant industry bodies. Actively engage with the legal community to stay abreast of industry developments and trends, while representing Believe as a preferred partner for new artist and label signings, talent referrals, and strategic opportunities.

Qualifications

Education

• Fully qualified lawyer with a comprehensive academic background in Law

Professional Experience

• Significant experience in senior legal roles (Head of Legal, Legal Director, or Senior Legal Counsel) within an international, matrix organisation.
• Strong experience within the music, entertainment, media, or digital content industry
• Demonstrated Experience In:
• Leading a legal function and operating independently
• Negotiating complex music distribution, artist, licensing, or content agreements
• Managing legal risk within a rights-driven business model
• Supporting corporate transactions and M&A processes

Assessment Criteria & Role Suitability

The following benchmarks will be used to assess suitability for this role as part of the consultation and interview process. The candidate will be expected to demonstrate how their current experience as a Business Affairs Solicitor maps to these senior-level requirements:

• Commercial Deal Structuring - Ability to structure and negotiate complex agreements (distribution, label services, revenue-share, sync, platforms). Focus on leading negotiations and designing solutions rather than just "reviewing." Demonstrating a sharp commercial instinct for closing deals, understanding how to balance legal risk with the company’s need to win high-value signings in a highly competitive market.
• Rights & Copyright Expertise - Deep knowledge of master rights, neighbouring rights, publishing, and royalties. Experience with distribution models (digital/physical), CMOs (PRS/PPL), and cross-border exploitation.
• Commercial Problem Solving - Translating legal constraints into workable business outcomes. Ability to restructure deals under pressure while maintaining risk protection; acting as an "enabler" rather than a "blocker."
• Dispute & Risk Ownership - Managing pre-litigation/litigation strategy with head office. Oversight of external counsel and legal budgets. Assessing legal, financial, and reputational risk for senior leadership.
• Matrix Leadership & Governance - Navigating an international matrix; balancing regional priorities with Group governance. Experience with global approval frameworks, escalation protocols, and central policy alignment.
• Stakeholder Influence - Influencing senior stakeholders (A&R, Sales, HQ) and negotiating risk trade-offs. Maintaining relationships when commercial objectives and legal risks diverge.
• Operational Autonomy - Operating as a sole legal lead across multiple jurisdictions. Prioritizing high-volume, time-sensitive matters and delivering practical guidance in fast-moving environments.
• Regulatory & Industry Awareness - Knowledge of music/digital regulations: copyright enforcement, data protection, CMO frameworks, and consumer/competition law across relevant jurisdictions.

Additional Information

Working at Believe means having individual and collective impact in a fast-growing company! At all stages of their careers, Believers are an important part of what we are doing: shaping the future of the music industry. We need teams that truly reflect the diversity of our clients: our international presence is an inspiring and enriching work environment for each one of us, with daily opportunities to connect with our colleagues all over the world. We have two hearts at Believe - our People and our Artists. We believe in THE POWER OF OUR PEOPLE, who grow every day to develop their potential… We aim to provide our Believers with the best environment to thrive.

ROCK THE JOB

• Two remote working days per week
• Private health care
• Pension plan with matched contribution up to 10%
• 25 days annual leave (with 1 day for your birthday, 1 moving house day, up to 3 compassionate leave days)
• Life assurance and income protection
• Access to Eutelmed, a digital mental health and well-being platform offering sessions with experienced psychologists
• Tailor-made training and coaching programs
• 40% discount on gym membership and free sport classes

SING IN HARMONY

• Ambassador program: an employee volunteering initiative dedicated to all Believers interested in having a positive impact on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI), wellbeing and the planet.

We are committed to having a workforce that is representative of the community it serves at all levels of the organisation. We, therefore, welcome applications from all backgrounds and all sections of the community regardless of age, disability, gender, race, religion and sexual orientation.