At a Glance
- Tasks: Draft and negotiate music licensing agreements for TikTok and CapCut, supporting the Music Business Development team.
- Company: Join ByteDance's London team, a leader in digital content and music rights management.
- Benefits: Work in a fast-paced environment with opportunities for cross-time-zone collaboration.
- Other info: The role is based in London, focusing on UK and EU music rights.
- Why this job: Be part of a dynamic team shaping music licensing strategies across innovative platforms.
- Qualifications: Qualified lawyer with significant experience in music rights and digital service agreements.
The predicted salary is between 60000 - 80000 £ per year.
About the Team
ByteDance is looking for a transactional attorney with multiple years of experience drafting and negotiating digital music licenses, artist/label distribution/service agreements, and other music rights-related agreements to join its team of music lawyers in London. The role will support ByteDance’s Music Business Development team’s efforts to execute the company’s music licensing strategy across TikTok, CapCut, and other ByteDance-owned digital properties, including SoundOn, a direct digital distribution platform. The role is based in London.
Responsibilities
- Draft and negotiate blanket/full catalogue licence agreements with record labels, aggregators, music publishers, and collecting societies based in the UK & EU, supporting ByteDance products and services, including TikTok and CapCut.
- Draft, negotiate and provide guidance regarding licence agreements with independent artists, record label distribution partnerships, and artist/label services agreements for SoundOn.
- Work cross‑functionally with key internal stakeholders and provide legal guidance concerning potential music rights implications of various new product/service initiatives and commercial partnerships.
- Work cross‑functionally with ByteDance product and business teams—including Ad Sales, Monetisation, Marketing, Strategic Partnerships, Artist and Label Relations, User Growth and other relevant teams—to clear rights for marketing, promotion, and music performance streaming events, including synchronization agreements for sound recordings and musical compositions, and artist performance agreements.
Qualifications
Minimum Qualifications
- Qualified lawyer in the UK or an EU jurisdiction.
- Significant experience drafting, reviewing, and negotiating talent/artist, music rights, and content/platform‑related agreements, including direct experience with licensing agreements for or with digital service providers, media companies, technology companies, music services, UGC platforms, or music rightsholders.
- Experience gained at a leading law firm, music rightsholder, UGC platform, digital platform, media company, or music service.
- Strong analytical, communication, drafting, and negotiation skills, with the ability to assess and clearly communicate legal and business risks, trade‑offs, and recommended solutions.
- Pragmatic, business‑oriented judgment and a strategic, risk‑based approach to problem‑solving in ambiguous or evolving situations.
- Ability to manage multiple matters simultaneously, prioritise effectively, and work independently and cross‑functionally in a fast‑paced environment.
- Willingness to support cross‑time‑zone collaboration, including meetings outside normal business hours when needed.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience advising on digital music licensing and related commercial, product, and regulatory issues.
- In‑house experience at a technology platform, media, entertainment, or music company.
- Familiarity with legal issues relating to music rights, artist and talent matters, content distribution, user‑generated content, and platform operations.
- Experience structuring and negotiating complex, cross‑border, or high‑value commercial transactions.
- Experience partnering with stakeholders across multiple jurisdictions and time zones.
Music Counsel, EMEA in London employer: ByteDance
ByteDance, located in London, offers a vibrant work culture with a focus on innovation in digital music. Employees benefit from cross-functional collaboration and the chance to influence major platforms like TikTok and CapCut. The team is dedicated to navigating complex music rights issues in a rapidly evolving industry.
