Senior Manager, Legal & Business Affairs, Rhino

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 turn dreams into stardom and audiences into fans. We are guided by three core values that underpin everything we do across all our diverse businesses:

• Curiosity: We do our best work when we’re immersing ourselves in culture and breaking through barriers. Curiosity is the driving force behind creativity and ingenuity. It fuels innovation, and innovation is the key to our future.
• Collaboration: Making music and bringing it to the world is all about the power of originality amplified by teamwork. A great idea, like a great song, travels globally. We ignite passions and build connections across our diverse community of artists, songwriters, partners, and fans.
• Commitment: We pursue excellence for our team and our talent. Everything in music starts with a leap into the unknown, and we’re committed to keeping the faith, acting with integrity, and delivering on our promises.

WMG is home to a wide range of artists, musicians, and songwriters that fuel our success. That is why we are committed to creating a work environment that actively values, appreciates, and respects everyone. We encourage applications from people with a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences.

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.

A little bit about our team:

The Legal & Business Affairs department is a close-knit team of lawyers and paralegals who work closely with Warner Music UK’s frontline labels, catalogue division and distribution business to negotiate, draft and manage a wide range of agreements with artists and third parties to ensure necessary rights and clearances are in place for product releases and the other activities of our artists.

Your role:

This role is responsible for advising the Rhino catalogue team on our rights in the Warner Music UK recorded music catalogue; and for the negotiation, drafting and management of a variety of agreements with both artists and third parties relating to our catalogue.

Here you’ll get to:

• You will advise the catalogue team on the extent and nature of our rights in the catalogue (including investigating our rights and undertaking due diligence).
• You will work alongside the catalogue team to ensure all necessary rights and clearances are in place for new catalogue product releases and projects.
• You will manage enquiries from catalogue artists and their representatives about their agreements.
• You will resolve disputes arising in relation to the catalogue.

About you:

• You will be a qualified solicitor with experience in a legal or business affairs role within the music industry (ideally you will have 4 years PQE, but we’re happy to also hear from lawyers with less PQE if you have other applicable experience).
• You are experienced in negotiating and drafting the full range of artist and third party agreements related to recorded music catalogues (recording and licensing agreements, producer agreements, featured artist agreements, sample licences etc.).
• You have excellent attention to detail and experience of analysing rights issues.
• You have strong communication, negotiation and drafting skills.

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.