Legal & Business Affairs Executive

Music is Universal

It’s the passionate and dedicated team at Universal Music who help make us the world’s leading music company. From A&R to finance, legal to digital, sales to marketing, Universal Music is the place to grow and develop your career within a truly commercial and innovative business that leads in everything it does.

The A Side: A Day in The Life
- Reporting to the Head of Central Label Legal Team, the Legal and Business Affairs Executive will work alongside all departments across all UK labels to provide legal guidance across all aspects of decision making within the business (using their legal analysis and commercial intuition). Alongside this they will be negotiate and finalize all manner of deals to ensure that the label’s commercial releases (from singles, videos, albums and more) are fully cleared ahead of deadline.

The B Side: Skills & Experience
- Document Amendments & Artist Agreements- Negotiating & drafting featured/guest vocalist agreements, sample agreements, producer and mixer agreements, other clearance paperwork and agreements for videos, photography and artwork using precedents and standard form agreements- Drafting side letters and other general correspondence to managers and Artist lawyers- Assisting with negotiating deal memos and recording agreements for new Artist signings, negotiating and documenting amendments to Artist agreements- Responding to legal and rights-based queries from across the label including marketing, A&R and from across the wider company- To notify relevant Company personnel on all pertinent terms of such agreements, in particular any restrictions relating to the exploitation of recordings/videos

Be Administrative- To assist with managing the legal databases (GRS and Rights Workspace), ensuring the data is accurate and up to date at all times (including analysing and interpreting contractual rights)- Archiving and logging signed contracts- To ensure compliance with all Group legal directives and internal guidelines- To negotiate and implement all other necessary agreements with third parties of whatever nature relevant to the company- To undertake any project and ad hoc work as directed, including the research and drafting of legal correspondence and contracts- To provide support from time to time for Head of Central Label Legal Team in respect of Artist audits and litigation- To assist with managing Universal’s Uniport budget and payment system for Legal and Artist contract payments

Be Collaborative- To provide day to day business point of contact to managers and lawyers on behalf of the company- To notify the Royalties Department and keep accurate records of all contracts entered into and any amendments made, supplying copies to them at all times- To respond to the Royalties Department, Catalogue Department and synch/brands/licensing, and metadata/production/supply chain teams on any queries- To supervise arrangements with Producers, Mixers and Remixers in conjunction with outside legal counsel

Be Vigilant- To refer any instances of alleged piracy or parallel imports to the necessary teams- To spot potential infringements (such as trade mark or passing off in marketing materials) or breaches or company policy around exploitations of music

Be Advisory- To provide general legal advice to marketing, digital, video and promotions departments, for example, the viability and risk of the use of certain content for artwork, fan prize and competitions, social media channels and initiatives- To provide legal and general business support on the new growth areas of the industry such as new technology/digital media (e.g. “virtual branding”, apps etc.), merchandising, “D2C” retail, branding and sponsorship

Personal Specification
- Necessary:
- Passionate about working within music- Reasonable knowledge of how a record company functions, and an understanding of the music industry as a whole- Proactive and articulate approach to work- Excellent verbal and written communication skills with an approachable manner- Excellent time management skills- Lateral thinking with the ability to grasp the overall picture of legal projects- Highly organised and self-motivated, with an energetic and enthusiastic approach- Ability to work under pressure and to meet tight deadlines- Ability to work as part of a team and alone- Ability to work on own initiative- High attention to detail

Desirable- Post Qualification approach to work- Experience of working in a Legal & Business Affairs department or music solicitor’s company- Experience in commercial, contracts and copyright work- Excellent word, excel and other Microsoft packages and databases skills and Docu-Sign

Just So You Know

The company presents this job description as a guide to the major areas and duties for which the jobholder is accountable. However, the business operates in an environment that demands change and the jobholder's specific responsibilities and activities will vary and develop. Therefore, the job des