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.
Everyone is welcome to apply for our roles, and we are determined to ensure that no applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment because of gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion, belief, age, marital status, background, pregnancy, or caring responsibilities. We also recognise the importance of diversity of thought within our teams and are fully committed to embracing the talents of people with autism, dyslexia, ADHD, and other forms of neurocognitive variation.
We will always seek to make appropriate adjustments to recruitment, workplaces, and work processes to be fully inclusive to people with different needs and working styles. If you need us to make any reasonable adjustments for you from application onwards, including alternatives to the online form or to disclose a neurocognitive condition, please email UniversalMusicCareers@umusic.com.
The Licensing team at UMUK (part of the UMUK Legal & Business Affairs team) handle all licensing requests from inside and outside the company for the entirety of UMG’s world-leading catalogue of master recordings. It’s a dynamic and collaborative department which works across all UK labels and central teams to clear UMG recordings across new compilations, reissues, and sample clearances. From unearthing decades-old recordings in UMG’s archives to working on brand new frontline releases, no two days are the same, and working as a small but experienced team in the heart of the business the Licensing Department is in constant communication with UMG’s global network of offices, artist management and independent labels to help deliver new releases around the world.
The B Side: Skills & Experience
Be Collaborative
- Manage and mentor two Licensing Coordinators.
- Lead and negotiate international master rights licensing agreements, ensuring legal compliance and drafting and executing contracts.
- Working closely with Legal & Business Affairs to issue music licence agreements to new and existing music labels.
- Liaising with artist management, with the view to obtaining permission to exploit UMUK repertoire for licensing projects.
- Thorough and deep research into music catalogue and master rights and recordings.
- Oversee and manage sample clearances and negotiating music licensing deals.
- Manage strong relationships with external third party (major and independent) labels, managing a portfolio of accounts.
- Working closely with Licensing colleagues, Product Managers & Catalogue Team to effectively clear repertoire in line with key project timescales – this will involve working to tight deadlines.
- Working cross functionally with internal music divisions at all levels including legal & business affairs, global royalties, A&R, marketing, UMG artists & management, third party music labels and all internal labels.
- Understanding and managing change as the market demands.
- Grow knowledge of UMG repertoire and licensing rights.
- To carry out any other reasonable instruction as directed by the Acting Head of Licensing.
Be Administrative
- Maintaining important documentation archiving to ensure information is easily accessible to protect the business during audits.
- Helping Universal employee’s world-wide to determine rights for tracks and helping with any other queries that arise.
Person Specification
- Music Licensing experience is essential. An understanding of the general music landscape (knowledge of labels, catalogues, and rights companies) is important.
- Proven experience managing and developing team members.
- Experience in leading licensing negotiations and an understanding of the commercial implications of different deals.
- Outstanding attention to detail. The ability to complete a high volume of tasks with accuracy, thoroughness, and consistency.
- Excellent organisation skills – ability to work on several projects at any one time.
- Proven experience of working to multiple strict deadlines.
- Excellent IT Skills – must be proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel & Outlook.
- Excellent communication skills - experience of working cross functionally with different teams at various levels, and the ability to condense and communicate complex licensing issues concisely and sensitively both in writing and in person.
- Highly self-motivated, capable of using own initiative, and the ability to deal with the routine tasks as well as the more interesting aspects of the role.
Bonus Tracks: Your Benefits
- Group Personal Pension Scheme (between 3% and 9%)
- Private Medical Insurance
- 25 paid days of annual leave
- Interest Free Season Ticket Loan available
- Holiday Purchase scheme
- Dental and Travel Insurance options
- Cycle to Work Scheme
- Salary Sacrifice Cars
- Subsidised Gym Membership
- Employee Discounts (Reward Gateway)
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 description should be seen as indicative and not as a permanent, definitive and exhaustive statement.
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 description should be seen as indicative and not as a permanent, definitive, and exhaustive statement.
Job Category
Business & Legal Affairs
