BUSINESS & LEGAL AFFAIRS DIRECTOR

Concord is looking to employ a full time Director, Business & Legal Affairs in London for its music publishing division.

Reporting to the SVP, Business & Legal Affairs, the role will primarily involve providing legal and business affairs support to Concord’s Boosey & Hawkes (classical) and Concord FTV (film and television music) divisions. The successful candidate will also be called on to support other areas of Concord’s Music Publishing division as required, particularly in connection with the acquisition of new catalogues of all genres.

OVERVIEW 

Concord is the independent, worldwide leader in the development, management and acquisition of sound recordings, music publishing and theatrical performance rights. It has offices in Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, London, Berlin and Miami.

Concord Music Publishing represents more than 390,000 copyrighted works spanning all musical genres and including many of the world’s most celebrated compositions by its most legendary creators.  It is also home to a diverse group of contemporary songwriters and composers.   Its Boosey & Hawkes division is the world’s leading classical music publisher, with a catalogue which includes some of the most iconic works of the 20th century and an enviable roster of contemporary composers.  Its Concord FTV division specializes in acquiring and administering rights in film and TV scores, primarily on behalf of production company clients.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Concord FTV:  Assisting with all aspects of legal & business affairs work for Concord FTV including:

• Preparing deal proposals and drafting and negotiating administration agreements and extensions/amendments;
• Reviewing agreements between production companies and film/TV composers to verify the scope of rights acquired;
• Handling post-closing issues, including preparing agreement summaries and liaising with Concord’s Copyright and Royalties teams to set up new deals and works;
• Responding to diverse queries from Concord colleagues and our Concord FTV clients; and
• Maintaining up-to-date records of the status of our Concord FTV deals and overseeing digital storage of agreements, cue sheets and soundtrack recordings.

Boosey & Hawkes:  Assisting with all aspects of legal & business affairs work for Boosey & Hawkes including:

• Handling a wide variety of queries from the copyright, royalties/finance, publishing, promotions, theatrical licensing, synchronisation licensing and hire teams;
• Drafting and negotiating a wide range of agreements;
• Maintaining up-to-date records of Boosey & Hawkes UK’s sub-publishing and agency arrangements, implementing new appointments and any variations to and terminations of those arrangements;
• Documenting intra-group rights flows in the classical division;
• Assisting with post-closing issues when we acquire rights from composers, arrangers and other authors, including liaising with copyright and royalties, preparing contract summaries and handling the storage of digital copies of executed documents;
• Maintaining up-to-date B&H licensing and assignment templates; and
• Assisting with arrangements for the collection of reprographic income around the world.

OTHER TASKS TO INCLUDE:

• Working with the Business & Legal Affairs team on acquisitions of new catalogues across all musical genres, including assisting with due diligence;
• Gathering, reviewing and maintaining records to demonstrate the entitlement of the estates of composers/writers and other authors to receive royalties;
• Overseeing copyright infringement and piracy issues; and
• Assisting with other legal & business affairs tasks as required.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

• A qualified lawyer, from either an in-house or private practice background, with a solid understanding of copyright and moral rights. Knowledge of trade marks and data protection issues would also be valuable;
• Entertainment/media industry experience, with a preference for candidates with music industry experience (ideally in music publishing). Some experience of classical music publishing, the commissioning and publishing of film and TV music and music catalogue due diligence would be helpful, though not essential;
• You will ideally have 2-5 years of post-qualification experience, but PQE levels are offered as a guide only. We will consider applications from candidates who can demonstrate the necessary skills for the role;
• Someone bright, personable, commercially-minded, with good organisational and communication skills, excellent attention to detail, the tenacity to follow things through and the ability to multi-task and prioritise a busy and varied work-load; and
• The role would suit someone who appreciates a diverse range of musical genres and who is eager to learn and take on responsibility.

 BENEFITS 

Concord offers a competitive benefits package including health & dental insurance, pension scheme, 28 days holiday per annum, with salary dependent on experience.

APPLICATION DETAILS

Please send a CV to our retained agent Nick Wasserman of Handle Recruitment using the link provided. Please note that any direct applications will be forwarded to Handle for their consideration on our behalf.