Concord – Director, Business & Legal Affairs, Publishing (US)

Director, Business & Legal Affairs, Publishing

Category: Business Affairs/Legal

Type: Regular Full-Time

Overview

CONCORD IS THE INDEPENDENT, WORLDWIDE LEADER IN THE DEVELOPMENT, ACQUISITION, AND MANAGEMENT OF RECORDED MUSIC, MUSIC PUBLISHING, AND THEATRICAL PERFORMANCE RIGHTS.

With offices in Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, Miami, London, and Berlin, Concord has a diverse and vibrant roster of active recording artists, composers, and songwriters, and a vast and historic catalog of works by some of the most treasured names in music history.

Concord’s Boosey & Hawkes division is the world’s largest specialist classical music publishing company and operates from Concord’s offices in New York, London, and Berlin. Boosey & Hawkes’ catalog includes some of the most iconic works of the 20th century including works by Igor Stravinsky, Béla Bartók, Aaron Copland, Benjamin Britten, Serge Prokofieff, Richard Strauss and Sergei Rachmaninoff, alongside works by an enviable roster of contemporary composers including John Adams, Steve Reich and Sir Karl Jenkins.

Based in New York, you will provide business affairs and legal services for Concord’s music publishing division. The primary purpose is to support the US arm of Concord’s Boosey & Hawkes classical music publishing business. Your responsibilities will include drafting and negotiating major composer contracts, such as publishing agreements for new composer/songwriter signings, complex composer commission arrangements, third-party rights acquisition agreements, and sub-publishing agreements; advising on U.S. laws and business practices concerning the classical repertoire and related operations; and providing general legal and business affairs coverage for Boosey & Hawkes. The role will also involve an element of support for Concord’s non classical music publishing business.

Responsibilities

What you’ll do:

• Draft, review, and negotiate various agreements for Boosey & Hawkes, Inc., and its North American affiliates, including but not limited to:
  • Composer and estate publishing agreements
    Catalog purchase agreements
  • Composer commission agreements for new works and related underlying rights acquisition agreements
    Sub-publishing and sub-licensing agreements
• Stay up-to-date and advise senior management on copyright matters including U.S. statutory termination rights, copyright duration (including the implication of USMCA on duration of owned copyrights), and any other copyright law, related regulations, and any relevant treaties which may impact Boosey’s representation of the classical music catalogs in the Americas.
• Be the internal expert on Boosey & Hawkes’ major contracts with the composers, composer estates, third-party publishers, third-party sub-publishers, and various other composition rightsholders and administration service providers that are overseen by Boosey & Hawkes’ New York office, and become familiar with the organization of Concord’s classical music publishing business, to appropriately respond to various internal and external inquiries.
• Assist with catalog acquisitions, including carrying out due diligence.
• Advise on legal matters and, working closely with SVP, Boosey & Hawkes, provide general legal & business affairs support to the Boosey & Hawkes businesses, including the rental library, licensing, editorial, promotions, publicity and marketing departments operating out of the New York office.
• Report (and provide support) to the SVP, Legal & Business Affairs, Publishing in London, who oversees the Boosey & Hawkes businesses globally.
• Provide support to EVP, Legal/BA for Concord Music Publishing in Nashville, which may include drafting and negotiating non-classical (pop) music publishing agreements and managing legacy catalog matters as needed.

Qualifications

What you’ll need to succeed:

• J.D. or LLM degree from an accredited law school and ability to practice law in New York.
• Ideally at least 3-4 years of relevant law firm and/or in-house transactional experience, preferably in music publishing, with direct experience of, or a strong interest in, classical and contemporary classical music.
• Solid working knowledge of the music business and U.S. copyright law (including as it pertains to pre-1978 works and statutory termination rights), with some familiarity with and interest in international copyright laws and treaties.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively, handle complex transactions involving multiple contracts, and manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong understanding of the role of Legal & Business Affairs department.
• Excellent legal writing/drafting, analytical and critical thinking and interpersonal skills, and the ability to communicate information clearly and succinctly to non-lawyers both within and outside Concord’s business.
• The ideal candidate is conscientious, detail-oriented, self-motivated, able to adapt and eager to learn. The ideal candidate is also a pragmatic problem-solver with good business judgment.

*This is a hybrid role requiring 3 days minimum on-site.

At Concord, we offer comprehensive medical and wellness benefits, generous time off, parental leave, charity match, paid time off for volunteering, and other fun company perks. We have beautiful new offices in New York and a culture committed to supporting everyone’s growth and development.

Concord is an equal opportunity employer. We employ, train, compensate and promote regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, veteran status, and other protected status as required by applicable law. We believe that diversity, inclusion and equity is paramount for the creation of music, theater and film that celebrates and empowers all cultures.