Associate, Legal Affairs

Job Description

Job Title: Associate, Legal Affairs

A little bit about our team:
Warner Music's Center of Excellence opened in 2017 and is the home to the financial, legal, and administrative functions that provide critical support and best-in-class services to our US Recorded Music and Publishing businesses. The Nashville Center embodies the innovative and creative spirit that stems from the company's deep history in nurturing entrepreneurial thinking and artist focused innovation, enabling our employees to develop a wide range of skills through cross-function collaboration and development opportunities.

As part of the Global Catalog Business and Legal Affairs team, the Legal Department is responsible for enforcing WMG's rights in the recorded music catalog repertoire controlled by its US record labels, managing litigations involving WMG's recorded music rights in conjunction with WMG's corporate litigation in-house counsel, fielding inquiries and claims from third parties, researching WMG's recorded music catalog rights, filing applications to register copyrights in and to WMG's recorded music repertoire, and managing WMG's relationships with the labor unions with which WMG's US record labels have collective bargaining agreements.

Members of the Legal Department work closely with employees in the Business Affairs, Finance, Production, Operations, New Media, and Marketing departments of each label client to fulfill the above-referenced responsibilities for the recordings and records those labels release.

Your role:
This position will conduct general legal research pertaining to WMG's rights in its existing recording agreements and advise various internal business units regarding those rights and recording agreements. In addition, this role will field, research, answer, and resolve inquiries from both internal business units and artists, producers, and other third parties. Lastly, this position assists with the management of incoming claims and the enforcement of WMG's recorded music rights. As a Global Catalog Business and Legal Affairs Associate, this role will deal predominantly with WMG's catalog repertoire and Rhino label.

Here you'll get to:
• Perform general catalog legal research pertaining to WMG's rights in its existing recording agreements and other contracts, including reviewing, analyzing, and interpreting various provisions in the recording agreements and other contracts at the request of various internal business units such as the royalty, publishing, and revenue assurance teams
• Field, research, answer, and resolve incoming inquiries from recording artists, producers, and other third party royalty participants and their representatives
• Field, research, and resolve incoming legal claims from recording artists, other third parties and their representatives, including, without limitation, accounting claims, copyright claims, sample claims, and reversion-of-rights claims
• Communicate the relevant details of the aforementioned incoming inquiries and claims to the relevant internal clients and work with other attorneys in the Legal Department to secure the approval of such clients over the resolution of such matters
• Draft legal documents (e.g., cease and desist letters, indemnification letters, tolling agreements, settlement agreements, etc.) as directed by other attorneys in the Legal Department
• Draft, review and approve letters of direction for payee changes from recording artists, producers, and other third party royalty participants and their representatives
• Review Estate documentation for recording artists, producers and other third party royalty participants and draft letters of direction for estates/beneficiaries, where needed
• Assist the corporate in-house litigation team by performing legal research
• Perform other tasks as requested by Legal Department senior management and various business units across WMG

About you:
• Juris Doctor degree from an ABA-accredited, US law school is required
• License to practice law in Tennessee is required
• Problem solver, with the ability to find timely and creative solutions to unique issues and assignments
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Exceptional analytical, mathematical, and organizational skills
• Strong legal and Internet research skills
• Works well independently and as part of a team
• Meet deadlines consistently and effectively while working under pressure
• Manage multiple assignments at any given time and prioritize them effectively and appropriately

We'd love it if you also had:
• 1+ years of relevant music industry and/or law firm experience, including reviewing and analyzing music industry recording agreements and resolving legal claims
• Proficiency using Google Workspace

Effective October 1st, this position will require being in the office 4 days a week. We believe that an in-office presence is critical for talent development, collaboration and building strong relationships.

Salary Range

Salary ranges are included for job postings where required by law. The actual base pay is dependent upon many factors, such as work experience and business needs. The pay range is subject to change at any time dependent on a variety of internal and external factors.

Links to relevant documents:

2024 Benefits At A Glance final.pdf

EVerify Participation Poster.pdf

Right To Work - English.pdf

Right to Work - Spanish.pdf

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-d5y53e-13-58-247-31-42 in your application.