Senior Counsel, Business & Legal Affairs (Music)
About The Position
Roc Nation is seeking a Senior Counsel, Business & Legal Affairs to join our legal team in our New York City office and provide day-to-day legal support across our label, distribution, publishing, and artist management operations. Reporting to the Senior Vice President (Head) of Business & Legal Affairs, this role will work closely with A&R, creative, marketing, finance, and operations teams to structure, draft, and negotiate deals while managing legal risk in a commercially minded way. This is an excellent opportunity for an attorney who wants broad, cross-functional exposure to every facet of the modern music business within a single organization.
Requirements
- J.D. from an ABA-accredited law school
- Member of the New York Bar in good standing preferred or willingness/qualified to be registered In-House Counsel required
- 3+ years of progressive legal experience in the music industry, with meaningful exposure across recorded music, music publishing, and talent/artist management
- Prior experience at a major or independent label, distributor, music publisher, or entertainment-focused law firm is strongly preferred
- Working knowledge of U.S. copyright law as it pertains to musical compositions and sound recordings, collective bargaining agreements (AFM, SAG-AFTRA) where applicable
- Comfort operating in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment where priorities shift and multiple projects run simultaneously
- Sound judgment and the ability to assess and communicate risk proportionately — knowing when to flag an issue and when to move a deal forward
- Experience with the contractual issues surrounding non fungible tokens
- Applicants for employment in the U.S. must possess work authorization which does not require sponsorship by the employer for a visa.
Nice To Haves
- Metaverse experience is a plus
Responsibilities
- Draft, review, and negotiate a wide range of music industry agreements across the company’s label, distribution, publishing, and management businesses, including but not limited to recording artist agreements, distribution agreements, co-publishing and administration agreements, producer agreements, sync and master use licenses, artist management agreements, and production agreements
- Provide supervised legal counsel to internal business teams on deal structuring, contract interpretation, rights issues, and day-to-day legal questions arising across all business lines
- Conduct copyright ownership and chain-of-title research, including work-for-hire analyses and sample clearance review, and advise stakeholders on associated risks and approvals
- Support royalty-related inquiries by working with finance and royalty administration teams to interpret contractual terms, respond to royalty claims, and assist with audit-related matters
- Maintain and improve template agreements, form libraries, and internal legal processes to increase efficiency and consistency across the organization
- Monitor developments in copyright law, AI-generated content regulation, collective bargaining agreements, and other areas of the evolving music industry legal landscape, and flag relevant issues to senior leadership
- Collaborate cross-functionally with A&R, creative, marketing, digital operations, and finance teams, serving as a trusted and accessible legal resource throughout the organization
- Other duties, as assigned
Benefits
- Medical, vision, dental and mental health benefits for you and your family with access to a health care concierge and Flexible or Health Savings Accounts (FSA or HSA)
- Free concert tickets
- Paid time off including paid holidays, sick time and floating days
- Career and skill development programs with School of Live
- 401(k) program with company match
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
Education Level
Ph.D. or professional degree
