TITLE: Head of Legal and Business Affairs
REPORTS TO: C-Suite
DEPARTMENT: Firebird Music / Firebird Shared Services
LOCATION: New York, Los Angeles, or Nashville preferred
ABOUT FIREBIRD
Firebird is a diversified music company that empowers artists to accelerate and capture the full value of their content and brands.
The Firebird Label Services division provides Firebird Music’s artist, management, and label partners, as well as its wholly owned labels and repertoire, with access to all the resources needed to share their music with a global audience. FLS offers recorded music strategy, distribution, release management, marketing & promotion, and more to meet its partners’ creative and business needs.
JOB DESCRIPTION
Firebird is seeking a Head of Legal & Business Affairs. This person will serve as both a legal advisor to the executive team, and as a strategic advisor as a key member of the business team. The Head of Legal & Business Affairs will act as counsel for Firebird’s owned and operated labels, in addition to focusing on corporate transactions and contract negotiations with key partners.
The role requires excellent independent judgment and decision making, paired with extensive working knowledge of music master recording and publishing rights, copyright law, and progressive label and partnership deal structures. The ideal candidate is a talented, entrepreneurial individual who is ready to roll up their sleeves and do the work day one while also having the capability to build and lead a team over time.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
- Draft, review and/or negotiate a variety of standard and non-standard music industry agreements including but not limited to publishing, recording, production, licensing, songwriter, sponsorship, management, merchandise, and live performance agreements.
- Work closely with creative services teams on non-traditional and music partnership deals with brands and media companies.
- Stay abreast of market and industry trends in the various domestic and international entertainment sectors
- Provide strategic guidance and summarize all rights, obligations and related matters and escalate potential issues to stakeholders
- Coordinate, confer and work with outside counsel, other corporate companies, investors and their staffs and principals on legal and business matters concerning the Company.
- Effectively communicate internally and externally in a manner consistent with the Company’s Core Values.
- Manage the day-to-day operation of the legal & business affairs function, including budgeting, resource allocation, and recruitment, development and retention of legal talent
- Design and drive contract management processes
- Manage tracking to alert the company of delivery commitments, expirations, option deadlines, statement and audit deadlines and recommend business processes to avoid loss of rights
- Organize and maintain library of executed agreements, form agreements, negotiated language and legal memos
- Conduct and provide general legal research and analysis
QUALIFICATIONS
- 10+ years of experience in senior roles drafting and negotiating agreements in the music industry, with varied scope, from company-side or law firm practice
- JD and current membership in NYC or CA State bar
- Leadership and managerial experience with a company engaged in the entertainment or media industries
- Superior attention to detail and organizational skills with the ability to prioritize high-volume work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment while effectively meeting deadlines on diverse projects
- Excellent negotiating, drafting, communication, research and analytical skills
International experience is a plus, with the capability of bringing a global, multi-cultural perspective; experience working on cross-border transactions and joint ventures also of value. - Team ethic and ability to work between multiple departments to reach a common goal, including being receptive, open minded and objective when encountering diverse points of view
- Self-starter with ability to multi-task, excellent work ethic, judgment and commitment to managing assignments with professionalism and integrity
- Lives, sleeps, and breathes music industry with intense passion to close deals
- Remote role with preference given to NY, LA or Nashville
ABOUT FIREBIRD
Firebird is a diversified music company that empowers artists to accelerate and capture the full value of their content and brands.
Our platform has two operating units:
Firebird Management, where we serve as CEO of Artist Inc., drive artists’ careers as capital and business partners building brand extensions across consumer products, digital, media, live and more, and where we are evolving the model to participate in 100% of artist revenue streams and be an asset co-owner
Firebird Recorded Music and Publishing, where we power the creation of artists’ core enabling IP and participate as an equity owner
Firebird has centers of excellence in digital and marketing, data and analytics, consumer products, label services, and finance that support the artists we partner with in our operating units
Each operating unit is an entry point for a broader, aligned partnership with an artist across the entirety of their business.
