Join the World's Top Legal Talent Network

The Opportunity

 

Netflix is the world's leading streaming entertainment service with 204 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.

 

Our growing global Music Business & Legal Affairs Group is looking for a new member to join the team: a Counsel, Music who shares our passion for music and the entertainment industry to help support our expanding slate of Netflix Original content. Someone who seeks out and thrives in an environment where freedom and responsibility are a tenet, and passion, innovation and curiosity are mandates (Netflix culture). A stunning and selfless colleague for whom no task is too small or insurmountable.

 

The Music Business & Legal Affairs Group is an international group with members in offices around the world and is responsible for all of Netflix’s global music business affairs, legal affairs and strategy, from the production and licensing of Netflix Originals through to the distribution of the Netflix service globally. This role is based in our Los Angeles office.

 

This unique and exciting role sits on the studio side of the Music Business & Legal Affairs Group and focuses on providing music business, legal and strategy support for the production and licensing of Netflix Originals, with a focus on original animated series. The role will have broad responsibility and unique insight into multiple aspects of our business and the opportunity to work with a wide swath of internal and external partners.

 

Responsibilities include overseeing all music business and legal affairs matters during production: from structuring, negotiating and drafting agreements with composers, songwriters, artists, performers, producers, record companies and music publishers, to addressing music licensing issues in collaboration with our Music Licensing team. This role will ultimately take ownership over his/her own productions and will autonomously give music business, legal and strategy guidance to those productions and will negotiate and draft all commercial and legal terms of related music deals. This role will also negotiate and draft music terms in content deals, rights acquisition deals and production agreements with third-party production partners, co-production partners and third party licensors of content.

 

Given this broad scope of responsibility, the ideal candidate will have: extensive experience in the music market for the production of series and/or film; and immersive, hands-on experience in negotiating commercial terms and legal issues and drafting music agreements for series/film production. He or she will handle music contract and copyright related matters as they arise, will likely need to dig into local law and practice in various international territories, and should be extremely comfortable working independently, counseling business partners and making decisions that have both legal and business impacts.

 

As a Counsel, Music, your vast music production experience enables you to handle any situation or crisis that may be encountered on a production. You’ve seen it all and aren’t fazed by the last minute surprises, on set and off set, that inevitably arise when shooting a series or film. You expertly navigate those situations to arrive at the best solution for the production and the studio. You understand the dynamics among showrunners, executive producers, creative, line producers, producers, finance, production, post production, credits, labor, marketing, publicity, content localization, business affairs and legal affairs and know when and how to engage and align the appropriate teams when a music issue calls. You are comfortable evaluating risk with imperfect or lack of information and have the confidence to make quick decisions. You think creatively, have impeccable judgment, are comfortable with exploring new transaction models, and flexible in pivoting within a strategy when needed. You may produce locally but you think globally.

 

This is an opportunity to be part of a public company with a great consumer brand and to help Netflix shape the future of entertainment.

 

Requirements

 

The ideal candidate will have: 5+ years of series/film production music experience, including direct, hands-on experience in structuring, negotiating and drafting composer, performer and featured artist agreements, master use and synchronization license agreements, music producer agreements, songwriter agreements, record company and music publishing waivers and soundtrack album agreements; in-depth knowledge of music copyright and the series/film production process - from development, budgeting, pre-production, production and post production to music clearance/licensing to composer engagement/recording through to delivery, cue sheets, marketing and launch; practical knowledge of the music and technology industries, including active relationships with music agents, lawyers, managers, music publishers and record companies; comfort and flexibility in working with different laws and practices across territories; understanding of labor and guild agreements impacting the recording and use of music; and understanding of the evolving CMO, theatrical, VOD and TV landscapes. Experience providing in-house support in a television or film production company and/or network is highly preferred.

The successful candidate will also possess the following:

• Exceptional drafting and project management skills
• Negotiation and communication style that is adaptable to local markets
• Clear, concise and effective communication skills
• Highly-collaborative, with the ability to be fluid and respond positively to change and new ideas
• Unparalleled organizational skills and an unwavering attention to detail
• Strong analytical capabilities and judgment, even when the rules are unclear and the issues are of first impression
• Ability to work proactively, independently and reliably under tight timeframes in a fast-paced environment
• Resourceful and able to pivot quickly, think practically and be solution-oriented
• Curiosity and eagerness to tackle additional projects as needed, including matters outside of your area of expertise
• Tech-savvy, with a strong sense of how cloud-based document and database systems are used in a modern business environment