Manager, Legal & Business Affairs

ANOTHERLAND is a creative community in music and marketing, with offices in Los Angeles and Nashville. We exist to reimagine the partnership between music creators and the support they need, offering record label, music publishing and agency services for artists, songwriters and brands.

The Legal & Business Affairs Manager is Anotherland's in-house counsel primarily for its label and publishing businesses. The role drafts and negotiates the company's recorded music and publishing agreements, advises the business on contractual and legal obligations, supports the company's corporate and catalog acquisition work, and manages outside counsel on specialist matters. The position reports to the Head of Label Services.

Responsibilities

• Draft and negotiate a wide range of recorded music agreements, including exclusive recording, license, distribution, profit-share and third-party agreements with artists, producers and mixers.
• Draft and negotiate music publishing agreements, including co-publishing, administration and songwriter agreements.
• Negotiate label and side-artist waivers, distribution and label-services agreements, and joint venture arrangements with major labels, publishers and distributors.
• Advise on option exercises, renewals and terminations, and prepare and review the related notices.
• Standardize terms, notice provisions and accounting clauses across existing agreements, and maintain agreement templates, a clause library and technology-assisted processes.
• Prepare and review sync, LOD, NDA, contractor and vendor agreements.
• Advise A&R, Publishing, Rights Management and Finance on contractual obligations, legal risk, and the royalty and accounting consequences of deal terms.
• Assess risks, recommend courses of action, and obtain management approval on key business terms.
• Manage relationships with the representatives of artists, songwriters and counterparties.
• Support the company's corporate legal work, including company structure, the formation and maintenance of entities, operating agreements, resolutions and consents, and intercompany agreements.
• Prepare and manage corporate filings, annual reports and registrations, maintain corporate records, and track compliance with regulatory requirements.
• Support catalog acquisitions from letter of intent through closing, including legal due diligence on chain of title, underlying agreements, royalty obligations and encumbrances, and the drafting and negotiation of purchase agreements and closing documents.
• Coordinate the post-closing transfer of acquired catalogs with Rights Management and Finance, including assignments, copyright recordations, letters of direction and notices to payees and counterparties.
• Engage and manage outside counsel on specialist matters, including financing, tax, litigation, audits, disputes and trademarks, and on larger corporate and catalog transactions.
  
  

Qualifications

• J.D. and active membership in good standing of at least one U.S. state bar; eligibility to register as in-house counsel in California or Tennessee.
• 4+ years of music or entertainment transactional experience at a law firm or in-house at a record label, publisher or distributor, covering both recorded music and publishing agreements.
• In-depth knowledge of music deal structures, including recoupment, cross-collateralization, option and reversion provisions, and royalty accounting.
• Working knowledge of copyright law as it applies to sound recordings and musical compositions.
• Experience negotiating directly with the business and legal affairs teams of major labels and publishers.
• Strong drafting, negotiation, organizational and communication skills, and the ability to manage a high volume of agreements independently.
• Ability to provide clear recommendations and see matters through to execution.
• No outside legal practice or client conflicts.
  

Preferred

• Experience with joint venture, profit-share, catalog acquisition or corporate matters.
• Experience with counterparties in the UK, Australia or Canada.
• Experience with AI-assisted drafting and review tools.
• Familiarity with the Christian and gospel music market.
  

Location

Nashville, TN, Costa Mesa, CA, or Los Angeles, CA.

Hybrid; remote arrangements may be considered for the right candidate.