JOB DESCRIPTION
Department: UK Rights
Job Title: Managing Director, Wise Music Group UK Rights Companies
Reporting to: Group Managing Director, Wise Music Group
Location: Berners Street, London
BACKGROUND
Wise Music Group is one of the world’s leading music publishers, owning and managing over 250,000 popular and classical music copyrights. The Group is privately owned by one family over several generations, and the UK Head Office is situated in London.
CORE RESPONSIBILITIES:
To maximise the copyright related income and profit of MSG UK music publishing companies (notably Chester and associated publishing companies such as Novello, Campbell Connelly, Sparta Florida, Noel Gay and Eaton Music) by maintaining and building attractive catalogues of new and established composers across all relevant musical genres, overseeing the exploitation of those catalogues and developing the overall profile of the companies so that both established composers and high potential new talent choose to be published by the company.
The Job-Holder must manage an integrated set of resources of MSG UK Rights Companies. Core responsibilities include:
- • Strategy
- • Budget
- • Performance
- • Publishing Decisions
- • Departmental Oversight of the Promotion, Hire and Publishing teams
The Job-Holder has full management accountability for teams through subordinate managers. The focus is on performance management and the meeting of short and mid-term targets.
Key Accountabilities include:
- • Leading the development and implementation of the publishing policy of MSG UK publishing companies
- • Identifying opportunities and trends in the local and international marketplaces that inform the development of the catalogues, new acquisitions and promotional activities and focus
- • Collaborating with colleagues in identifying and then developing potential acquisitions of catalogues and companies, signings of new writers in all relevant musical genres and new target markets
- • Making authoritative recommendations on and negotiating the acquisition of rights and the signing of composers in all relevant musical genres with reference to financial and company profile gains
- • Inputting into strategic issues both locally and on an international basis
- • Nurturing and developing a large range of composers in new ways in order to develop existing income streams and to establish new ones on an international basis
- • Ensuring the reputation and profile of the brands of Wise Music Group and of its UK publishing companies
- • Maximising the benefits of working within the international and independent structure of Wise Music Group
- • Ensuring that MSG UK provides a high quality and efficient hire library service
- • Managing the MSG’s relationship with its print distributor
- • Inputting into the licensing of company rights and to company policy in this regard, and approving licences on a case by case basis, as appropriate
- • Inputting to and managing budgets for all MSG UK publishing companies
- • Meeting revenue, overhead and EBITDA targets
- • Regularly reporting to the Board and Group management on UK company performance
- • Management responsibility for all MSG UK publishing staff (including Promotion, Publishing and Hire) in association as appropriate with Wise Music Group Managing Director, Group Head of Media and Group Head of Classical
The most important external relationships are with the composers and their management, Estates and legal representation. As well as supporting, advising and representing the composers, the Job-Holder is responsible for negotiating (often non-standard) terms with them.
SKILLS & BEHAVIOURAL REQUIREMENTS:
The job requires a broad and comprehensive understanding of the different systems, theories and practices relevant to the business of publishing classical, media and commercial music on an international basis, and a general understanding of copyright management, as well as a broad knowledge of the principal decision makers within the target markets. Also required is an understanding of how organisations run including cash flow, people management and business processes.
Specifically, the Job-Holder needs to have a comprehensive knowledge of today’s music scenes, across a range of genres and internationally.
- • A known person within the music business generally, but especially in classical
- • Experienced senior music executive with experience of the classical music market
- • Experienced people manager
- • Broad knowledge, gained through experience, of big players in music markets (especially classical), whether new or old media
- • Broad understanding of systems/practices application to the successful publication of classical (in particular), media and commercial music on an international basis
- • Detailed understanding of how rights income is generated and flows globally
- • General understanding of copyright management
- • Detailed knowledge of classical music
- • Familiarity with contemporary commercial / media music
- • Ability to talk knowledgably and confidently with writers, particularly classical writers.
- • Decisive decision maker
- • Good communicator
- • Team player
- • Driven by financial targets as well as artistic quality of ‘product’
- • Broad taste, not necessarily driven by personal likes and dislikes but by a good sense of quality and what the market will accept across a range of genres
Working hours
Core working hours are 0930 to 1730 Monday to Friday, however you will need to be flexible and able to work additional hours as required ensuring deadlines are met.
To apply, please email a CV and cover letter to careers@wisemusic.com no later than 30th November.