Music Counsel - Product Legal

What the role needs

• Global Product Legal is the dedicated legal team for the product, operations, and engineering organization, covering product counseling, creator and industry partnerships, music rights, and AI development.
• You will work with product, operations, and engineering from early planning through launch, helping deliver products and initiatives used by billions of people.
• This is a highly collaborative, on-site role that requires five days per week in the office located in Culver City, CA.
• Draft and negotiate music distribution and various types of license agreements with independent artists and independent record labels for the SoundOn platform.
• Providing ongoing review of and updates to SoundOn’s license agreement templates across various use cases.
• Juris Doctor from an ABA-accredited law school and active membership in good standing in at least one U.S. state bar.
• Member in good standing of a U.S. state bar association (with ability to register as in-house counsel if working from a different jurisdiction).
• Excellent analytical, communication, drafting, and negotiation skills.
• Ability to thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced environment and manage multiple matters simultaneously against tight deadlines.
• Ability to effectively manage stakeholder expectations and clearly articulate risk/benefit analyses with recommended solutions.

From the employer

Global Product Legal is the dedicated legal team for the product, operations, and engineering organization, covering product counseling, creator and industry partnerships, music rights, and AI development. We partner with business teams, legal specialists, and cross-functional partners to build strategies and execute on product and business initiatives, while navigating a complex regulatory environment and maintaining stakeholder trust. You will work with product, operations, and engineering from early planning through launch, helping deliver products and initiatives used by billions of people. TikTok is looking for a transactional attorney to join its fast-growing team of music lawyers in the United States to primarily support the “SoundOn” music distribution platform. This is an opportunity to partner with the SoundOn product team and music legal team colleagues to help shape and grow SoundOn’s suite of services as it expands its scope and geographic reach. The role may also assist in scaling music license coverage of TikTok, the world’s leading short video platform, the digital music streaming service TikTok Music, and other digital properties that feature music. This is a highly collaborative, on-site role that requires five days per week in the office located in Culver City, CA. Responsibilities: - Draft and negotiate music distribution and various types of license agreements with independent artists and independent record labels for the SoundOn platform. - Provide legal guidance to the SoundOn business and product teams with regard to structuring rights deals with artists and labels, and draft / negotiate related agreements, in connection with music rights administration (sound recordings, music publishing) and artist branding / endorsement arrangements. - Providing ongoing review of and updates to SoundOn’s license agreement templates across various use cases. - Draft and negotiate full catalogue music license agreements with record labels, aggregators, music publishers and performing rights and collective management organizations, for various owned and operated digital properties. Minimum Qualifications: - Juris Doctor from an ABA-accredited law school and active membership in good standing in at least one U.S. state bar. - Minimum of 3 years of hands-on experience drafting and negotiating agreements for the licensing, administration, and/or acquisition of recorded music and music publishing rights, including artist/talent recording services, label partnerships, multi-platform digital distribution rights, and publishing rights administration. - Member in good standing of a U.S. state bar association (with ability to register as in-house counsel if working from a different jurisdiction). - Excellent analytical, communication, drafting, and negotiation skills. - Ability to thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced environment and manage multiple matters simultaneously against tight deadlines. - Ability to effectively manage stakeholder expectations and clearly articulate risk/benefit analyses with recommended solutions. Preferred Qualifications: - Experience with blanket sound recording and/or music publishing rights licenses in the digital music space. - Prior in-house experience at a digital music service, music distributor, or streaming platform.