Job Description
Music is Universal
It’s the passionate and dedicated team at Universal Music who help make us the world’s leading music company. From A&R to finance, legal to digital, sales to marketing, Universal Music is the place to grow and develop your career within a truly commercial and innovative business that leads in everything it does.
Everyone is welcome to apply for our roles, and we are determined to ensure that no applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment because of gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion, belief, age, marital status, background, pregnancy, or caring responsibilities. We also recognise the importance of diversity of thought within our teams and are fully committed to embracing the talents of people with autism, dyslexia, ADHD, and other forms of neurocognitive variation.
We will always seek to make appropriate adjustments to recruitment, workplaces, and work processes to be fully inclusive to people with different needs and working styles. If you need us to make any reasonable adjustments for you from application onwards, including alternatives to the online form or to disclose a neurocognitive condition, please email UniversalMusicCareers@umusic.com.
About Us – Legal & Business Affairs
The Label Legal Team (part of the broader Legal & Business Affairs team) provides legal and business affairs support to all Universal Music UK labels, including the Polydor Label Group, Island EMI Label Group, Fontana and Decca Records. The team works closely with label executives and commercial teams to deliver practical legal advice that supports the development of artists, brands and commercial opportunities across the business.
The Role
This role is responsible for providing a full range of legal and business affairs support to Universal Music UK's labels in relation to artist and brand merchandise, retail partnerships and e-commerce activities. Working closely with internal stakeholders and external partners, you will negotiate and draft a broad range of commercial agreements while providing pragmatic legal advice that supports the growth of our merchandising business.
Key Responsibilities
Drafting, negotiating and advising on agreements relating to:
Artist merchandise agreements, including new deals, renewals and extensions.
Brand licence agreements and strategic brand partnerships.
Retail and e-commerce agreements with commercial partners.
Venue merchandise agreements.
Pop-up store agreements and associated commercial arrangements.
Other merchandise and e-commerce related agreements as required.
Overseeing and administering:
Legal deal approvals and internal sign-off processes.
Option diaries and key contractual deadlines.
Rights management systems and related documentation.
Litigation matters, including liaising with external counsel where appropriate.
Day-to-day legal support for merchandise and e-commerce projects across the labels.
Skills, Experience, Qualifications and Behaviours Required
Qualified Solicitor in England & Wales.
Minimum of 2 years' post-qualification experience, ideally gained within music, media or entertainment law.
Experience drafting and negotiating a wide range of commercial agreements.
Strong commercial awareness and the ability to provide practical, business-focused legal advice.
Excellent organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple matters simultaneously.
A proactive, self-sufficient approach with strong attention to detail.
A collaborative team player with excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
Comfortable working in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
Why Join Us?
A varied and challenging role working across high-profile artist, merchandise and e-commerce projects.
The opportunity to work alongside a talented, collaborative and dynamic Legal & Business Affairs team.
Close involvement with the commercial activities of Universal Music UK's labels.
Exposure to an exciting, innovative and fast-moving industry where no two days are the same.
About UMG UK
We are Universal Music Group UK – the UK’s leading music-based entertainment company. We exist to shape culture through the power of artistry. We help UK artists produce, distribute and promote the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful music to inspire and entertain fans at home and around the world.
Bonus Tracks: Your Benefits
Group Personal Pension Scheme (between 3% and 9%)
Private Medical Insurance
25 paid days of annual leave
Interest Free Season Ticket Loan
Holiday Purchase scheme
Dental and Travel Insurance options
Cycle to Work Scheme
Salary Sacrifice Cars
Subsidised Gym Membership
Employee Discounts (Reward Gateway)
Just So You Know…
The company presents this job description as a guide to the major areas and duties for which the jobholder is accountable. However, the business operates in an environment that demands change and the jobholder's specific responsibilities and activities will vary and develop. Therefore, the job description should be seen as indicative and not as a permanent, definitive, and exhaustive statement.
Job Category:
We are UMG, the Universal Music Group.
We are the world’s leading music company.
In everything we do, we are committed to artistry, innovation and entrepreneurship.
We own and operate a broad array of businesses engaged in recorded music, music publishing, merchandising, and audiovisual content in more than 60 countries.
We identify and develop recording artists and songwriters, and we produce, distribute and promote the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful music to delight and entertain fans around the world.
Our vast catalog of recordings and songs stretches back over a century and comprises the largest, most diverse and culturally rich collection of music ever assembled.
As digital technology refashions the world, our unmatched commitment to lead in developing new services, platforms and business models for the delivery of music and related content empowers innovators and allows new commercial and artistic opportunities to flourish.
Knowing that music, a powerful force for good in the world, is unique in its ability to inspire people and bring them together, we work with our artists and employees to serve our communities.
We are the home for music’s greatest artists, innovators and entrepreneurs.
Together, we are UMG, the Universal Music Group.