Job Post: Vacancy for Counsel (Legal & Public Policy) at Netflix, Mumbai

The Opportunity

Netflix is the world’s leading streaming entertainment service with over 209 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying 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, the entertainment industry and great content. Someone who seeks out and thrives in an environment where freedom and responsibility are a tenet, and passion, innovation and curiosity are mandates. A stunning and selfless colleague for whom no task is too small or insurmountable. If you loved the series and the music in Sacred Games,or Mismatched, this could be the job for you

The Music Business & Legal Affairs Group is an international group with members in Netflix offices around the globe and is responsible for all of Netflix’s global music business affairs, legal affairs and strategy, from the production and licensing of original content through to the distribution of the Netflix service globally. This role will be a part of the Music Business & Legal Affairs Group and will be based in Netflix’s Mumbai office. The role will report to the Manager, Music Business & Legal Affairs, India. This unique and exciting role will focus on providing music business, legal and strategy support for the production and licensing of Netflix content in India. The role will have broad responsibility and unique insight into multiple aspects of our business and the opportunity to work with a wide number of internal and external partners.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities include overseeing all music business & legal affairs and all music clearance and music licensing matters during production. This includes supporting our external production partners in their negotiation of music deals (eg, composer, artist and songwriter deals, music producer deals, music clearances and music licensing deals, worldwide public domain assessments, record company and music publishing waivers) in addition to handling certain music deals in-house (eg, negotiating commercial terms and structuring, negotiating and drafting agreements with composers, songwriters, artists, performers, producers, record companies and music publishers, negotiating soundtrack album deals, and clearing music and negotiating music license contracts).

This role will also provide music business & legal support and guidance to internal teams, including negotiating and drafting music terms in production services agreements, content licenses and other rights acquisition deals, providing guidance around the creation and delivery of cue sheets, song credits, providing music guidance to other teams such as the Content Business/Legal Affairs team, Music Creative/Production and Production teams and Content teams, building out scalable workflows with our production partners, and creating, leading and presenting music presentations and educational music sessions to internal teams and external production partners. While this role is studio and production-facing, the role will also work closely with other teams within the Music Group such as the Marketing Music team, the Cue Sheets team, and the CMO team (the CMO team focuses on the distribution side of the business and is responsible for Netflix’s deals with collective management organisations and related organisations (“CMOs”).

As Counsel, Music your music experience enables you to handle any music situation or issue that may be encountered on a production. You are not flustered by the last minute surprises that inevitably arise when shooting a series, film or documentary. You are able to calmly navigate those situations to arrive at the best solution for the production and for Netflix. 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 arises. You also have a deep understanding of the music industry and the dynamics among recording artists, songwriters, record companies, music publishers, music producers, and CMOs. You are not afraid to use reality-based decision-making and are comfortable evaluating risk with imperfect information and have the confidence to make quick decisions. You embrace innovation and consistently seek efficiencies and simplicity in deals and in production workflow. You may produce locally but you think globally.

Requirements

The ideal candidate will have PQE (Post Qualified Experience) of 4 to 6 years preferably in the Media & Entertainment industry or from a law firm, which specializes in Media & Entertainment practice.
Experience providing in-house music support in a television, documentary or film production company and/or network is highly preferred
Experience in the music market for the production of series, film or documentaries, 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 waiver agreements;
Thorough understanding of the music nuances in producing locally vs producing for global distribution
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 entertainment industries in India, including the role of CMOs such as IPRS, and active relationships with music agents, lawyers, managers, music publishers and record companies.
Understanding of the evolving theatrical, VOD and TV Landscapes

The successful candidate will also possess the following:

Fluency (written and spoken) in English
Exceptional drafting and project management skills
Clear, concise and effective communication skills
Highly-collaborative and flexible with the ability to respond positively, innovate and adapt to change and new ideas
Experience managing heavy workflow independently.
Demonstrated curiosity about how different backgrounds and cultures affect us at work, and a commitment to acknowledge and work past implicit biases that we all have
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
A sense of humour!