Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. GRAI is reimagining how music is discovered and shared, created around the social layer of it. The Licensing Operations Manager will own the operational side of music licensing, ensuring smooth execution of deals and managing the contract lifecycle.
Responsibilities
- Own the operational side of music licensing across recorded music and publishing, ensuring deals move smoothly from negotiation through execution and ongoing administration
- Review and interpret recording, publishing, licensing, and distribution agreements, translating commercial terms into operational workflows and rights management systems
- Manage the full contract lifecycle - from drafting support and internal approvals to execution, storage, renewals, and obligation tracking
- Coordinate contract routing, approvals, and signatures using modern contract management platforms
- Maintain a clean, searchable contract repository and ensure licensing documentation is always accurate and accessible
- Extract and organize key commercial terms including rights granted, territories, exclusivity, royalty structures, payment obligations, and contract milestones
- Partner closely with Business Affairs, Finance, Product, and Operations to ensure licensing deals are implemented accurately across internal systems
- Support the onboarding of new catalogs, artists, labels, publishers, and partners by configuring rights, royalty terms, and metadata
- Oversee royalty administration for licensed content, including statement processing, reconciliations, and payout approvals
- Monitor contractual obligations, reporting deadlines, renewal dates, and payment schedules, proactively identifying risks before they become issues
- Research licensing questions, rights ownership, chain of title, and royalty inquiries from internal teams and external partners
- Stay current on evolving licensing models, digital rights, publishing administration, DSP reporting standards, and the broader music rights ecosystem
- Identify opportunities to automate licensing workflows, improve contract operations, and leverage AI to increase efficiency across Business Affairs
Skills
- 3–5 years of experience in music licensing, Business Affairs, publishing administration, rights management, or royalty operations
- Strong understanding of music copyright and licensing across both recorded music and publishing
- Experience interpreting recording, publishing, licensing, distribution, and synchronization agreements
- Familiarity with music rights administration, including ownership splits, publishing shares, neighboring rights, mechanical, performance, sync, and digital royalties
- Experience working with contract lifecycle management tools (Ironclad, DocuSign, ContractWorks, or similar)
- Knowledge of royalty administration platforms such as Counterpoint, Curve, Songspace, or equivalent
- Familiarity with DSPs, distributors, PROs, CMOs, the MLC, and international rights organizations
- Strong analytical skills with advanced Excel proficiency; experience reconciling financial and contractual data
- Excellent organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple contracts, stakeholders, and deadlines simultaneously
- Comfortable working across legal, commercial, finance, and product teams in a fast-paced startup environment
- Experience using AI-powered tools to accelerate contract review, rights research, documentation, and operational workflows
- Detail-oriented with strong commercial judgment and a proactive approach to solving operational challenges
- Experience at a music tech company, DSP, publisher, record label, distributor, or licensing platform
- Knowledge of copyright registration and rights databases (ISRC, ISWC, IPI/CAE, DDEX, CWR)
- Experience with rights metadata management and catalog operations
- Familiarity with SQL, BI tools, or workflow automation platforms
- Passion for building scalable infrastructure that helps music rights move faster and creators get paid accurately
Benefits
- Competitive compensation + equity
- Flexibility in how you work
- US/remote
Company Overview