The posting
About ASCAP
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is a membership association of more than one million songwriters, composers and music publishers, and represents some of the world’s most talented music creators. Founded and governed by songwriters, composers and publishers, it is the only performing rights organization in the U.S. that operates on a not-for-profit basis. ASCAP licenses a repertory of over 20 million musical works to hundreds of thousands of businesses that use music, including streaming services, cable television, radio and satellite radio and brick and mortar businesses such as retail stores, hotels, clubs, restaurants and bars. ASCAP collects the licensing fees; identifies, matches and processes trillions of performances every year; and returns nearly 90 cents of every dollar back to its members as royalties. The ASCAP blanket license offers an efficient solution for businesses to legally perform ASCAP music while respecting the right of songwriters and composers to be paid fairly. ASCAP puts music creators first, advocating for their rights and the value of music on Capitol Hill, driving innovation that moves the industry forward, building community and providing the resources and support that creators need to succeed in their careers. Learn more and stay in touch at www.ascap.com, on X and Instagram @ASCAP and on Facebook.
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Job Overview:
The Senior Business & Legal Affairs Coordinator is responsible for documenting and recordkeeping agreements between ASCAP and its Members, along with other related tasks. This includes communicating with both internal and external stakeholders regarding the various time-sensitive aspects of Member agreements, Member transactions, or other sensitive and/or legal topics.
The ideal Senior Coordinator will be organized, detail-oriented, and comfortable using various platforms such as Microsoft Office Suite, Docusign, Salesforce, and other internal software. The Senior Coordinator must also leverage strong written and verbal communication skills when connecting with ASCAP Members and their professional representatives, which may include business managers, lawyers, and publisher representatives.
The Senior Coordinator will also work closely with other members of the department as needed to ensure that the goals of the Business and Legal Affairs team are consistently met. The role reports to the SVP, Membership and Business & Legal Affairs in the Business & Legal Affairs department. This is a hybrid position with a 3 day per week in-office requirement based out of the ASCAP New York Office.
Areas of Responsibility & Accountability:
- Manage both the creation of and approval process for payment authorization forms.
- Collect and verify all necessary documents and exhibits to finalize agreements.
- Authenticate all payment information for any new payees.
- Keep thorough records regarding all agreements, but also other high-value member documents that may be retained by BALA, Membership Creative, Distribution and Royalty departments.
- Respond to requests from the Marketing and Events team with summaries of relevant information for members/attendees.
- Review and confirm membership, catalog, and/or royalty information in response to urgent, legal, or otherwise sensitive requests.
- Communicate directly with Members, their representatives, and various ASCAP staff to address complex performing rights issues, providing direct assistance and facilitating internal handoffs when appropriate.
- Process attorney requests and implement any instructions relating to disputes or other issues such as submitting stop-payments or compiling related background data, when necessary.
- Coordinate interdepartmental responses pertaining to issues regarding Member legal transactions (i.e., Royalty, Distribution, Repertory, Global Member Services, etc.).
- Complete additional administrative or filing responsibilities, as needed.
Qualifications & Requirements:
- Bachelor’s degree and strong academic background required.
- 3+ years of experience with a law firm, in-house legal department, or equivalent.
- Proficiency in Word and Excel (incl. pivot tables) and general comfort with numbers.
- Extraordinary work ethic with the ability to follow detailed instructions.
- Ability to think analytically, work independently, and take direction well.
- Comfortable handling time-sensitive matters in a fast-paced environment.
- Able to maintain the highest level of confidentiality and discretion.
- Superb written and oral communication skills.
- Track record of success in a highly detail-oriented environment.
- Analytical problem solver with a highly organized approach.
- Experience working with legal agreements and contracts.
- Familiarity with the music publishing business is a plus.
- This position requires the incumbent to be in the office three days per week.
Compensation/Benefits:
Besides providing a unique and dynamic work environment, there are a few other reasons you should consider ASCAP in your career planning. We also offer generous benefit options that are comprehensive and provide the flexibility that most employees want and need. These health care and financial plan options include the following:
- A choice of either network-only provider medical and dental plans or more flexible medical and dental plans where you can see providers in or out-of-network
- Vision plan that offers both in and out-of-network provider options
- 401(k) Plan that offers pre-tax, Roth, and an after-tax employee contribution option which includes a company match
- An additional employer paid discretionary profit share contribution, regardless of your participation in the 401(k) Plan
- Generous time-off policy
- Health care and dependent care flexible spending accounts
- Short-term disability insurance/salary continuation and long-term disability insurance
- Company provided basic life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance
- Employee gym discounts at select gyms
- Commuter benefits
- Voluntary pet health insurance
- Voluntary auto and homeowner’s insurance
- Voluntary employee, spouse, and dependent life insurance options
- Voluntary ID protection Coverage
The above summary of the current benefits is subject to the terms and conditions of the benefit plan documents. This summary is not complete and is subject to the terms of the underlying plan documents. Please note that ASCAP reserves the right to amend or otherwise revise or terminate, at any time and in its sole discretion, its benefit plans, programs, and policies.
Occasional travel for in-person meetings may be required.
The anticipated base salary range for this position is $60,000 to $72,000 and will be determined on an individualized basis depending on several factors that are unique to each candidate including geographic location (due to differences in the cost of labor), skills, education and prior relevant experience.
Please be aware that ASCAP is not a nut-free or other allergen-free workplace.
ASCAP is an equal opportunity employer. All ASCAP employment decisions are made on the basis of individual qualifications and performance and not on the basis of race, national origin, ethnicity, sex, age, marital status, sexual orientation or preference, gender identity, genetic information, disability, handicap, color, creed, religion, veteran status, or any characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.
