Music Publishers Association (UK)
Joint Licensing Lead
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Job Description: Joint Licensing Lead at MCPS
We are seeking a Joint Licensing Lead to manage and oversee joint licensing agreements and processes for the Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society (MCPS).
The Joint Licensing Lead plays a vital role in MCPS' licensing model by ensuring joint licensing agreements are accurately negotiated, administered, and reported across complex ownership structures, whilst safeguarding MCPS' interests, members' rights, and revenue-growth objectives.
This role directly supports MCPS' strategic ambitions to strengthen oversight, transparency, and control of joint licensing schemes.
About the MPA Group of Companies
The MPA works on behalf of its wide-ranging membership to protect and enhance the rights of the music publishers and creators at the heart of British music’s extraordinary cultural and economic success story. We strive to be the catalyst for positive change in the music publishing community, by empowering our members and by advocating on behalf of our industry with passion, integrity, respect for others and with the creator at the heart of everything we do.
The MPA also owns and operates its subsidiary businesses MCPS and PMLL (collectively known as The MPA Group).
About MCPS
MCPS (Mechanical Copyright Protection Society) is the UK collection society that licenses mechanical (reproduction) copyrights on behalf of over 46,000 music publisher, songwriter, composer and lyricist members.
About the Role
Reporting to the Commercial Director, the Joint Licensing Lead is a key role in MCPS. This position ensures licences are accurately negotiated, administered, and reported across complex ownership structures. Operating at the intersection of mechanical and performing rights, you will manage joint licensing arrangements (all licences with both Mechanical and Performing Right components where MCPS works with PRS to deliver these to the market), ensuring they are effectively governed, compliant, and commercially sound.
This role is responsible for leading and representing the mechanical rights element of joint licence during negotiations, ensuring MCPS' rights, policies, and strategic objectives are fully reflected in licensing outcomes. The successful candidate will provide subject matter expertise on mechanical rights across a broad range of licensing discussions, covering areas such as Broadcast, General Entertainment Online Licences (GEOL), including SVOD, UK Online, and any additional usage categories delivered through joint licensing arrangements.
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Key Responsibilities
Joint Licensing Governance and Oversight:
- Lead the end-to-end management of all MCPS-led or joint licensing arrangements, ensuring decisions, pricing, and terms align with MCPS' licensing and distribution policy frameworks.
- Manage joint licence processes across multiple rights holders and CMOs, ensuring alignment on licensing terms, scope, and usage rights.
- Provide expert oversight where joint responsibility exists, ensuring MCPS' strategic, commercial, and policy positions are consistently upheld.
- Ensure joint licensing matters requiring MCPS engagement (e.g., major licences) progress through the appropriate MCPS governance pathways.
- Support Commercial Director in securing approvals required under the mandated governance framework.
- Lead and support negotiations relating to the mechanical rights element of joint licensing arrangements, ensuring MCPS' commercial, strategic, and policy interests are effectively represented.
Scheme Development and Rate Setting Support:
- Contribute to licensing scheme development by analysing market benchmarks, usage trends, BI insights, and historic performance data.
- Participate in market consultations and stakeholder engagement as required.
- Draft inputs to licensing terms, pricing models, and conditions for approval under MCPS governance.
- Provide insight and recommendations to support the development of licensing frameworks, pricing approaches, and future licensing opportunities.
Operational Excellence and Data Integrity:
- Ensure that joint licences are correctly documented, issued, and administered in the relevant systems, working closely with MCPS tech, data, and operational teams.
- Oversee accurate reporting, invoicing, revenue recognition, and downstream royalty distribution for joint licences.
- Support data-migration validation related to historical joint licence and usage reporting.
- Monitor compliance with licensing terms across all joint schemes, identifying issues such as under-reporting or misapplication of rates.
- Support the commissioning of licensee audits where MCPS is responsible for instructing or approving review activity.
Relationship and Stakeholder Management:
- Represent MCPS in meetings with publishers, CMOs, licensees, and industry partners, providing expert guidance on licensing policy and compliance expectations.
- Ensure all licensee and member escalations relating to joint licences are managed and resolved within defined SLAs.
- Engage directly with licensees during negotiation cycles, providing mechanical-rights expertise, clarifying MCPS requirements, and supporting agreement of fair and compliant licensing terms.
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Continuous Improvement and Market Development:
- Recommend improvements to processes, documentation, workflows, and controls that support efficient joint licence operations.
- Identify emerging market opportunities or platforms where MCPS should influence joint licensing development.
- Feed insights from usage data trends, BI reporting, audit outcomes, and enquiry patterns to inform wider MCPS licensing strategy.
About You
Experience and Knowledge
- Experience in music publishing, rights administration, royalties, licensing, or copyright management is essential for the role.
- Strong understanding of mechanical copyright, rights ownership, multi-party licensing structures, and licensing governance.
- Solid industry knowledge of copyright law, collective management models, and international licensing frameworks.
- Familiarity with CRM systems, licensing portals, metadata standards, and reporting tools.
- Desirable: experience in Music, Broadcast, Subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) and other wider entertainment sectors.
Skills and Competencies
- Strong organisational skills and resilience, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and competing demands in a fast-paced environment.
- Strong analytical skills with experience interpreting repertoire data, usage patterns, splits, and rate structures.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain technical licensing concepts clearly.
- Strong organisational skills and resilience, with ability to manage competing demands in a fast-paced environment.
- Confidence working across legal, financial, technical, and operational domains.
Benefits
- 28 days holiday plus bank holidays
- Pension contribution
- Critical illness insurance
- Income protection insurance
- Death in service benefit (after 2 years of service)
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
We are committed to building an inclusive workplace that reflects the diversity of the creators and communities we serve. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, identities and experiences, and strive to create an environment where everyone feels respected, supported and empowered to do their best work. This commitment to inclusion and respect for creators sits at the heart of the MPA Group.
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