Senior A&R Manager at Sony Music Entertainment

This role will report to the Director of A&R and will be responsible for the strategic management and operational exploitation of Sony Music Entertainment’ South Africa’s (SMESA) roster of artists. The role will be responsible for identifying, evaluating talent and serving as a liaison between assigned artists and the label while representing the commercial interest of both .

What you'll do:

• Identify and source potential artists, labels, catalogues and repertoire for SMESA roster to deliver the artistic goals of the company
• Manage the full roster of SMESA providing strategic and operational directives by ensuring the roster reflects the opportunity in the marketplace and that a healthy churn rate is achieved to avoid artist stagnancy and low release frequency.
• Work with SMESA artists and their managers as well as other members of the creative community, including but not limited to producers, writers, engineers, studios etc. to deliver a steady state of availability of new release repertoire of the highest quality from the SMESA roster
• Oversee the delivery of all recorded music assets including but not limited to audio and video masters, artwork, lyrics and accompanying legal and label documentation required by Product teams to deliver for digital ingestion
• Liaise with the Marketing Director and the Marketing team to develop effective and creative marketing plans for each artist on the SMESA roster considering all and any revenue streams available for exploitation and assisting with maximizing such exploitation including but not limited to the procurement of synchronization deals with third parties
• Collaborate with Marketing Teams to develop and procure synchronization licenses with third parties to drive Licensing revenue for the company
• Work with the L&BA Director SMEA to oversee and implement acquisitions for the SMESA roster to ensure compliance with best practice and company policy
• Work with A&R Director SMEA to identify and develop artists and repertoire for international exploitation
• Adopt best practice approach to innovation in the business whether it be digital formats, content creation or scheduling of product, always driven by artist consideration, consumer needs and audience insight
• Provide leadership and mentorship to A&R team at SMESA to ensure skills development and a robust succession plan are in place
• Manage relationships with SMESA artists and their representatives
• Attend regular meetings with the A&R Director and L&BA Director to review the roster with other relevant Internal stakeholders

Who you are:

• Must have relevant tertiary Diploma or Certificate in Business Management, Marketing or Communications
• Qualification in Sound Engineering or similar studio recording related field will be an added advantage
• Solid A&R experience gained within the music industry
• Understanding of market forces and how-to best position artists towards relevant markets
• Proven experience of delivering creative and cost-effective music content for streaming exploitation
• Understanding of P&L management and business planning process
• Demonstrated complex problem solving and decision making and the organisational skills to manage and prioritise varied workload
• Demonstrated ability to quickly build credible working relationships at all levels of the company
• Experience successfully driving collaborative working and managing conflicting points of view
• Persuasive and confident communicator who has a strong network of key contacts and an excellent negotiator
• Enthusiastic and engaging with clear passion for artists and repertoire
• Provides clear direction in a collaborative and mentoring way to drive a dynamic and changing environment and achieve results
• Entrepreneurial approach to take initiative and capitalise on opportunity whilst remaining calm under pressure
• Confident, credible and self-aware individual