Business Affairs Manager at UnitedMasters in Brooklyn, NY

Who We Are

UnitedMasters is building a marketplace that connects artists, brands and fans - empowering artists to earn and grow. UnitedMasters has taken the bold step of building a music distribution service that, radically, puts artists first - disrupting the legacy music business by letting up-and-coming artists distribute their music directly to fans through streaming services while maintaining ownership of their master recording rights and up to 100% of royalties. Through the combination of UnitedMasters’ music distribution platform and its deep ties to brands, UnitedMasters enables independent artists and change-makers to grow and earn unlike any other platform.

The UnitedMasters team is made up of musicians, marketers, engineers, and storytellers with backgrounds from YouTube, SoundCloud, Pandora, Facebook, Uber, Dropbox, Complex, VICE, and more. We work hand in hand with the award-winning creative teams that forge those innovative partnerships at Translation (our in-house creative advertising agency).

We are looking for a Business Affairs Manager to join Translation’s McDonald’s team!

This role is based in Brooklyn, New York with four days in-office and one day remote.

What You'll Do

• Review creative materials and advise agency teams on talent, music, insurance, copyright, and intellectual property considerations, recommending appropriate next steps.
• Work in tandem with internal legal counsel to manage rights, clearances, and contractual matters across productions.
• Prepare and review estimates for talent fees, residuals, and other talent/music related production costs.
• Advise teams on union matters, including SAG-AFTRA and AFM guidelines.
• Track usage for large-scale talent guarantees and monitor renewal or renegotiation needs.
• Create and issue key production documentation including talent agreements, licenses, insurance certificates, production contracts, and vendor scopes of work.
• Review scripts, decks, rough cuts, and final creative for clearance or risk considerations.
• Coordinate with production, finance, and payroll vendors to process session and usage payments for talent, ensuring payments are accurate, timely, and compliant with union and non-union requirements.
• Maintain organized records of talent agreements, payment documentation, and job materials for reporting, compliance, and audit purposes.
• Monitor talent budgets and support reconciliation of talent-related costs throughout the production lifecycle.
• Ensure vendors and talent payments are processed on time in coordination with Account Management and Finance, and assist in closing projects financially.
• Ensure all relevant documentation is captured in job jackets and completion reports.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Work well under pressure and move with the storms of pitches and deadlines
• Experience in building relationships with account, creative, legal, production, & finance
• Able to meet deadlines with accuracy and minimum supervision
• Strong organizational skills and high attention to detail
• Ability to solve problems with keen instincts
• Experience working on union & non-union productions
• Knowledge and experience with the SAG-AFTRA Commercials Contract
• Familiarity with talent payment workflows including session and usage payments for union and non-union talent.
• Understanding of SAG-AFTRA commercial payment structures and usage tracking.

Minimum Qualifications

• 4+ years of experience in business affairs, production, talent management, or related roles within an advertising agency, production company, or entertainment environment.
• Working knowledge of SAG-AFTRA Commercials Contract and union/non-union production practices.
• Exposure to talent payment processing, usage tracking, or production financial management preferred.

Preferred Qualifications

• 4-Year College Degree preferred
• Experience working with talent payroll vendors or payment systems (e.g., Extreme Reach or similar platforms).
• A quick thinker, and multi-tasker
• Able to summarize and speak in layman terms
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

About UnitedMasters, Inc.

UnitedMasters Inc. represents the creative solutions company, Translation, and the leading software and services platform for independent creators, UnitedMasters. UnitedMasters enables ownership, exposure, and new paths for financial return for independent creators, while Translation helps brands leverage the power of contemporary culture to achieve transformational growth. Combined, UnitedMasters, Inc. is the world’s leading marketplace for cultural capital, connecting independent artists and brands to realize a future in which all creators own their future. Backed by Alphabet, Andreessen Horowitz, and Apple, UnitedMasters, Inc. is reimagining how brands and artists come together to tell their stories, build profitable growth, and push culture forward.

Salary Hiring Range: Zone A 100,000 - 120,000 / Zone B 90,000 - 105,000

Our salary ranges are based on paying competitively for our size and industry, and are one part of many compensation, benefits and other reward opportunities we provide (e.g. bonus, stock options, 401(k) match, etc.)

Individual pay rate decisions are based on a number of factors, including qualifications for the role, experience level, skillset, and balancing internal equity relative to peers at the company. We expect the majority of the candidates who are offered roles at our company to fall healthily throughout the range based on these factors.

The range above is for the expectations as laid out in the job description, however we are often open to a wide variety of profiles, and recognize that the person we hire may be less experienced (or more senior) than this job description as posted. If that ends up being the case, the updated salary range will be communicated with you as a candidate.

The salary range above is for the NY/CA. As a company, we have a location based strategy, which means the salary range could be lower or higher than this if the role is hired in another location.

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