Manager, Copyright, APAC

Warner Chappell Music; Hong Kong; On-site; HKD 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Job summary

Warner Chappell Music APACis seeking a Copyright Manager to lead the regional copyright team, drive royalty administration, and deliver KPI-driven reporting. You will manage cross-border registrations, liaise with societies and affiliates, and support strategic planning with the Regional C&R Manager.

The role requires 6+ years in music publishing with strong Excel skills and fluency in English (Chinese helpful). You will work across time zones and manage multiple projects to maximise collections.

Qualifications

• 6+ years experience in international music publishing
• Proven people management experience
• Experience reading music publishing contracts and translating terms to systems
• Knowledge of PRO/CMO policies and royalty administration
• Strong data analysis and Excel capability
• Excellent communication across clients and teams
• Fluent in English; Chinese language skills helpful
• Ability to work across multiple time zones and deadlines

Responsibilities

• Lead APAC Regional Copyright team and drive department strategy
• Deliver process improvements and new ways of working
• Plan workload to meet deadlines and set performance metrics
• Prepare regular status and performance reports for leadership
• Provide admin support for catalogues, registrations and dispute handling
• Coordinate with societies, affiliates and third parties on registrations and income flows
• Train staff on systems and publishing knowledge when needed
• Resolve copyright inquiries and support legal, finance and creative teams
• Represent Warner Chappell in external meetings and industry groups

Skills

People management

Data analysis

Excel

Cross-functional collaboration

Time management

Education

Degree in Music/Administration

Tools

Power Pivot

Excel formulas

Job description

At Warner Chappell Music (WCM) - the global music publishing arm of Warner Music Group (WMG) - we shape the culture of songwriting and champion songs that resonate for generations by creating transformational opportunities for songwriters everywhere. Our people and culture are at the epicenter of our company, and we are looking for team members who share our service-oriented mindset and have a passion for looking after our songwriters.

Your Role

As the Copyright Manager, APAC, you will be forward-thinking, self-motivated and driven to deliver against a high-reaching set of revenue and activity KPIs. You will have the opportunity to continue crafting the role as our industry changes and our business evolves, advance how we run our APAC Copyright and contractual administration activities, and collaborate with administration departments globally to improve awareness on pivotal administration processes. You will be part of a future-facing administration team, building relationships across our writer client community, international affiliates and local performing and mechanical collection societies.

You will be responsible for preparing monthly and weekly reports, and using these to drive decision making to ensure maximum efficiency and ultimately to maximise royalty collections for our clients. You will be a confident people manager and team leader, able to effectively prioritise a busy workload and set a clear direction for your team.

This position will provide administrative support to the publishing functions and will involve a variety of administrative tasks including dealing with the societies, local & overseas affiliates, duplicate claims, disputes, contract & works registration, suspense research and portal administration. Key responsibilities will include administration of all areas of Warner Chappell Music’s Catalogues.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the APAC Regional Copyright team, shaping the future of the department
• Work to deliver process improvements and implement new ways of working
• Prioritise and plan your team’s workload to ensure deadlines are met
• Set critical metrics to measure team, society and third-party performance, creating regular performance reports for the Regional C&R Manager as required
• Support the Regional Administration Director with strategic planning, goal setting and project management
• Review Contract administration processes for APAC
• Troubleshoot copyright enquiries for the Asia Copyright team, assisting our legal, finance and creative teams as required.
• Provide a high-level of service to our APAC clients by responding to and coordinating client queries in a courteous and timely manner, investigating, and resolving queries as required.
• Provide the business with regular status updates of APAC Deals and associated Work registrations.
• Monitor accurate and timely territory-wide catalogue registrations for all new APAC Deal signings and provide regular updates to the Regional C&R Manager.
• Liaise with counterparts across all affiliate offices and sub-publishers to ensure registrations and income flows are in line with expectations & resolve any interruptions or discrepancies.
• Ensure affiliate agreement & work registration queries are resolved.
• Regularly communicate with APAC PRO, as well as any other processing partners
• Provide Training on system, publishing knowledge, etc for colleague when necessary.
• Handling WCM copyright claims check and return the claim file to source.
• Work closely with the Regional Royalty and Tracking teams to resolve and proactively prevent against problems arising with the collection of income
• Represent Warner Chappell at external meetings and participate in industry working groups Support the Regional C&R Manager with strategic planning, goal setting and project management
• Delegating tasks as required
• Undertaking various admin duties as per request.
• Generally assisting with other administration matters as required such as assisting in other general department issues, as the pressure of work dictates.

Experience & Qualifications

• Degree in Music / or administration field
• An experienced Copyright Administrator with a minimum 6+ years’ experience working for an international Music Publisher, plus at least 2 years of team management experience.
• An experienced people manager, comfortable with adapting your management style as needed when working with different groups of people.
• Experienced in reading and understanding music publishing contracts. You can interpret commercial terms with ease and confidently translate them into copyright and royalty systems.
• You collaborate and consult with peers to strengthen business practices and improve efficiencies across departments.
• In-depth knowledge of PRO/CMO collective rights administration policies and operational activities.
• Confidence in clearly communicating with clients, colleagues and management.
• Flexible, and comfortable working across time zones when required outside of regular working hours
• Excellent organisational and time management skills
• The ability to manage multiple projects at once and hit time-sensitive deadlines.
• Advanced Excel capabilities including Power Pivot and use of advanced formulae.
• Ability to read and write in English & Chinese (Simplified and Traditional)

Skills/Abilities Required

• The ability to demonstrate your personal drive and ambition
• The ability to join dots, think laterally and understand both downstream and upstream impact of events.
• Skills to analyse, extract & manipulate data from high volume datafiles.

We'd Love It If You Also Had

• Ability to read and write in other languages: Korean, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese
• A thorough understanding of the collection society structures and their licensing/distribution processes
• A passion for music!
• A background in collection society or music rights management administration

#WCM

About Us

Before the fans and fame, the soundtracks and syncs, there is the song. And before the song comes the songwriter - the heart of an art form that defines generations, and the soul of our business. Songwriters are our inspiration; we are their partners, collaborators, and crusaders. Songwriters shape culture; and here at Warner Chappell Music we help hone their craft, build their careers, and protect their legacies. We value curiosity, collaboration, and commitment – which helps set us apart and helps us in our commitment and global service to our songwriters. We are Warner Chappell Music - where songwriters are heard.

As Part Of The Larger Warner Music Group, We’re a Global Collective Of Music Makers And Music Lovers, Tech Innovators And Inspired Entrepreneurs, Game-changing Creatives And Passionate Team Members. Here, We Turn Dreams Into Stardom And Audiences Into Fans. We Are Guided By Three Core Values That Underpin Everything We Do Across All Our Diverse Businesses

• Curiosity: We do our best work when we’re immersing ourselves in culture and breaking through barriers. Curiosity is the driving force behind creativity and ingenuity. It fuels innovation, and innovation is the key to our future.
• Collaboration: Making music and bringing it to the world is all about the power of originality amplified by teamwork. A great idea, like a great song, travels globally. We ignite passions and build connections across our diverse community of artists, songwriters, partners, and fans.
• Commitment: We pursue excellence for our team and our talent. Everything in music starts with a leap into the unknown, and we’re committed to keeping the faith, acting with integrity, and delivering on our promises.

WMG is home to a wide range of artists, musicians, and songwriters that fuel our success. That is why we are committed to creating a work environment that actively values, appreciates, and respects everyone. We encourage applications from people with a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences.

WMG counts film and television storytelling powerhouse Warner Music Entertainment among its many brands.

Warner Music Group: Independent Minds. Major Sound.

This position requires a minimum of 4 days per week in the office. We value in-office collaboration, which is essential for talent development and strong working relationships.

WMG is committed to inclusion and diversity in all aspects of our business. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and will evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, religion or belief, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, disability, pregnancy, childbirth or any other characteristic protected by law.