Creative Director

Sony Music Entertainment; Nashville (TN); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental & vision insurance

401K + employer matching

Paid leave & holidays

Job summary

Southern Rose, Sony Music’s merchandise partner in Nashville, seeks a Creative Director to drive visual strategy for artist merchandise. You will lead cross-functional teams across production, tour, ecommerce, retail, and artist relations to conceptualize and execute compelling designs that connect with fans.

The ideal candidate will have deep knowledge of music culture, current design trends, and a proven track record of delivering creative solutions that enhance fan engagement and drive sales.

Qualifications

• Proven experience as a Creative Director or in a similar leadership role within the music merchandise industry.
• Strong Adobe Creative Suite knowledge (Photoshop, In-Design, Illustrator).
• Strong portfolio showcasing a diverse range of successful and innovative merchandise designs.
• In-depth knowledge of design software, industry trends, and production processes.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
• Passion for music and a deep understanding of various artist genres.

Responsibilities

• Provide creative direction and leadership to the art team, ensuring a cohesive and compelling visual identity across artist merchandise.
• Foster a culture of innovation and collaboration, inspiring the team to push creative boundaries and deliver groundbreaking designs.
• Managing Freelance Creatives (Briefing, Creative Directing, Budgeting, Contracts).
• Develop and maintain a strong understanding of current music trends, artist aesthetics, and fan preferences to inform and guide design decisions.
• Collaborate with tour, ecommerce, retail and artist relations teams to align merchandise design with overall artist strategy and business objectives.
• Lead brainstorming sessions and ideation processes to generate fresh and original concepts for artist merchandise.
• Translate creative concepts into tangible designs, considering market trends, production feasibility, and artist guidelines.

Skills

Creative leadership

Brand & visual identity

Collaboration

Team mentorship

Tools

Adobe Creative Suite

Photoshop

InDesign

Illustrator

Job description

At Sony Music Entertainment, we fuel the creative journey. We’ve played a pioneering role in music history, from the first-ever music label to the invention of the flat disc record. We’ve nurtured some of music’s most iconic artists and produced some of the most influential recordings of all time.

Today, we work in more than 70 countries, supporting a diverse roster of international superstars, developing and independent artists, and visionary creators. From our position at the intersection of music, entertainment, and technology, we bring imagination and expertise to the newest products and platforms, embrace new business models, employ breakthrough tools, and provide powerful insights that help our artists push creative boundaries and reach new audiences. In everything we do, we’re committed to artistic integrity, transparency, and entrepreneurship.

Sony Music Entertainment is a member of the Sony family of global companies.

Southern Rose is a Nashville based outpost of Ceremony of Roses. We are an agile creative practice built to solve the commercial and creative challenges of the world’s top artists. As Sony Music’s merchandise partner, we serve a roster of global talent—both within and beyond the Sony ecosystem. We’re defined by our commitment to product excellence, delivering products that are made to be kept, worn, and loved for years to come. Our best-in-class creative team delivers culture-leading, artist-specific collections that build artist brands beyond their music. Most importantly, we deliver customer excellence, embedding ourselves as an extension of each client’s team, bringing transparency, accountability, and tailored support to every partnership.

As the Creative Director at Southern Rose, you will be the driving force behind the visual representation of our artist clients through merchandise. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams, including production, tour, ecommerce, retail and artist relations, to conceptualize and execute compelling designs that connect with our client’s fans. An ideal candidate will have a deep understanding of music culture, a keen eye for design trends, and a proven track record of delivering creative solutions that drive fan engagement and sales. This role reports to the General Manager of Southern Rose.

• Provide creative direction and leadership to the art team, ensuring a cohesive and compelling visual identity across artist merchandise.
• Foster a culture of innovation and collaboration, inspiring the team to push creative boundaries and deliver groundbreaking designs.
• Managing Freelance Creatives (Briefing, Creative Directing, Budgeting, Contracts)
• Develop and maintain a strong understanding of current music trends, artist aesthetics, and fan preferences to inform and guide design decisions.
• Collaborate with tour, ecommerce, retail and artist relations teams to align merchandise design with overall artist strategy and business objectives.
• Lead brainstorming sessions and ideation processes to generate fresh and original concepts for artist merchandise.
• Translate creative concepts into tangible designs, considering market trends, production feasibility, and artist guidelines.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

• Work closely with tour, ecommerce, retail and artist relations to ensure seamless integration of creative concepts into product lines.
• Collaborate with artist management and support teams to capture the essence of their personality, fans, and campaigns, and translate it into compelling merchandise designs.

Quality Control:

• Oversee production output to ensure that the final merchandise aligns with the approved creative vision and meets quality standards.
• Conduct regular reviews and provide constructive feedback to the art and production teams to maintain high-quality output.

Who you are:

• Proven experience as a Creative Director or in a similar leadership role within the music merchandise industry.
• Strong Adobe Creative Suite knowledge (Photoshop, In-Design, Illustrator )
• Strong portfolio showcasing a diverse range of successful and innovative merchandise designs.
• In-depth knowledge of design software, industry trends, and production processes.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
• Passion for music and a deep understanding of various artist genres.

What we give you:

• You join an inclusive, collaborative and global community where you have the opportunity to channel your passion every day
• A modern office environment designed to foster productivity, creativity, and teamwork empowering you to bring your best
• An attractive and comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, life & disability coverage, and 401K + employer matching
• Voluntary benefits like company-paid identity theft protection and resources for pets, mental health and meditation resources, industry-leading fertility coverage, fully paid leave for childbirth or bonding, fully paid leave for caregivers, programs for loved ones with developmental disabilities and neurodiversity, subsidized back-up child and elder care, and reimbursement for adoption, surrogacy, tuition, and student loans
• Investment in your professional growth and development enabling you to thrive in our vibrant community.
• The space to accelerate progress, positively disrupt, and create what happens next
• Time off for a winter recess

Sony Music is committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all persons regardless of age, disability, national origin, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, veteran or military status, marital and civil partnership/union status, alienage or citizenship status, creed, genetic information or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.