Licensing Operations Manager

About this role

ABOUT GRAI

GRAI is reimagining how music is discovered and shared, created around the social layer of it. We're pre-launch, moving fast, and building the infrastructure for how the next generation of artists connects with their audience.

WHAT YOU'LL OWN:

- Own the operational side of music licensing across recorded music and publishing, ensuring deals move smoothly from negotiation through execution and ongoing administration.

- Develop and execute our licensing strategy, identifying the licenses we need and driving them to completion with labels, publishers, and other rights holders.

- Manage the end-to-end contract lifecycle — from negotiation support and execution to renewals, obligation tracking, and payments.

- Partner with other teams to implement licensing deals and ensure they're reflected accurately across internal systems.

- Oversee royalty administration, reporting, and payment schedules, ensuring everything is executed accurately and on time.

- Research rights ownership, licensing questions, and commercial terms to support internal teams and external partners.

- Build scalable licensing operations by improving processes, implementing automation, and leveraging AI where it creates value.

- Own the health of our licensing portfolio, proactively identifying risks before they become issues.

Ideally, you'll have:

- 5+ years of experience in music licensing, Business Affairs, publishing administration, rights management, or royalty operations.

- Strong understanding of music copyright, licensing, and royalty administration across both recorded music and publishing.

- Experience reviewing and managing commercial music agreements.

- Experience working in a fast-growing startup or scale-up where you've built processes, moved quickly, and owned outcomes.

- Exceptional organizational skills, commercial judgment, and a bias toward execution.

- Comfort working cross-functionally with legal, finance, product, and commercial teams.

- Experience using AI and modern workflow tools to improve operational efficiency.

NICE TO HAVE

- Experience at a music tech company, DSP, publisher, record label, distributor, or licensing platform.

- Knowledge of copyright registration and rights databases (ISRC, ISWC, IPI/CAE, DDEX, CWR).

- Experience with rights metadata management and catalog operations.

WHY GRAI

Joining GRAI means becoming one of the people shaping how our business operates - not just executing existing processes.

You'll have the opportunity to:

- Build a function from the ground up.

- Work directly with founders and C-level.

- Help create a best-in-class experience for publishers and labels.

- Grow alongside a fast-moving startup that's redefining how people experience music.

- Competitive compensation + equity

- Flexibility in how you work

- US/remote