RECORD COMPANY
Vice President • Director • Manager (business Affairs And Legal Affairs)
JOB OVERVIEW
This office oversees business and legal affairs. In the most basic form, Jennifer Jones is responsible for knowing the specific parameters of contracts, such as the label's obligation to the artist, and vice versa, both materially and financially. She negotiates new deals and ensures that current contractual commitments are fulfilled. She also handles licensing and synchronization fees.
CAREER TIPS
“Read the music trade magazines. Go down to your local bookstore or magazine rack and get a Billboard and an R&R. Know about the climate in the music business.”
“My intuition was always to pursue the companies that did the types and styles of music that I was interested in. That made a big difference for me.”
Learn the roster of artists for the company you are applying to. Know a little about the history of the label and the names of the key executives. Do your homework before you apply for a job.
PREREQUISITES
To succeed, you should have good communication, negotiation, organizational, and mathematical skills. You need an understanding of contracts and deal points, and must have the ability to work with a variety of personalities. Beneath it all should be a love of music.
A DAY IN THE LIFE
Jones’ daily activities can be summed up in two words: contracts and communications. Each day she receives calls from artists who have questions about their recording budgets, status on a video, royalty statements, or other contract-related business. She may respond to a request to use a song in a film or television program, review label copy for an upcoming CD release for legal soundness, make comments and check legal obligations on a contract or other document, and work with other departments on day-to-day business.
POINTERS FOR THE JOB SEARCH
“If you're in school now, I would follow my preference of music style and seek out those types of companies and the people who are directing them, for unpaid or paid internships, part-time positions, any kind of involvement.”
JENNIFER JONES, BUSINESS AFFAIRS MANAGER, CAPRICORN RECORDS
As the daughter of a strict Baptist minister in a tiny Kentucky town, Jennifer Jones’ early musical influence was limited to the vinyl singles she and her mother secretly listened to when her father was away. Although she was too young to understand that her destiny lay in the music business, she knew what she wanted to do from a very early age. “I sort of knew I would be working with them [entertainers] in some service-oriented capacity.”
Her interest continued to grow, and lead her to study radio broadcasting and communications at Western Kentucky University. She transferred to Belmont College in Nashville after hearing that it had a good music business program, and immediately landed an internship in the tape copy room of Screen Gems, an affiliate of EMI Music Publishing. “I made the tape copies, cleaned the machines, and delivered the cassettes to different companies and producers. It was a good experience because I got to meet a lot of people.” After a second internship as the singles buyer at a Camelot Music branch store, she took a third post in the pop promotion department of MCA Records, tracking airplay at radio stations and working with artists like Jody Watley and Tiffany. While there, she heard of an opening with an independent promotion company based in Nashville. Although the firm's manager initially was looking for a male candidate, Jones’ persistence in calling him finally won her a job working up promotional giveaways in support of album releases.
THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT THIS JOB:
“Sometimes you run into people who aren't even open to the idea of negotiation.”
THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS JOB:
“Working in the film and television realm; seeing what new things are in production and turning them on to our music. We have a strong roster and I really enjoy working the music and getting it placed.”
Jones graduated in 1988 and pursued a career in pop music, with interviews in both New York and Los Angeles. While deciding between offers in each city, she was offered a job with Gold Dust Records in Atlanta, through a connection she had made while interning at MCA. Working for the small label, Jones got experience in every aspect of the music business: contracts, promotion, publishing, management, A&R, and so on. Gold Dust folded in 1991 and Jones returned to Nashville to put together a successful freelance promotion business for emerging rock and alternative rock acts. When Liberty Records later opened a rock division, she was hired to work in the A&R department, but soon left when it became clear the label had little interest in supporting the new enterprise.
After a round of phone calls to friends, Jones landed at RCA affiliate BNA Entertainment for seven months as art director over video production and packaging. Upon hearing that alternative rock label Capricorn Records was establishing a business and legal affairs department in their Nashville office, she pursued a position with them and was hired in 1994. The label moved their offices to Atlanta in 1997, and Jones moved with them as director of business affairs.
Additional topics
- RECORD COMPANY - Human Resources And Support Staff: Senior Vice President • Vice President • Director (human Resources)
- RECORD COMPANY - Licensing And Business Affairs
Job Descriptions and Careers, Career and Job Opportunities, Career Search, and Career Choices and ProfilesCareers in the Music BusinessRECORD COMPANY - Executive Office (major Or Large Label): Chief Operating Officer • President, President/general Manager • Vice President/general Manager