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 VP, Legal to join UnitedMasters! This role is for a strategic, business-minded legal leader who thrives at the intersection of music, technology, and advertising. In this role, you’ll serve as a key partner to executive leadership, advising on risk, commercial transactions, corporate strategy, and high-impact partnerships across UnitedMasters LLC and Translation LLC. You’ll play a critical role in shaping the company’s legal and business direction while leading and developing the legal team. This is an opportunity for someone who can think big, move decisively, and help guide the company through its next phase of growth.
This role is based in Brooklyn, New York with four days in-office and one day remote.
What You'll Do
- Partner directly with the C-suite and senior leadership to provide strategic legal guidance and risk analysis on key initiatives and company direction.
- Structure and advise on complex commercial arrangements, including distribution, licensing, partnerships, and strategic transactions.
- Serve as a senior legal advisor across the full enterprise, including music distribution, product and technology, international expansion, sync and licensing, corporate strategy, business development, advertising, and supporting shared services (HR, Finance, IT).
- Manage the internal legal team, setting priorities, allocating resources, and elevating overall legal function performance.
- Partner and coordinate with outside counsel, ensuring efficient execution, cost management, and alignment with company objectives.
- Lead development and implementation of scalable legal frameworks, policies, and best practices across the organization
- Guide product, technology, and international teams on launches, expansion, and regulatory considerations
- Oversee and manage enforcing rights, dispute resolution strategy, including pre-litigation, litigation, and settlement approach.
- Ensure the company operates with a practical, business-forward legal posture that enables growth rather than restricts it
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
- Background in IP, media, technology, music and/or entertainment law, with strong commercial instincts.
- Proven ability to operate at a strategic level, advising executives and influencing business outcomes while maintaining strong relationships internally and externally.
- Experience managing or leading legal teams and partnering with outside counsel.
- Deep understanding of commercial deal structures, rights frameworks, and global business operations.
- Strong judgment, with the ability to balance legal risk against business objectives.
- Effective communicator, excellent writer, and outward leader who can translate complex legal concepts into clear, actionable guidance.
- Comfortable operating cross-functionally with product, finance, HR, marketing, and business teams.
- Proficiency with AI-powered legal tools and workflows (e.g., contract review/analysis, legal research, and document automation), with the ability to leverage emerging technologies to improve legal efficiency, scalability, and decision-making.
Minimum Qualifications
- J.D. from an accredited law school, admitted and in good standing in at least one U.S. jurisdiction, preferably NY.
- 8 to 15 years of experience, with a mix of reputable entertainment law firm and in-house experience
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: $220,000 - $250,000
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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