Music Licensing Assistant (Rolling Intake)

About ESPN 

ESPN is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The company was founded in 1979 by Bill Rasmussen along with his son Scott Rasmussen and Ed Eagan.

Rasmussen and his son were able to further expand on their original concept, deciding that their channel would show a variety of sports 24/7, received adequate funding and bought the property, and set up their headquarters. ESPN is now considered a World Wide Leader in the sports industry, and its popularity is only increasing.

Your role

The Music Licensing Assistant will work closely with the Music Licensing Coordinator and Sr. Music Licensing Coordinator on the music licensing process. Collaborate with the other Music Assistants to maintain/ingest metadata for ESPN Owned Copyright and licensed music. Involved with generating cue sheet reports, delivering and tracking cue sheets to affiliate partners, and organizing submitted cue sheets.

• Assist the Coordinating Director of Music, Sr. Music Licensing Coordinator, and Music Licensing Coordinator in the preparation, filing, coordination, and organization of music licenses and related music documentation.
• Management of the storage, organization, update and ingest of digital metadata for worldwide tracking and monetization.
• Work with other Music Assistants to handle the update of music data to the cue sheet management system, as well as the distribution and handling of cue sheets to licensors.
• Support the approval of music cue sheets submitted to the database and assist in cue sheet reporting to track compliance for all ESPN networks.
• Tracking of ESPN programming on affiliate networks and submitting cue sheets to those networks and/or Publishing Administrator.
• Assist in the registration of ESPN-owned copyrights and work to reconcile the backlog of Copyright metadata.
• If needed, prepare clearance requests, reporting, correspondence, and license agreements
• Input into departmental database song and license fee information for cleared third-party songs.
• Works with other Music Assistants to organize, compile and deliver series/seasonal music packages for assigned Productions, as needed.
• Assists the in-house producers with guidance related to music procedures and policies; provides training and explanations of standards and procedures.
• Exhibit the ability to train incoming employees on the department’s basic functions, cue sheet management system, digital audio platforms, administrative systems & audio library resources currently in use.
• Assists Music Directors and Coordinators music team with other music-related projects and tasks, as needed

Training, development & rotations

ESPN has taken several steps to ensure that its development efforts overcome these challenges and support employees’ career interests and goals, enhance their skills, and grow top leadership talent. ESPN requires every employee to complete an individual development plan (IDP). The IDP helps employees consider where they currently are in their careers, their career goals, and how they plan to reach their career goals. The learning function at ESPN reviews and supports the IDP, which has been completed by over 95% of employees.  ESPN has a Leadership GPS, which is a tool used by employees to track their development progress. The Leadership GPS helps employees set development goals. It also provides advice on which types of development activities (such as courses, job shadowing, or experiences) are available and will help them meet their goals. 

Salary & benefits

The estimated total pay for a Music Licensing Assistant at ESPN ranges from USD31,000 to USD42,000 per year. 

Disney offers a competitive total rewards package that includes pay, health and savings benefits, time-off programs, educational opportunities, and more. Together, these rewards make up a comprehensive package that helps employees and cast members live their best life, grow personally and professionally and take advantage of the special extras that only Disney can provide. 

Work-life balance

The Work-Life Balance at ESPN is rated a D- by 26 employees putting it in the Bottom 10% of similar size companies on Comparably. 67% of ESPN employees feel they are burnt out. A well-proportioned work-life balance is necessary to keep employees happy and productive.

About 36% of the employees at ESPN work eight hours or less, while 4% of them have a very long day - longer than twelve hours. The Majority of ESPN employees are not satisfied with their work-life balance and feel burnt out.

Culture & Vibe

ESPN's core values include “care, respect, diversity, teamwork, creativity, quality, integrity, the aggressive pursuit of new ideas, audience growth and building shareholder value,” and this certainly shines true as the company recognizes the importance of maintaining these values at their company.

About you

• With 0-2 years of experience or understanding related to broadcast, technical operations, library science, or music backgrounds.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Prioritize projects based on time & resources available.
• Demonstrated high organizational and communication skills and abilities required.
• Knowledge of both Mac and PC operating systems is required.
• Highly proficient in MS Word and MS Excel and knowledge of other Office365 tools.

How to apply

To apply for this role, simply click the "Apply on employer site" button on this page to submit your application directly with ESPN.

ESPN Productions, Inc is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or protected veteran status. Disney fosters a business culture where ideas and decisions from all people help us grow, innovate, create the best stories, and be relevant in a rapidly changing world.

Source

The following sources were used in researching this page.

• Disneycareers / ESPN - benefits
• glassdoor / ESPN - Salary
• Wikipedia / ESPN - about
• comparably / ESPN - work-life balance
• Chegg / ESPN - training, development & rotations