Senior Business Affairs Specialist, Record Label Licensing
Amazon Japan G.K. · Hybrid — Tokyo, Japan · Entertainment and Studio
Hybrid — Tokyo, JapanFull-timeSenior
About the role
Are you passionate about the intersection of music, media, and technology? Amazon Music is looking for a Business Affairs & Label Licensing Specialist to join our Content Acquisition Management (CAM) team in Tokyo. In this role, you'll play a central part in shaping how Amazon Music partners with artists, labels, and content creators across Japan — negotiating deals, managing licensing relationships, and helping bring new music streaming experiences to millions of listeners.
This is a hybrid role spanning deal negotiations for livestreaming and original content projects, commercial licensing operations with record label partners, and content expansion initiatives in the Japanese market. The ideal candidate thrives in ambiguity, can context-switch between deal types, and brings deep knowledge of the music industry's commercial landscape.
Key job responsibilities
Business Affairs — Livestreaming & Original Content
- Negotiate and execute agreements for livestreams and original music content projects
- Define and standardize contractual terms across deal types; develop and maintain template agreements and framework deals
- Review deal terms to ensure alignment with global standards
- Collaborate with artist & label relations, content & editorial, business development, brand, and content operations teams
- Manage internal approvals, statement of work routing and finance/legal sign-off
- Negotiate with artist managers, talent agencies, festival promoters, and their legal representatives
- Develop best practices for negotiations across different deal types
Label Catalog Licensing
- Negotiate and support ongoing commercial licenses with record label partners in Japan
- Provide licensing consultation to internal teams
- Ensure licensing terms are correctly applied across service tiers and territories
- Support communications including translations, deal tracking, status updates, and key stakeholder relationship management
- Contribute to operational improvements including rights management systems and process documentation
- Coordinate with legal, finance, royalties and reporting, and catalog teams
Content Expansion Initiatives
- Support initiatives related to content strategy in the Japanese market
- Establish and manage relationships with local content providers to support content growth
- Collaborate with industry teams to identify and act on market opportunities
A day in the life
No two days look the same in this role. You might start your morning reviewing redlines on a livestream agreement, then shift to a licensing consultation call with the marketing team about a new promotional campaign. After lunch, you could be working with the legal team to finalize contract language for a label renewal, followed by a call with a distributor to explore new catalog partnerships. You'll regularly connect with global counterparts across time zones to align on standards and share market insights. This role offers a blend of strategic negotiation, operational rigor, and creative problem-solving.
About the team
The Record Label Licensing team at Amazon Music is at the heart of how we build and maintain partnerships with the music industry worldwide. Our Business Affairs function leads deal negotiations with industry partners — working to create fair, scalable, and innovative deal structures that power new content experiences for listeners. Our Label Licensing function manages the commercial relationships with our record label partners, ensuring operational excellence across rights management, partner engagement, and strategic consultation. Together, we help shape the future of music on Amazon.
- Experience in content negotiation, acquisition or business development
- Speak, write, and read fluently in Japanese
- Proficiency in English for collaboration with global cross-functional teams
- Working understanding of music rights (master recordings, compositions, performance rights) and how they apply to streaming, livestreaming, and original content
- Strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to analyze and review contractual language
- Experience collaborating with cross-functional teams including Marketing, Product Management, Customer Service, Operations, Legal, Finance, and Senior Leadership
- Experience building scalable programs and repeatable scalable processes, levering various tools and methods to create scale and efficiency
- Familiarity with royalty structures, per-play economics, and multi-tier streaming service models
- Experience with contract management tools and deal tracking systems
- Established relationships within the music industry in Japan
Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.
This is a hybrid role spanning deal negotiations for livestreaming and original content projects, commercial licensing operations with record label partners, and content expansion initiatives in the Japanese market. The ideal candidate thrives in ambiguity, can context-switch between deal types, and brings deep knowledge of the music industry's commercial landscape.
Key job responsibilities
Business Affairs — Livestreaming & Original Content
- Negotiate and execute agreements for livestreams and original music content projects
- Define and standardize contractual terms across deal types; develop and maintain template agreements and framework deals
- Review deal terms to ensure alignment with global standards
- Collaborate with artist & label relations, content & editorial, business development, brand, and content operations teams
- Manage internal approvals, statement of work routing and finance/legal sign-off
- Negotiate with artist managers, talent agencies, festival promoters, and their legal representatives
- Develop best practices for negotiations across different deal types
Label Catalog Licensing
- Negotiate and support ongoing commercial licenses with record label partners in Japan
- Provide licensing consultation to internal teams
- Ensure licensing terms are correctly applied across service tiers and territories
- Support communications including translations, deal tracking, status updates, and key stakeholder relationship management
- Contribute to operational improvements including rights management systems and process documentation
- Coordinate with legal, finance, royalties and reporting, and catalog teams
Content Expansion Initiatives
- Support initiatives related to content strategy in the Japanese market
- Establish and manage relationships with local content providers to support content growth
- Collaborate with industry teams to identify and act on market opportunities
A day in the life
No two days look the same in this role. You might start your morning reviewing redlines on a livestream agreement, then shift to a licensing consultation call with the marketing team about a new promotional campaign. After lunch, you could be working with the legal team to finalize contract language for a label renewal, followed by a call with a distributor to explore new catalog partnerships. You'll regularly connect with global counterparts across time zones to align on standards and share market insights. This role offers a blend of strategic negotiation, operational rigor, and creative problem-solving.
About the team
The Record Label Licensing team at Amazon Music is at the heart of how we build and maintain partnerships with the music industry worldwide. Our Business Affairs function leads deal negotiations with industry partners — working to create fair, scalable, and innovative deal structures that power new content experiences for listeners. Our Label Licensing function manages the commercial relationships with our record label partners, ensuring operational excellence across rights management, partner engagement, and strategic consultation. Together, we help shape the future of music on Amazon.
Basic qualifications
- 6+ years of entertainment industry deal negotiation experience- Experience in content negotiation, acquisition or business development
- Speak, write, and read fluently in Japanese
- Proficiency in English for collaboration with global cross-functional teams
- Working understanding of music rights (master recordings, compositions, performance rights) and how they apply to streaming, livestreaming, and original content
- Strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to analyze and review contractual language
Preferred qualifications
- Experience working at a record label, artist management company, artist talent agency, or similar field within the music industry- Experience collaborating with cross-functional teams including Marketing, Product Management, Customer Service, Operations, Legal, Finance, and Senior Leadership
- Experience building scalable programs and repeatable scalable processes, levering various tools and methods to create scale and efficiency
- Familiarity with royalty structures, per-play economics, and multi-tier streaming service models
- Experience with contract management tools and deal tracking systems
- Established relationships within the music industry in Japan
Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.