This is a great opportunity to join a unique, award-winning new music record label and charity, NMC Recordings.
Term: This appointment is a permanent position
Hours: Full-time (5 days / 35 hours per week)
Location: The office is based in Bethnal Green. NMC staff have adopted a hybrid way of working, dividing their time between office and homeworking.
Salary: £28,000 – £33,500 p/a — salary to reflect experience of successful candidate.
Benefits: 23 days’ holiday pro rata plus bank holidays and, at the discretion of the Board, the period between Christmas and New Year.
About NMC
NMC Recordings is a multi-award-winning new music record label and charity. Founded by composer Colin Matthews OBE in 1988 with our first release in 1989, we are devoted to enriching cultural life by connecting listeners around the world with exceptional contemporary classical music by composers from Britain and Ireland. We believe new music is a dynamic and engaging art-form and seek to inspire and challenge audiences through the release and promotion of recordings, innovative artistic partnerships, and exciting education work for young people.
Over the last 34 years NMC has released over 300 recordings of high-quality performances featuring more than 600 major international artists and ensembles and works by over 400 composers. Our recordings are available worldwide, and in the last five years, have received circa 16 million downloads and streams in addition to more than 35,000 CD sales. Our non-deletion policy, combined with online access, means all our recordings are kept permanently accessible to the public, enabling us to become a national archive of British and Irish contemporary classical music.
About the role – general
Responsible for planning and delivering recording sessions, contract negotiation, making sure projects adhere to budgets, and liaison with manufacturer and distributors. Producing album artwork and booklets desirable.
JOB DESCRIPTION
Artistic/Label Management
- Planning recording sessions and timely and secure booking of venues, musicians & engineers
- Ensuring necessary health & safety protocols for recording sessions are in place
- Drafting, issuing and following-up on contracts with artists and contractors
- Managing/overseeing recording sessions; attending concerts where NMC tracks are being recorded
- Inputting and maintaining contracts on the organisation’s royalty software and creating royalty runs twice a year
- Managing third-party labels’ release schedules and manufacturer requirements
- Liaising with CD manufacturer and distributor to produce required stock
- Liaising with the Creative Director to identify underlying rights within a recording that require clearing and ensure that licensing Agreements for NMC releases have been secured, signed and returned by licensors in good time
- Respond to general enquiries appropriately
Post-Production
- Liaise with producers and artists to ensure delivery and approval of edits and masters
- Commission and collate sleeve notes, programme notes, label copy and funding credits
- Create the album booklet and all inlays, including design and typesetting – desirable. Working with the composer and NMC team for proofs and approvals
- Co-ordinate pricing and delivery of all aspects of print/pressing
- Compile metadata and register new releases with PPL/MCPS
- Upload new release audio, artwork and metadata to online distributor system
- Responsible for audio backup
Financial
- Responsible for managing project budgets, including through the Company’s financial management systems; inputting original budget items and tracking actuals against budget, alerting Executive & Creative Directors to any discrepancies.
- Coding invoices and submitting to Bookkeeper
- Manage liaison with PPL and MCPS
Governance
- Prepare and present reports at NMC Board Meetings as necessary
- Attend and write Minutes for meetings of ASC (Artistic Strategy Committee) and circulate to Committee once approved
- Support recruitment process where necessary
Person Specification
This opportunity would suit a highly organised and personable arts manager with keen interest in recordings and contemporary music production generally. Direct experience in a recording company is not essential, and we welcome applications from candidates with experience in music organisations, with transferable skills.
Candidates should be able to offer the following:
- At least three years’ administrative and/or project management experience, ideally within new music (look at our website to see repertoire) – eg. publishing, artist agents, recording or concert management.
- Demonstrable enthusiasm for new classical music and/or associated genres, and commitment to diversifying composers whose work features on NMC
- Ability to work collaboratively, both with colleagues and with external partners, and willingness to listen
- Excellent communication, and interpersonal skills with the ability to promote NMC to partners and stakeholders
- The ability to work with creative talent and strong personalities
- Ability to negotiate, persuade and influence to achieve the best results for the organisation
- Experience of working with contracts
- Experience of overseeing successful, complex projects.
- Financially literate, with experience and proven track record of managing budgets and finance systems
- Technically literate, with proficiency in office software, eg. Microsoft Excel
- Well organised, with ability to create/execute plans and schedules, and to manage own workload and time efficiently, as well as to organise and motivate colleagues
- Highly motivated self-starter with a strong achievement drive and commitment to meeting objectives
- Ability to work under pressure, meeting deadlines as required
Desirable Requirements
- Label experience and/or experience of making recordings
- Knowledge of 20th/21st century music
- Knowledge of the new music sector
- Knowledge of design software – particularly InDesign and Photoshop
- Knowledge and understanding of advances in technology, specifically in relation to the way music is accessed and consumed
How to apply
Applicants should send a letter of application showing how they meet the criteria set out in the job description together with a CV.
The letter and CV should each be no longer than 2 sides of A4.
Applications should be addressed to NMC’s Creative Director, Ellie Wilson, and sent to eleanor@nmcrec.co.uk
The deadline for applications is Midday 2 May 2023.
Shortlist interviews will be held in person in London in the week commencing 8 May 2023.
NMC is particularly keen to receive applications from candidates from under-represented groups and communities, including those from global majority backgrounds and/or with characteristics protected under the Equalities Act, including race, disability, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, and religion and belief.
We would ask that you complete our Equality and Diversity monitoring form to help us assess this recruitment process. The Appointment Panel will not see the forms submitted. NMC Equal Opportunities Monitoring form (google.com)
If you need any changes to the application process or wish to submit your application as a video or in an alternative format, we would be happy to support you and accommodate this.
NMC’s current office space is not accessible to wheelchair users or for those with some physical disabilities. However, we are currently exploring solutions to this issue and hope to be able to provide a fully accessible office space as soon as possible. NMC is committed to making all necessary adjustments to ways of working to ensure universal access, to accommodate to the access needs of its workforce, whatever they may be.