Sr. Manager, Business Development & Commercialization
About this role
Sony Music Korea’s International Repertoire department is building a new commercial engine around global music IP, and this role sits at the center of that transformation.
As Sr. Manager, Business Development & Commercialization, you will turn artist, catalog, and market opportunities into real revenue across physical album, D2C, merchandise, brand partnerships, concerts, and offline activations. Success in this role means building a repeatable pipeline of new business opportunities that expands SMEK’s international repertoire business beyond the traditional release cycle.
What you will do:
- Build and manage a commercial pipeline across physical albums, D2C, merchandise, brand partnerships, concerts, experiential activations, and other IP-driven opportunities.
- Source, structure, negotiate, and execute commercial deals with local partners, promoters, brands, retailers, platforms, and venues.
- Work closely with Frontline, J-pop, and Catalog repertoire owners to convert artist and market opportunities into monetizable business initiatives.
- Develop repeatable commercial models for new revenue streams, including concert-linked activations, exclusive products, pop-ups, fan events, and D2C opportunities.
- Own partner ecosystem development, maintaining active relationships with key commercial partners and identifying new partnership opportunities.
- Build business cases, revenue assumptions, and deal structures that balance commercial upside, execution feasibility, and rights / approval requirements.
- Track pipeline progress, deal performance, and learnings to improve future commercialization efforts.
Who you are:
Technical Capabilities:
• 7-10+ years of experience in business development, partnerships, entertainment, live business, brand partnerships, commerce, or adjacent consumer / culture-driven industries (up to Senior Manager consideration based on total experience).
• Strong negotiation and deal-structuring skills, with the ability to move opportunities from concept to execution.
• Commercially fluent, with the ability to assess revenue potential, cost structure, partner value, and execution risk.
• Understanding of music, entertainment, fan behavior, live events, D2C, merchandise, brand partnerships, or IP commercialization preferred.
• Strong external partner management skills and ability to build trusted relationships across brands, promoters, retailers, platforms, and agencies.
• Able to collaborate with internal repertoire, legal, finance, operations, and regional / global stakeholders.
• Excellent written and spoken Korean and English.
Behavioural Capabilities:
• Entrepreneurship: Proactively identifies new business opportunities and turns ambiguous ideas into executable commercial plans.
• Ownership: Takes accountability for pipeline progress, deal execution, and revenue impact from start to finish.
• Commercial Judgment: Balances creative ambition with realistic economics, partner value, and operational feasibility.
• Influence: Builds confidence with external partners and internal stakeholders through clear, persuasive communication.
• Resilience: Navigates long deal cycles, uncertainty, partner negotiation, and internal approval processes with persistence.
• Collaboration: Works closely with repertoire owners and cross-functional teams to unlock value from Sony Music IP.
• Agility: Adapts quickly to market feedback and adjusts deal structures or opportunities as needed.
What we give you:
- You join an inclusive, collaborative and global community where you have the opportunity to fuel the creative journey
- A modern office environment designed to foster productivity, creativity, and teamwork
- We invest in your professional growth & development
Equal Opportunities
As an active part of a culturally and socially diverse society, Sony Music’s aim is that our workforce is diverse and inclusive. Sony Music is an equal opportunity employer and supports workforce diversity.
We employ, retain, promote and otherwise treat all employees and job applicants according to their merit, qualifications, competence and talent. We apply this policy without regard to any individual’s sex, race, religion, origin, age, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition or disability.
Privacy Policy
Please click here to read our privacy policy before beginning the application process as you will need to agree to the terms of the policy before submitting your information.
Company at a glance
At Sony Music Entertainment, we fuel the creative journey. We’ve played a pioneering role in music history, from the first-ever music label to the invention of the flat disc record. We’ve nurtured some of music’s most iconic artists and produced some of the most influential recordings of all time.
Today, we work in more than 70 countries, supporting a diverse roster of international superstars, developing and independent artists, and visionary creators. From our position at the intersection of music, entertainment, and technology, we bring imagination and expertise to the newest products and platforms, embrace new business models, employ breakthrough tools, and provide powerful insights that help our artists push creative boundaries and reach new audiences. In everything we do, we’re committed to artistic integrity, transparency, and entrepreneurship.
Sony Music Entertainment is a member of the Sony family of global companies.
Top Benefits
- Inclusive and Collaborative Community
- Modern Office Environment
- Professional Growth and Development
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