Sr. Manager, Business Development & Commercialization

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.

• → 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.
  

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.

• 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