Animaj is one of the largest digital-first kids’ entertainment companies in the world. Our music isn’t just “background noise” - it’s the soundtrack to millions of lives.

You will manage the end-to-end lifecycle of our digital releases - from coordinating distribution with partners to optimising metadata for voice-search and algorithmic discovery. The Associate Label Manager is a key pillar of our Music Label team, ensuring Animaj’s world-class IPs (such as Pocoyo and Maya the Bee) are perfectly positioned across all global music streaming platforms.

This is a high-impact role requiring a blend of extreme organisational discipline and a deep passion for the digital music ecosystem.

Key Responsibilities

1. Distribution & Product Delivery

• Partner Coordination: Manage the timely delivery of albums and singles via our distribution partner, The Orchard.

• Creative Workflow: Oversee design tickets for cover art and craft SEO-optimised album titles to maximise click-through rates.

• Deadline Management: Implement and monitor rigorous workflows to ensure all releases meet strict global street dates.

2. Metadata Management & Best Practices

• Algorithmic Optimisation: Implement SEO best practices to enhance discoverability and trigger algorithmic support across DSPs.

• Catalogue Hygiene: Oversee the delivery of new assets to the label, maintaining and auditing deliveries to ensure all metadata remains accurate and up to date across the catalogue

• Smart Delivery: Optimize assets for voice utterances (Alexa/Siri) and “Owned & Operated” (O&O) playlisting to ensure our music is the first choice for families.

3. Rights Management

• Track the use of our copyright and trademarks across digital platforms, maintaining and optimising workflows to identify, report, and support claims against any unauthorised usage.

4. Data Analytics & Market Intelligence

• Use audience, performance and competitor insights to monitor trends, identify opportunities, and continuously refine music distribution and marketing strategy within the Kids & Family category.

• 2–4 years in Digital Music Distribution and Operations

• Solid understanding of the global music streaming landscape (Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music).

• Foundational knowledge of digital music distribution, ISRC/UPC coding, and metadata standards is a significant plus.

• Advanced skills in Google Workspace (Sheets, Drive, Docs) and/or Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint).

• Highly organised, with the ability to manage multiple moving parts without dropping the ball.

• Fluent in English; additional languages are a major plus.

Our Music Tech Stack

The ideal candidate should already have some experience with, or be ready to learn, the specialised software that sits at the core of Animaj’s music operations:

• The Orchard (Workstation): This is our primary distribution portal. The Label Manager will use it to upload master files, set release dates, manage ISRC codes, and track global sales/royalty data.

• Linkfire (Marketing): Used to create “Smart Links.” When a new Pocoyo album drops, one link directs parents to their preferred platform (Spotify, YouTube Music, or Amazon).

• Spotify for Artists / Apple Music for Artists: These are “backend” dashboards used to monitor real-time listener data and, importantly, to pitch songs to editorial playlists.

• YouTube CMS (Music): Unlike the standard YouTube Studio, this is used to manage Art Tracks (static videos for music) and protect music rights via Content ID.

Outcome Timeline

After 30 days at Animaj

• Operational Integration: Successfully navigate The Orchard’s dashboard and internal creative ticketing systems. Finalise a first cycle of release deliveries (Singles/Albums) with zero metadata errors or missed deadlines.

• Catalogue & Hygiene Audit: Complete a comprehensive audit of the top 20 most-streamed tracks across Pocoyo and Maya the Bee. Identify and fix metadata “leaks” (e.g., missing lyrics, incorrect artist tagging, or outdated bios).

• Voice & Search Optimisation: Update the creative metadata for selected tracks to optimise them for voice-search utterances (Alexa/Siri) and traditional search intent.

• Baseline Reporting: Establish a weekly “Streaming Health Snapshot” for the Director of Label Sales and Operations, highlighting top-performing tracks, playlist additions, and any delivery bottlenecks.

After 90 days at Animaj

• Release Lifecycle Ownership: Manage the end-to-end lifecycle of at least XX new digital releases, ensuring 100% on-time delivery to DSPs and the creation of optimised Linkfire assets for the marketing team.

• Editorial Pitching & Placement: Successfully led the editorial pitching process for a new release, securing at least one organic placement in a Kids & Family editorial playlist on a major platform (e.g. Spotify, Apple, or Amazon).

• Playlist Growth Strategy: Implement a refresh strategy for Animaj’s “Owned & Operated” (O&O) playlists, resulting in a measurable increase in “Followers” or “Monthly Active Listeners” for the branded profiles.

• Artist Profile Refresh: Fully overhaul the “front-facing” profiles for selected IPs across DSPs (Spotify for Artists, etc.), ensuring high-quality imagery, updated bios, and the use of features like “Artist Pick” to drive engagement.

• Efficiency Milestone: Reduce the “Creative-to-Distribution” lead time by 15% through improved coordination of cover art design tickets and metadata preparation.

After 180 days at Animaj

• Data-Driven Release Planning: Build and present a 6-month Music Programming Calendar that aligns with seasonal trends (e.g., Back-to-School, Christmas) and Animaj’s wider content/YouTube release schedule.

• Competitive Gap Analysis: Deliver a Market Intelligence report identifying 3 key gaps in the Kids & Family music space (e.g., specific genres or moods currently underserved) with a recommendation for potential new IP development(s).

• Market Share Growth: Achieve a 10%+ increase in total streams for the assigned catalogue (vs. the same period the previous year) through a combination of catalogue hygiene and aggressive algorithmic optimisation.

• Advanced Workflow Implementation: Pilot an automated metadata or tracking tool to further streamline the delivery process, ensuring Animaj remains the most efficient digital-first label in the kids’ space.

• First interview with our Label Manager (45’)

• Interview with Animaj’s Director of Label Sales and Operations (60’)

• Final Interview with Animaj’s Co-Founder/CBO (60’)