Before I get started, I’d like to ask you all for a favor. Businessweek is seeking nominations for their list of the Best U.S. Entrepreneurs 25 and Under, and I happen to be under 25 and an entrepreneur. I’d love to be on this list, but only if you think I should be. If One Day, One Internship has helped you with your internship search or you just love what we’re doing, please nominate me. Thanks!
Copyrights aren’t what they used to be. It’s not that they’re any less valuable, it’s just that it’s so easy to rip someone off these days. Every day my posts are automatically scraped by bots and republished on sites that slap ads on my content to make pennies. The photos that you posted online might end up in a multi-million dollar ad campaign without your permission. And then there’s the world of music. Piracy and infringement has completely changed the face of the industry. New York City’s RightsFlow is an employee-owned company that “specializes in intellectual property licensing and copyright management” in the music industry. Their core areas of service are Strategic Planning, Business Analysis, Music Licensing Services, and Digital Music and Media Strategies. Put simply, they help artists and labels ensure that they are fairly compensated for the work that they produce.
RightsFlow’s website uses a lot of buzzwords that I’m not quite familiar with, but it’s pretty clear to me that their combination of industry expertise and technological aptitude enables them to push innovation in an industry that is unwilling to accept that the game has changed. Through “FLOW”, their “proprietary royalty and licensing system “they’re able “to provide labels, distributors, and online music services with a turnkey solution for licensing, accounting, and royalty payment administration including mechanical, DPD, physical, ringtone, interactive streams, and limited downloads, as well as subscription and ad-supported models.” RightsFlow has put together an extremely impressive clients list, and they seem to be growing at a great rate. That’s why it’s no big surprise that they have a significant internship program to develop new talent. If you check out their Internships page, you’ll see that they’re looking for a Licensing and Royalties Intern and a Sales and Marketing Intern. Additionally, there’s an Information Technology Internship posted on Startuply. You can apply for any of these unpaid internships by sending a resume and cover letter to info@rightsflow.com, and don’t forget to use the information on RightsFlow’s Contact page (like the CEO’s e-mail address) to your advantage too.
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Tags: accounting, information technology, Internships, law, marketing, music, New York, sales, software development, unpaid
Rights Flow was just shy of celebrating its first birthday when I became an intern in 2008. The passion, enthusiasm and intelligence of the staff were palpable from the first day of my three month tenure. This is a vibrant, growing company that will exercise your brain, encourage creative input, educate and take an active interest in your future.
It is possible to get a crash course in business development, marketing and sales while simultaneously unraveling the complexities of music licensing. Intern with Rights Flow. You will be treated to a gorgeous loft space that fosters learning by osmosis. The staff does not simply give work to do. They take the time to explain why you are doing it and what the business application or result will be. When I had a mental stumbling block with a music licensing question it was taken quite seriously. Even during one of the busiest days an appointment was made. Two hours later I was sitting in the conference room getting a private tutorial with a PowerPoint presentation and some handy blackboard work. I thought I might have been on an alien planet but I soon started to realize that this was just the way that they work.
When you give them your time they make an investment in you. That investment does not stop when your internship is done. They make it clear that support and guidance will continue long after your internship has been completed. I have availed myself of their generosity on more than one occasion post internship. The instruction and advice that I received far outweighed the contribution of my time. I am still hoping they don’t send me a bill.
My internship experience with RightsFlow truly was an educational experience. I sought this internship intending to learn about the music publishing industry, and I got it. Copyrights licensing is highly relevant in today’s new media and technology economy, and RightsFlow has positioned itself to be a key player in the digital music space. The best part of the internship is working alongside experts in the business and getting hands on work that revealed how complex licensing can get. As an intern, I was taken seriously and was treated as a team member and contributing to the workload from the start. It’s a boon to be in a start-up environment where everyone is, not only fun and friendly, but also thoughtful and considerate. It was clear that my own understanding of the business was important to them; I always received answers and explanations to any questions or issues. I appreciated that they made sure I received the legal and business experience that I hoped for.
I will always remember my experience at RightsFlow. There’s wonderful working atmosphere and whenever I had a question I recieved an answer-No matter what! One thing I really admire about RightsFlow is the diverse background of each team member. Being fairly new to the Digital side of music & licensing, I felt as if RightsFlow was the perfect place to learn all the in & outs. I took a class with Patrick (the president) and learned alot about the music industry and its future. One thing he stressed was to never let an opportunity fly by your eyes.So I got up,asked for an internship,met a few of the team members, and the rest was history. If you want to be treated as part of the team, network with great people, have a variety of projects, and have room to develope your own skills….Then intern here!
I have to second all of the sentiments posted above — working at RightsFlow as a graduate student during the summer of last year was the best internship experience I have had. It is rare that one is able to get true hands on (and consequential) experience in positions like this. The RF team definitely puts all of its interns to work and charges them with tasks that will have real effects on its business; this gave the internship a greater degree of seriousness and made me feel as if I was truly part of the time.
I have to thank Patrick Sullivan for his sage advice, and Alex Holz for walking me through the entire summer — I came away educated by what they taught and inspired by their entrepeneurship. If you are looking to gain experience in the music industry (especially in the realms of licensing and/or digital media), I think RightsFlow is an excellent place to spend your summer months. I can’t say enough about these guys.
Full disclosure: I am currently a RightsFlow employee, but I started as an intern and I will only write about my experience interning.
You are never doing busy work or getting coffee. The work that you are given is meaningful and helps out the entire team. What is particularly nice is you can see how your efforts help complete a project or get more songs licenses. Also, RightsFlow moves at such a fast pace that there is always a new project or idea kicking around. Even as an intern you can take the lead on projects if they are well thought out. RightsFlow encourages innovation and is thrilled to see interns take initiative.
The company makes an effort to make sure you are comfortable. RightsFlow offered Licensing 101 classes over the summer and QA session with employees for general career advice. The entire team is easy to talk to and very helpful. Also, if you are tactful and outgoing you can meet a lot of people in the music through industry events, through networking or just people that stop through the office.
I could go on and on how much I enjoyed interning and how much I learned, but I think the proof is evident – I am still at the company 8 months later and couldn’t ask for more from an internship.
Being an intern at RightsFlow truly opens up doors to those who want to learn about and gain experience in the digital music industry. During my internship last summer, the team held weekly meetings specifically aimed at providing interns with a better understanding of all aspects of music publishing. This is merely one example of how devoted RF is to its internship program. The knowledge and advice each employee has to offer is priceless. The RF team makes sure that their interns work on meaningful projects and are treated as equal, contributing members of the organization. As a law student I was particularly eager to further my understanding of copyright law, and this is exactly what I achieved. I’m so grateful that I was able to combine my interests in entertainment law with the work I was assigned. The knowledge and contacts I gained last summer are extremely relevant to the internship I have now and the work I plan to pursue upon graduation. Interning at RF is one of the most rewarding investments I’ve made in my career.
When I came to intern for RightsFlow last summer I wasn’t sure what to expect. Going into it, I had very little knowledge of how the company worked, but from the first day I was already comfortable asking any questions I had. As the summer went on I had learned so much about the publishing and licensing side of the music industry and how it works as a whole and actually started to love it. Once a week, RightsFlow would have copyright class to help the interns get a better grip on how everything worked. I found this to be extremely helpful being that I was very unfamiliar with the industry to begin with.
As stated in the previous entries, you aren’t getting people coffee or running errands; you are doing actual work that has an affect on the company. Overall, my experience at RightsFlow was very fun and educational. Everyone here is very ambitious and you can tell they all like their job, which makes the working atmosphere that much more enjoyable. I’m very excited to return to this internship program this summer and further my knowledge about RightsFlow and the music industry.