Melissa Somosky is a Manager in the Rights and Clearances department at A+E Television Networks. Her primary expertise is in music and media licensing, with a particular focus in clearing popular music with record labels and music publishers.
In her current role, Melissa’s core responsibilities include managing the program renewal business, negotiating music licenses on behalf of creative and on-air marketing campaigns across all brands (A+E, History, Lifetime, LMN and FYI), facilitating clip clearances, guiding internal producers and editors through complex rights matters, and serving as the rights point person for the Consumer Products business and new media initiatives like the History Vault app. Melissa has also served as the clearance liaison for many live events at A+E, including Shining a Light: A Concert for Progress on Race in America, Billboard Women in Music, and the 2015 and 2016 Critics’ Choice Awards.
Melissa joined A+E Television Networks in 2008, after stints at Rachael Ray’s CBS daytime program, as well as at the National Geographic Channel in Washington, DC. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English and American Studies from the College of William and Mary in Virginia. In her free time, she enjoys creative writing, comedy shows, cooking and all things culinary, and exploring the cultural wonderland that is her home base, New York City.
