Licensing & Commercial Partnerships for Independent IP
Metal Harbor helps independent entertainment companies and creator-owned properties build licensing and partnership programs without hiring an internal department or retaining a large traditional agency.We help clients identify the right opportunities, find credible partners, structure commercial terms, and build the systems needed to manage growth responsibly.
Turn intellectual property, audience demand, and commercial relationships into durable revenue.
What We Do
Licensing Program Development
Build the foundation of a professional licensing operation.• Intellectual-property and category assessment
• Market-entry and licensing strategy
• Commercial positioning and materials
• Partner criteria and target development
• Approval, reporting, and royalty workflows
• Program launch planning
Partner Origination & Deal Development
Move from opportunity to substantive commercial conversations.• Target-account research
• Outbound partner development
• Opportunity qualification
• Partnership presentations and proposals
• Commercial term development
• Negotiation and relationship support
Rights & Revenue Strategy
Create structures that align the client, the property, and the partner.• Royalty and revenue-share frameworks
• Advances and minimum guarantees
• Term, territory, channel, and exclusivity strategy
• Approval and reporting requirements
• Rights packaging and commercial analysis
• Renewal and expansion planning
Licensing Operations
Build the internal systems needed to manage a growing program.• CRM and pipeline design
• Opportunity and approval tracking
• Contract and negotiation workflows
• Launch coordination
• Performance reporting
• Cross-functional alignment
Who We Serve
Metal Harbor works with independent businesses that own valuable intellectual property, content, brands, or engaged audiences but do not yet have a mature internal licensing function.Representative clients may include:Music Companies • Comic Publishers • Creator-Owned Properties • Gaming and Tabletop Companies • Digital Media Brands • Entertainment Tech CompaniesMetal Harbor is especially well suited for founder-led organizations that value senior involvement, brand protection, and selective commercial growth.
Engagement Options
90-Day Licensing Launch
A focused engagement for companies building a licensing or partnership program for the first time.Typical deliverables may include:• Property and category assessment
• Market-entry strategy
• Target-account universe
• Licensing-material recommendations
• Pipeline and approval infrastructure
• Initial partner outreach
• Executive reporting and next-step recommendations
Outsourced Licensing & Partnerships Function
Ongoing senior-level support without the immediate cost of building an internal department.Services may include strategy, partner origination, opportunity development, negotiation support, pipeline management, reporting, and renewal planning.
Strategic Project Engagement
Focused support for a defined commercial opportunity, including category evaluation, market mapping, deal analysis, revenue-share development, or partnership-pipeline creation.
Why Metal Harbor
Principal-Led Execution
Every engagement is led personally by the firm’s founder rather than transferred to a junior account team.
Strategy and Execution
Metal Harbor does not stop at recommendations. We help build the systems, targets, materials, and commercial activity needed to move a program forward.
Cross-Functional Commercial Experience
Our approach combines licensing, business development, sales, marketing, analytics, contract fluency, and program operations.
Built for Independent IP
We understand that creator-owned and founder-led properties require careful growth, direct accountability, and protection of audience trust.
About Clayton Johnson
Founder & Principal
Clayton Johnson is a licensing and commercial partnerships executive with experience across music rights, digital content, creator partnerships, marketing, and B2B sales.He has built and scaled a licensed creator and rightsholder ecosystem involving more than 700 partners, developed partnership programs that became material contributors to company revenue, and managed strategic relationships with major global publishers, entertainment rightsholders, creators, and independent businesses.His experience includes royalty structures, revenue-sharing programs, advances/MGs, partner origination, commercial strategy, negotiations, pipeline development, and cross-functional program leadership.Earlier in his career, he managed a B2B sales territory of more than 3,000 accounts and generated more than $1 million in annual sales.
Build the Commercial Function Your IP Deserves
Metal Harbor works with a limited number of clients to ensure direct senior involvement in every engagement.For inquiries regarding licensing-program development, partner origination, commercial strategy, or outsourced licensing leadership:
Clayton Johnson
Founder & Principal
Metal Harbor LLC
[email protected]
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