The music industry is a funny business – it’s one that’s especially picky and extremely tough to land a foot in the door. Internships are a great way to break into the field, but what if your experience doesn’t meet learning expectations?

More than 3,000 interns are involved in a massive class action lawsuit against Warner Music Group, claiming the major blatantly violated minimum wage and overtime requirements, as well as the Fair Labor Standard Act. Approved by a New York federal judge on Tuesday, the lawsuit alleges that WMG and its subsidiaries abused interns by focusing their workload on trivial tasks that carry little-to-no educational or vocational value. Kyle Grant, an ex-intern who prompted the class action last June, gives insight to his experience as a former WMG intern in the complaint:

“During the Plaintiffs term of employment, his duties primarily consisted of answering telephones, making photocopies, making deliveries, creating lists, preparing coffee, getting lunch for paid employees, running personal errands for paid employees, and other similar duties…”

And;

“Defendants did not provide academic or vocational training to Plaintiff of members of the putative collective.”

Educational or vocational training are crucial for unpaid, apprenticeship-style internships, and if WMG loses the case, they could owe millions of dollars in back pay and would be forced to reform their intern employment practices.

Via: Digital Music News

Tags: Warner Music Group, WMG

Categories: News