Warner Music may be forced to reveal sexual misconduct allegations

[Teletubby 138,795]

Dorothy Carvello, a former A&R executive at WMG-owned Atlantic Records and the author of the memoir Anything for a Hit: An A&R Woman’s Story of Surviving the Music Industry, filed her request last week, demanding that one of the biggest record label conglomerates supply copies of all complaints filed within the company alleging sexual misconduct. Carvello is also requesting settlement agreements and non-disclosure agreements Warner entered alongside documents related to any potential investigations Warner conducted over alleged sexual misconduct.

For the past several years, Carvello has been pushing for the music industry to take accountability for sexual abuse towards its employees and artists. In April, she launched Face the Music Now, a foundation that aims to give resources to survivors of sexual abuse in the music industry.

Carvello’s letter sent to board members of the Warner Music Group focuses mainly on sexual misconduct allegations, but it also references lawsuits from legacy Warner artists who allege the company wrongfully took from their royalties through international “intracompany charges.”

Carvello filed her request through a statute in section 220 of Delaware’s corporate laws, which calls for a company incorporated in Delaware to open its books to a requesting shareholder if that shareholder has a “proper purpose,” as the code states. According to the letter, Carvello’s proper purpose for receiving the documents is “to ascertain whether the company’s management is taking all measures necessary to investigate claims of sexual misconduct and ensure a safe workplace environment for employees, artists and the public.”

Dorothy Carvello said she’s prepared to file a lawsuit in Delaware if WMG doesn’t hand over their records, and while Sony Music and UMG aren’t incorporated in the state, she holds stock in the other two major music companies as well and says she’s exploring other legal options to file similar requests.

“As a shareholder, I’m asking, ‘How do we attract artists, female artists particularly, to a label if they don’t feel safe?'” Carvello says. “As a society before #MeToo and Harvey Weinstein, everyone thought this was business as usual. Men were rewarded for this behavior, why would they think this was anything wrong? We’ve had no #MeToo in the music business. If we’re doing things right, why do you need an NDA?” 

 

[RAMROD 105,785]

This is huge.

How many Warner artists been a victim? Could be too many, like the one at Weinstein and Fox News??

 

[Guillaume Hamon 6,040]

It's amazing that a stock holder uses her position to make this crap get out of the dark...

Sexual assault happens everywhere and it seems specially prevalent among male dominated with a lot of power dynamics happening so I'm sure the music industry is even worst than what we think... 

I hope she'll win.

[Guillaume Hamon 6,040]

If something similar happens for other labels  could Gaga's story been made public if ever she signaled the agression to her label at the time?

I guess they'll just make the numbers of agressions public to show the frequency of it and will respect the victims by not mentioning details that would make folks guess who they are.

Now even if it's just the agressor name being revealed it's still very disturbing for victims...