When Rashida Salaam, a former intern for Sean “Diddy” Combs, filed a class action lawsuit against Universal Music Group and Combs’ Bad Boy Entertainment in late August, accusing the label of violating minimum wage laws, many scoffed at what was perceived as an intern being disgruntled for having to do common intern duties.
But according to Nathan Parcells, chief marketing officer of InternMatch, Salaam’s lawsuit represents what could be a paradigm shift in the way the entertainment industry handles internships and entry-level positions. “Not only is there a law that has been largely ignored up until now but there’s a legal precedent for how a judge should rule on this court case,” Parcells explains. “My expectation is that this is going to be settled out of court for a large sum of money in favor of the intern.”
And the repercussions will likely affect every facet of the entertainment industry, from record labels to fashion brands. Paid internships are going to be the only viable option. “Music and movie production, TV shows and fashion are some of the largest users of unpaid interns…because there’s a huge supply of students interested in those fields and, therefor,e companies have kind of made it a rite of passage,” he says. “I do think it will lead to a change in practices regarding how interns are thought of and who gets to hire them and their fit within these fields. A lot of people complain that that means there will be less ways for someone to get a foothold. It’s pretty narrow—anyone who can afford to work 50 hours plus without getting paid, that’s a pretty slim segment of the student population. Low income students don’t get access to that. There will be less positions, but those that will be available will be more meaningful work experiences. There will be more equal access for students.”
“Most of the companies we talk to tend to have the means to pay. Especially when you tell them you get more applicants and there are other advantages,” Parcells explains. “You get more back…if you’re paying minimum wage.” And Parcells also says that unpaid internships may not be as beneficial as many students are led to believe. “There are stats that show students who get unpaid internships are just as unlikely to get a job as students who don’t have an internship at all,” he shares. “Generally speaking, unpaid internships don’t add that much value for the majority of students.”
Parcells says that interns have slightly more leverage than before—and anyone seeking to break into any branch of the entertainment field should make sure they aren’t being exploited.
“They need to be aware of unpaid roles that are being put out there just to take advantage of the fact that some people are willing to do unpaid internships,” says Parcells. “People who don’t have experience hiring interns don’t necessarily need help but they’re willing to take free labor if they can get it. In the interview process, you can push a bit and get employers to say what are my responsibilities going to be. And if that employer can’t say exactly what you’re going to do then I definitely urge pretty strong caution [before] taking those roles.”
As for prospective employers? The industry expert says that brands have to understand that times are changing, and prepare to offer some sort of monetary compensation to interns.
“The vast majority of students, they don’t need extreme compensation financially to be enticed into your internship role. So a lot of companies should be able to afford minimum wage to slightly-above minimum wage for internship positions,” Parcells says. “So doing that alone would help generally compensate the students, it would make their program legal and its something they should be working to transition towards with their internship program.”
