Former Atlantic Records A&R Dorothy Carvello has used her status as a shareholder in Warner Music to try to force the music major to share any records it has on sexual misconduct allegations – and other claims of bad practice – that have been made within the company.
In a letter sent to the major earlier this week, according to Billboard, Carvello’s lawyer states that there are “concerns that WMG’s management is not doing enough to investigate and act upon allegations of sexual misconduct at the company, and not monitoring the distribution of artist royalties in a manner that ensures sound accounting and payment”.
“Both issues”, the letter adds, “have the potential to expose the company to substantial liability and cause great reputational harm to WMG … [and] raise serious concerns about the truthfulness and accuracy of the company’s statements to investors”.
The letter then details a number of specific allegations and also requests documents relating to internal investigations, as well as information on any settlements and non-disclosure agreements that were made.
Carvello’s request for information is being made using a statute in Delaware’s company laws, which requires a company incorporated in a state to share requested information if a shareholder has a “proper purpose” that is “reasonably related to such person’s interest as a stockholder”.
Speaking to Rolling Stone, Carvello says: “I want to see what the actual investigations, if any, were against these claims. We need more transparency from Warner Music Group. I don’t want a board that rubber stamps this behaviour”.
Commenting on Carvello’s letter, a spokesperson for Warner told reporters: *“*We take allegations of misconduct very seriously and enforce policies that respect and protect people that raise concerns”.
