RECORD LABEL ADVERTISES 20 POSITIONS AT £15,000 A YEAR
Has Sony learnt its lesson after being caught using unpaid interns and paying out £4,600 in unpaid wages to a graduate intern last year?
The brand’s record label arm Sony Music is currently advertising 20 paid 12-month internships on GoThinkBig, the careers website that’s funded by mobile phone provider O2 and run in partnership with Bauer Media (which owns Grazia, FHM and Absolute Radio). The salary offered? An impressive £15,000 a year. Here is the advert:
Former intern Chris Jarvis received a sizeable payout from the company in September 2013 after taking an internship at Sony Computer Entertainment as a “3D Artist Environment intern” for three months in 2012. He expected the role to involve work shadowing, but found himself working from 9.30am to 6pm testing 3D artwork for games.
Chris, who has a first class degree in Games Art and Design from Norwich University, “politely informed” the company that they owed him at least minimum wage of £6.19 (as it was at the time of the internship), considering he was effectively working as a full-time employee.
But he said, “They were very dismissive and told me I was a volunteer and that’s how I could work for free,” so he made an official complaint via HMRC’s Pay and Work Rights Helpline. Chris’s case went to tribunal, but Sony paid out before the case was heard. At the time, Sony declined to comment – but Graduate Fog is hopeful that these 20 new, paid internships are a sign that the company’s attitude towards its interns could be changing at last. As one of the biggest brands in the UK music industry, Sony should lead the way on fair pay for young workers.
*IS THE MUSIC INDUSTRY CLEANING UP ITS ACT ON INTERNS?
Are you surprised to see 20 paid internships at a record label? Are unpaid internships still common within the music industry, or are they increasingly rare? Do the big record labels have a responsibility to set higher standards for the industry as a whole? If you’ve ever interned for a music company, what was it like – and did it lead to paid work?
What I am about to write should be consider a commandment in the book of capitalism.
No one under the economic system of capitalism should offer their talent and skills for free. I don’t care how desperate you are for finding a job or gaining experience.
DON’T YOU EVER OFFER YOURSELF FOR FREE!!!
The older I get the less bullshit I put up with from employers. I tell employers exactly how I think when it comes to paying me money.
IF YOU WANT ME TO DO A TASK FOR YOU, THEN YOU BETTER PAY ME MY MONEY!!!
If you speak to employers like I do it lets them know you are serious about making money and they will give you more respect.
The reason why this works is because you are acting like an “adult” not like a “child” when it comes to making money.
I know this because I was offered a contract of $38,000 before I had an interview with the Biggest Energy Company in New Zealand. I competed with 130 people for 5 positions. I ace the phone interview, the 3 hour group interview, the online aptitude test, and smashed the competition (ï¼¼(^o^)ï¼ROAR!!!).
They just called me up to send me the contract and offer me an additional $2000 on top of my original salary offer of $38000. Which brings my starting salary to $40,000.
Now you can take my advice or choose to live inside a bubble and pretend that the Government is going to look after you and stop the big meany employer from exploiting you for free.
Start being a capitalist and learn how to communicate your authority to employers. Start acting like a contractor and treat employers like clients.
I repeat these phrases to myself daily as a scientific justification for treating people and employers the way I do. Here it is below.
“Life is a competition to the death. We are here to survive and reproduce. Each individual within every species competes in the harsh, even blood thirsty real world for access to resources and for opportunities to reproduce.”
“Natural selection is all about living long enough to pass on your genes. Darwin realized wild animals compete to survive and more are born than the food supply can sustain. Inevitably, many die young, or otherwise fail to reproduce.”
Capitalism is built on Darwin’s Theory of Evolution and Game theory. Therefore,it is perfectly justify for you and me not to offer our talents and skills for free.
I know this might sound cold and harsh. But I am not a socialist who is going to tell you bullshit propaganda like “Do what you love and the money will follow”, “Life is not all about the money”. I am going to tell you the cold hard truth based on math, logic, and reason backed by scientific evidence.
Thanks
Chris Wells
@ Chris
Never trust an employer, NEVER.
A firm is a capitalist agent, it will act like one and run like one…
The worst (and most despicable) invention since the rise of the modern Nation-State…
Humans are there to be exploited, key skills extracted in exchange for money and ultimately survival.
Ultimately, Marx was right.
Money made is the only sign of success.
@Nicholas @Everybody
Yea I know dude. We are all wage salves for people that own the means of production. I call it the “Corporate Whore Machine” because you have to sell yourself (like a whore) in order to survive.
Employers want the best people for the lowest amount of pay, at the same time, the best people want the most amount of pay for the less amount of work. I ended up studying economics and reading Karl Marx’s books: The Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital.
When I finished college and was dumped out in the labour market (in the cold) and with a mortgage size debt. I was like WTF going on here? Countries were going bankrupt, massive corruption, massive underemployment, massive inflated house prices, massive progressive tax system, massive crime rates of people killing and stealing from each other to survive.
To make matters worst we have a dysfunctional labour market. Employers requiring young people to have a bachelor or master degree for a job that was done in the past with no education at all. College did not even teach me how to write a professional CV or Cover Letter and how to prepare for the entire bullshit HR industry that holds all the jobs and asks you the same bullshit questions: Describe a difficult situation and how you solved it and why? Where do you see yourself in five years? Can you please sit a online aptitude test that involves numerical reasoning, verbal reasoning, and diagrammatic reasoning?
How can I get a career, have a home, have a family, and save for retirement in this world? Little alone pay back my student loan debt? It is mathematically impossible to achieve this lifestyle without taking on an unholy amount of debt or screwing people over to get to the top.
So, the moral thing for me to do was screwed back the system. I declared bankruptcy on my student loan so now I am debt free. I then applied for a full-time job Meridian Energy. I competed with 130 people for 5 positions. I ace the phone interview, the 3 hour group interview, the online aptitude test, and smashed the competition. I had to go through that in order to get a job?
I have a flatmate whose parents own multiple child care centers. She is only 19 and her parents gave her a job with a starting salary of $45,000 and pay for her car and petrol. She dropped out of university and is now going to take over the family business.My first lesson in Nepotism.
LIFE IS SO UNFAIR!!!
No wonder people commit suicide. I will be honest with you guys the thought of “suicide” and has crossed my mind many times. I know how the entire economic system works and it feels like no matter what I do I am still screwed. This forum is like an outlet for my frustration lol.
I am trying to come up with a long-term strategy that somehow can at-least fulfill my aspirations. I will post it below.
Please let me know what you think?
Thanks
Chris Wells
@Everybody
Hi guys, I rarely do this because I don’t trust anyone (not even my family). I believe everybody is out for themselves and will screw me over if given a chance. Charles Darwin’s book the “Origin of Species” has a chapter dedicated to this called the “Struggle for Existence”. In addition, Game Theory has proved over and over again through scientific experiments that humans will betray each other in order to maximize profit.
Now I going to reveal a part of my life (dreams, hopes, and desires) with you. So, I would appreciate that you give only critical feedback.
This is my five year strategy. My goal in life is to work for a “Think Tank” or a “Scientific Authority” (e.g.Large hadron collider). In this economy, it is mathematically impossible to own a home, or have a family, or even save for retirement. Therefore, saving money for these unrealistic goals is a futile task.
Step 1 – Hard Work & Dedication
I am going to us my money from my job to pay for my Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting & Economics)and my Bachelor of Science (Mathematics & Physics)through Massey University Online distance learning.
This will enable me to work full-time and achieve the qualifications I need at the same time. Also, I will have no student loan debt because I am using my own money to pay for it.
Remember, there is no point in saving your money at a very low interest rate that does not keep up with inflation. So, what else can I do with this money???
Step 2 – Job Hunting
Apply to all the “Think Tanks” and “Scientific Authorities”. Once, I get a job at a “Think Tank” or “Scientific Authority” I will use my skills and knowledge to help advance mankind into a new age. These are the only jobs that will actually maximize my skills and knowledge to the highest levels.
In this economy, nothing is guarantee, so it is very wise to have a back up plan and many career options available to you.
Now if this does not work. I have the qualifications needed to go into investment banking and use my skills to maximize profits instead. Basically, sell my soul to the banks.
Please tell me what you think about this plan?
Thanks
Chris Wells
@ Chris
I am 40 now and have dedicated my life to the Banking sector. I have mingled with some of the worst scum in the industry who would break anyone in their way to reach the top of the pyramid of money and power.
I no longer believe in goodness of my fellow man. That went away with my entry into the brute and shallow world of work. Human beings do not warrant to be saved in any shape or form. However, if you still have faith in mankind then go for it…
I certainly would not bother.
@Nicolas
Are you seriously 40 years old? I am turning 26 years old on June the 15th. I wonder how old is Tanya?
I did a sports degree when I originally went to college because I brought into the bullshit socialist propaganda e.g. do what you love and the money will follow.
Now I know that’s not true. The proper saying should have been “Do what other people would love you do and the money will follow.
I figure by the time I turn 30 I will have the credentials needed to break into a government Think Tank. Plus, I am working for the Biggest Energy Company (Government Monopoly) in New Zealand which will look good on my CV.
I have been going to church lately hoping there is a GOD? You know, the bible says we live in a fallen world and it is the flesh ( the physical body)that is greedy, and selfish. Some days, this doesn’t seem to hard to believe.
But the scientist in me only believes in math, logic, and reason backed by scientific evidence. According to science unconditional love and unconditional altruism is not possible. In other words, people are inherently evil because of our selfish genes DNA). This is a scientific fact and explains why the world is so fucked up lol.
Thanks for the advice. I love learning from older generations.
Cheers
Chris Wells
I feel like I kinda have it worse than any of you guys. I have social anxiety disorder and I feel like once I graduate I’ll be pretty much dead. I’ve had one job in an office and I felt like I was able to prove myself, but being given that chance again is going to be difficult. In the last interview I had, I could barely give 10 word answers before my throat would close up. That was humiliating. Networking is a pipe dream, I’ve gradually lost every friend I ever had. I guess I chose to go to university for personal reasons in the end and I don’t regret that. I had A’s across the board and it seemed like a natural progression. From what I’ve read on here and elsewhere I feel resigned to a lifetime on jobseekers allowance. I vowed never to go back to the job centre but perhaps I need to be realistic. I don’t know.. what should I be doing?
@Paul
You should not take everything I say as the absolute truth. I am telling you about what happen to me and many others. I have become a very angry and bitter person about life. I once had these amazing dreams and lived inside a bubble of ideals like everybody else.
Now I finally understand why my parents and teachers keep telling me to go to college, get good grades, and you will be happy. Because they didn’t want me to see the harsh realities of life.
Some ways, I still wish i never knew the truth and just stay ignorant for the rest of life.
But, when I finished college and was dumped out in the labour market (in the cold) and with a mortgage size debt. I was like WTF going on here? Countries were going bankrupt, massive corruption, massive underemployment, massive inflated house prices, massive crime rates of people killing and stealing from each other to survive.
This forced me to study history, politics,economics,and science to find out the truth about human beings. At first, I could not accept the truth (I actually cried when I read the origin of species) and watched Richard Dawkins documentary of why we are here?
I denied it, I cursed it, I refused it because this is not what my parents and teachers taught me in school. But the scientific evidence was so overwhelming and paints a bleak view on the world.
Science is the cold hard truth. It does not care about ideals, religion, or what you want to believe. Science is the plain truth.
I have almost lost my humanity for other human beings and treat them like cattle. Don’t ever become like me…