ICM Accused Of Employee Mistreatment In L.A. Times Expose

The story says nearly a dozen women have made complaints with human resources about mistreatment from male bosses, citing specific instances of bullying and inappropriate behavior, although an ICM Partners rep told the Times “HR does not have any record of such allegations.”  Later on in the story the agency said in a statement they do not  “tolerate harassment, bullying or other inappropriate conduct….HR investigates all reports received and addresses each with appropriate disciplinary measures up to and including dismissal.”

The Times report goes into detail about specific employees and agents at the company, saying it has spoken with 30 former and current employees who suggested that the agency’s publicly stated goal in 2017 to reach 50/50 gender-parity was insincere, though the agency told Pollstar in March it achieved this goal a year early.  

ICM board members Lorrie Bartlett, Jennifer Joel and Janet Carol Norton said in a statement in response to the story that, “Any insinuation that our 50/50 by 2020 pledge was an insincere marketing ploy is utterly irreconcilable with the both the facts and our personal experience.”

The report was a bombshell in an ever-changing industry long known for hard-nosed negotiations, high stakes, flaring tempers and a lack of inclusivity.

On the music side, ICM recently formed a Concerts Leadership Committee consisting of Jacqueline Reynolds-Drumm, Yves C. Pierre, Ari Bernstein and Mitch Blackman. Last year longtime agent Robert Gibbs was named head of contemporary music, this March being upped to head of music – widely recognized as the first Black agent to hold such a position at a major agency – as part of a reshuffle in the music department that saw Rob Prinz stepping down as co-head of of music. Prinz remains as partner and an agent at ICM. 

ICM Partners did not respond to Pollstar‘s request for comment at press time.