First of all..you sound ignorant. Internships, especially good ones with growth potential, are very hard to come by. Even more so in attractive fields such as music, sports, and popular media. Internships become even more valuable in this job market than ever before. To give someone who is interested in the field of music or sports a gauranteed internship in that field....how is that not beneficial? You're not making sense.

"Attractive fields," "growth potential," "more valuable in this job market" ... High School Guidance Counselor, is that you??? No one can convince me that an unpaid internship (especially in the music or sports industry) is not a privilege of the financially comfortable, as well as yet another false promise that the Dream Job is just around the corner.

First of all, i'm a graphic designer with a B.S. in Marketing and i just graduated last May. I would have killed to get an internship in my desired field because in the current state of the job market employers are being forced to be more selective. Therefore, having work experience in that field, paid or unpaid, could only give you an edge. I am not financially comfortable by any means, and i'm paying off roughly $20,000 in school loans as we speak, and the only reason i was not able to take a non-paying intership was because i had a $300 car payment every month and needed a paying job. I was lucky enough, however to land a job right out of college...why?? Cause I busted my ass and actively got out there. Anyone who can't find some sort of job after college, or at least a low level crap-job to get in the door, is simply not trying hard enough. oh and btw...there is never a "Dream Job just around the corner"...you have to make it yourself, nothing will be handed to you. Candy Land called..their queen is missing.

Wow, some honest-to-goodness debate. I like it.

My thoughts? Well I'm not 100% opposed to internships as some of you might be. There are some "traditional" fields where internships are accepted and (more importantly) expected by those looking to enter the field. Video production, graphic design and a handful of other creative arts industries have used internships effectively over the years.

The problem -- in my mind -- comes when employers start using internships as a way to avoid pay. All sorts of industries are entering the internship business. Web designers, financial institutions, IT, you name it. Even some retail and service industries are getting into it. This is nefarious and wrong. If you're a college kid looking for a summer job in your projected field, great, take an internship. If you've actually graduated college and want to work? You better be paid for it, anything less is absolute bullshit.

Love and kisses,
Orion

i agree orion, your statement "If you're a college kid looking for a summer job in your projected field, great, take an internship. If you've actually graduated college and want to work? You better be paid for it, anything less is absolute bullshit." couldn't be more on point. My sentiments exactly. But to completely write of internships as a waste of time for any and all is an act of stupidity. The author said it best, "I (the author) am a loser."

Well, I wouldn't exactly call him a loser. But whatever, comments aren't the place to get personal.

I don't think he completely writes off internships:
"I will acknowledge that they serve a value in some capacities. I will admit that I have done some paid work that I would've been far more effective in had I interned before hand."

So there ya go. Let's go to the Sucking Sound article and get in more arguments!

Peas

actually, i was quoting him with the loser part. He said it first himself, which basically gives everyone else free reign.

The music business is extremely hard to get into and the connections that can be made during this internship would be extremely valuable!
I don't see the internship as being unpaid because you get free tuition, room, food, and $1000 spending money for the month. This contest isn't for everyone, some college kids have too many responsibilities. I feel this contest was made just for me, it the chance I have wanted all my life, and I know I'm not the only one. Last year the contest received 13,000+ essays. Most internships are unpaid and I and many other college students are required to have one. I think every minute of this Priceless Edge Program will be more than worth it. I hope I get picked for the program, I will gladly work for free. P. Diddy started out work at a record company for free and worked his way up to millions. This contest would give me motivation, inspiration, confidence, connections, and it will look amazing on a resume.

Your view of this contest is very narrow minded and I hope you didn't apply because your just one more person to compete with. Although I wouldn't be to worried about you. If your interested in the music business you better get use to working hard for little to no pay.

QUICK FOLLOW-UP

If you work hard at an unpaid internship employers are going to really take that into consideration. Getting this internship can help you start higher on the business ladder and help you move more quickly up it, which means more money in the long term.

Here's the thing about unpaid internships: most people consider it a matter of personal choice. They weigh the benefits and detriments, the lack of pay versus the experience. Gareth Hughes' essay stopped short of really digging into the whole internship sham. I won't.

Once upon a time in the United States, we had what was called a "Labor Movement." Long since deceased, the labor movement was a group of people who worked for a living and got together and said, "If we stick together, we can improve our conditions." They made all sorts of crazy demands, like the eight hour workday, and many of their successes are taken for granted today, like The Weekend.

But these things did not come easily. Workers had to fight and in some cases die for what we take for granted now. So every time you work for your boss without getting paid, you are dancing on the graves of these American heroes and telling them, "You died for nothing."

If every college student in the United States ignored their warped sense of "get ahead at any cost" and said, "Fuck that. I'm not working for free!" then the unpaid internship would vanish overnight.

But because of people like you, TriciaCool, entry-level jobs are becoming a thing of the past. And if people are expected to work without pay for their first years in the job force, it gives a ridiculously unfair advantage to the already wealthy. If your parents can't support you while you work a full time internship, then you will not be able to find work in your field. It's classist, its Un-American, and it has a direct affect on the lives of millions of people who are just starting out in the workforce, myself included.

There is no excuse to work for free when so many Americans working for money can't even get by. You are keeping wages low, you are keeping the already rich rich, and you are fostering a hereditary class system in America, where everyone is supposed to have equal opportunities.

And you dare to call us "narrow minded" because we haven't been brainwashed by a system which is inherently unfair, and because we haven't forgotten our own history? What, do you work for MasterCard or something? If you do, I at least hope you get paid.

Hi, I was just browsing the net and came across this posting. I actually won the Mastercard internship fro music. I received 2,000$ for expenses and got to see chicago, santa monica, and Nashville expense free. Tickets to concerts, meals, meeting Janes Addiction, J5, Tom Morello, all part of the program. Im reporting my taxes that it all was an educational expense. How is that not getting paid? I am currently working as an Artist Development Rep. for Interscope. So tell me again about not getting paid, i don't think I'm reading this right.

Matt-

I'm glad to hear that it worked out so well for you, and frankly, I'm glad to see that I was wrong in my initial assessment, and that you were indeed 'paid' (in a sense) for your time. And hell, as I just got off work from my deadend baking job, I'm glad that it has lead to a career for you.

In the past year, since that article went up, a lot of people have echoed your sentiments on this page and in person. For all of the positives that you mentioned that I would now edit from my statment above, I still think it kind of sickening that getting that all important internship to start a career has been reduced to a contest. It speaks volumes about the lack of options for many people in beginning a career that instead of starting with an entry level position, you now throw your resume into the hopper of some contest you saw advertised on TV, and then pray you get that opportunity to take that first step. Hey, I know I'm behind the times on this one, but it will always bother me.

You read it right; on the 'no pay' thing (which, to be honest, you were not paid for your initial work, you were compensated for your expenses, which is a difference, but not worth splitting the hairs here) I may be wrong.

Now, since you're in Artist Development, could I send you a demo of my band? We're great in a kind of Radiohead meets the Clash with a streak of The Band. You know, real post-punk-rock Americana with a pop feel. You'll really dig it.