Records executive VP A&R Jeff Fenster and another unnamed executive after a female former staffer made claims of sexual misconduct against them.

The woman also accused WMG CEO Stephen Cooper of making an inappropriate remark at a party, a source confirmed.

Samantha Maloney, a former vice president of A&R at the label, was let go from the company in late September 2017 as part of what was described as a “company restructuring.”

She signed a separation agreement and was paid severance.

About a month later, her lawyer wrote to WMG alleging misconduct by executives both at Warner Records and WMG she’d heard about and, in one case, personally encountered.

That final allegation involved one of the company’s highest-ranking executives: Maloney alleged that she’d been propositioned by WMG chief executive Stephen Cooper.

The company immediately launched an investigation.

Three months later, Warner Music Group paid Maloney $240,000 and she agreed to never publicly speak about the claims.

“The whole thing feels wrong to me,” Michael Howe — a former vice president of A&R at Warner in whom Maloney confided and who was let go by the company the same day as Maloney — tells Rolling Stone.

“At the time [of the allegation], she had the highest-grossing and revenue-producing single.”

A memo from Masha Osherova, Warner Music Group®’s (WMG’s) human resources EVP explained that “a former Warner Bros. Records US employee has come forward with concerns about inappropriate behavior by several of our US executives”...and that “some of the accusations were found to be true and, as a consequence, we are in the process of taking the appropriate disciplinary actions against the relevant employees.

These allegations and the steps the company took at the conclusion of the investigation, critics of the company and the broader entertainment industry say, are indicative of a wider pattern: Misconduct accusers are silenced with ironclad NDAs, while powerful male executives are protected against a public airing of allegations against them.

In recent years, advocates and lawyers who represent employees have increasingly criticized NDAs in the context of sexual harassment allegations, asserting they keep claims against powerful members of the entertainment industry protected from public view.

The team at Shield Justice Watch believes that victims that suffered sexual abuse or misconduct while employed by Warner Music Group® should receive justice and compensation for losses.