It’s all over for hip LA cassette label – Burger records
California-based Burger Records has addressed allegations of sexual misconduct levelled against multiple employees and artists signed to the label, resulting in the indie’s closure.
All music released on the label is set to be removed from streaming services shortly with artists released from their contracts and cleared to distribute elsewhere, according to Pitchfork.
Co-founder and president Lee Rickard announced his resignation as the label admitted to “a toxic male music culture that does not value women as equals” in a statement on Wednesday.
Planned “major structural changes” followed the allegations that surfaced on social media over the weekend, including on the Instagram page lured_by_buger_records.
The account’s bio says it is “dedicated to amplifying voices and supporting those who were victims of sexual predation by predators involved with Burger Records.”
It accuses the label of creating “a cesspool of trauma by allowing these men to prey on children” and “curating a culture built on pedophilic tendencies and teenage fetishization”.
The page has almost 19,000 followers. Some of the label’s bands whose members were listed in accusations were The Growlers, SWMRS, the Buttertones, Cosmonauts and The Frights.
In addition to the restructure – which included co-founder Sean Bohrman stepping down and Jessa Zapor-Gray as interim president – Burger Records is also planned to rebrand as BRGR RECS.
This move was swiftly criticised on the Lured By Burger Records account.
“The new interim president of Burger Records is a PR person working to re-brand a company build on predation. She tried and failed to silence us over two days.”
Almost as quickly as Zapor-Gray arrived in the interim role, she was out: “Upon further review, I have informed Burger Records that I no longer believe I will be able to achieve my intended goals…” she said.
“Therefore, I have decided to step away from the label entirely to focus on my other projects.”
It’s since been confirmed that burger Records will instead close entirely after Zapor-Gray chose to no longer take on the interim president role.
Source: https://themusicnetwork.com/burger-records-cancelled/
