After multiple anonymous allegations of sexual misconduct emerged over the weekend regarding the label’s artists and staff, Burger Records announced plans Monday for “major structural changes” in an effort to address a “culture of toxic masculinity ” Co-founder and President Lee Rickard resigned, Co-founder Sean Bohrman announced plans to retire, the label changed its name to BRGR, and new interim President Jessa Zapor-Gray was named. Tonight, however, Bohrman announced that the label will be closed entirely.
Jessa Zapor-Gray released a statement tonight announcing that he no longer planned to take on the role of acting label president. “My plan was to quickly start evaluating and evaluating whether something about the label could be saved and become something better, and then deliver a functional label to a future administration unrelated to the founders of the label; or if I discovered that rebuilding was not possible, instead of organizing and preparing the label for closure, “he wrote. Zapor-Gray continued:
When asked about the label’s future and leadership, Bohrman replied to Pitchfork, “We decided to fold the label.” When asked if Burger would continue as BRGR RCRDS, Bohrman replied “No”. When asked for more comments, he joined a clip from Porky Pig saying “that’s it folks”. Burger accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have been deactivated.
When Pitchfork arrived on Tuesday night, Bohrman revealed that all Burger Records releases would eventually be removed from the streaming platforms. At the time of publication, some Burger albums were still appearing on Spotify and Apple Music. “Yes, I just asked our distribution to remove everything, it’s probably not an instantaneous process,” Bohrman said in an email. Pitchfork has contacted Burger distribution and Spotify representatives for more information.
When asked if artists who released music in Burger will be able to re-upload their records to streaming services, Bohrman confirmed that all Burger artists own their own music and are free to re-release their records if they wish. “I hate dealing with lawyers, so we never sign contracts with gangs,” he wrote.
The Fullerton, Calif. Label, largely known for releasing cassettes, was founded in 2007 by Rickard and Bohrman. While a large number of tapes released by Burger Records were cassette recordings of digitally released albums and vinyl by other labels (such as Castle Face, Vice Music, and In the Red Records), Burger was solely responsible for the digital transmission of multiple artists, cassettes and vinyls. King Tuff’s Was dead, Peach’s self-titled album Kelli Pop, Gap Dream’s Shine your lightand Timmy’s body The survival of the devil They were among the albums that appeared on streaming services like Spotify copyrighted by Burger Records. While Burger released the CHAI 2019 album PUNK, Sony Music Entertainment Japan owns the copyrights that appear on the broadcast pages of the album.
On Tuesday, Oakland’s Total Trash Productions, promoters of the annual Burger Boogaloo festival, announced that it had cut ties with Burger and planned to change the festival’s name.
.
