Kevin Bronson on July 21st, 2020

0

Jessa Zapor-Gray, who on Monday was elevated to the role of interim president of the newly re-branded BRGR RECS (fka Burger Records), has decided not to take the job after all.

See: Upheaval at Burger Records.

After a firestorm of online allegations of sexual misconduct and predatory behavior involving label employees and at least 12 of its affiliate bands, it was initially announced that Burger co-founders Sean Bohrman and Lee Rickard were out and Zapor-Gray was in. But in a statement she sent out Tuesday night, she said, “I have informed Burger Records that I no longer believe I will be able to achieve my intended goals in assuming the leadership role at Burger in the current climate” and that she was stepping away entirely.

Her full statement:

In the last year and a half, I have worked with Burger and Burger artists on communications and partnerships on a contract basis.

Over the weekend I was asked to assume the role of the label’s interim president with the hope I could reform the label into something better for the good of all of you, the artists. My plan was to quickly begin assessing and evaluating if anything about the label could perhaps be salvaged and made into something better, then eventually hand off a functioning label to a future administration unrelated to the label’s founders; or if I found that rebuilding was not possible, instead to organize and prepare the label for closure.

When I was asked to take over in this capacity, I expected some blowback for my decision to accept but I believed that the opportunity to have a role in effecting real and lasting positive change within the Burger and indie music scenes was worth the risk.

Upon further review, I have informed Burger Records that I no longer believe I will be able to achieve my intended goals in assuming the leadership role at Burger in the current climate. Therefore, I have decided to step away from the label entirely to focus on my other projects.