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    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    Previewing the story of how Orange County’s Burger Records collapsed

    Orange County indie rock label Burger Records announced this July it would permanently shut down, ending music production, pulling records from shelves, and no longer hosting music festivals.

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    By Madeleine Brand • Sep 30, 2020 • 7m Listen

    Orange County indie rock label Burger Records announced this July it would permanently shut down, ending music production, pulling records from shelves, and no longer hosting music festivals.

    This comes after dozens of young women publicly accused bands associated with Burger Records — and one employee — of sexual misconduct and abuse, sometimes with minors, and that Burger Records didn’t do enough to stop it.

    The women posted their stories to social media. Most did so anonymously. They claimed band members gave them drugs and alcohol, and invited them backstage and into tour vans.

    The Growlers, SWMRS, and the Cosmonauts were just some of the label's groups that were implicated.

    Burger started in 2007 and was known for scouting small garage bands and releasing their albums on brightly colored cassette tapes.

    Emily Fox looked at the fall of Burger Records for KCRW’s Independent Producer Project. Her report airs in its entirety on October 1 on Press Play.

    The full episode

    4 of 5
    The presidential debate and the Proud Boys
    1. 0:00What the first Trump-Biden presidential debate means for the Proud Boys
    2. 10:23Why there could be voter intimidation at the polls on Election Day
    3. 19:34$25 billion in federal subsidies has not saved the airline industry, and 40,000 jobs are on the line
    4. 28:05Previewing the story of how Orange County’s Burger Records collapsedYou’re reading this
    5. 35:34Paper money, the gold standard, Bitcoin: How money keeps changing
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Madeleine Brand

      Host, 'Press Play'

    • KCRW placeholder

      Sarah Sweeney

      Vice President of Talk Programming, KCRW

    • KCRW placeholder

      Michell Eloy

      Former Producer/Line Editor, Press Play

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Amy Ta

      Digital News & Culture Editor

    • KCRW placeholder

      Emily Fox

      reporter from member station KEXP

      CultureHand-Picked MusicOrange CountyBusiness & Economy

    The full episode

    4 of 5
    The presidential debate and the Proud Boys
    1. 0:00What the first Trump-Biden presidential debate means for the Proud Boys
    2. 10:23Why there could be voter intimidation at the polls on Election Day
    3. 19:34$25 billion in federal subsidies has not saved the airline industry, and 40,000 jobs are on the line
    4. 28:05Previewing the story of how Orange County’s Burger Records collapsedYou’re reading this
    5. 35:34Paper money, the gold standard, Bitcoin: How money keeps changing
    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand