News

Cassette Store Day, the annual co-ordinated release of music on collectable tapes that was inspired by the success of Record Store Day, has cancelled its 2020 event in the light of sexual misconduct claims made against one of its principal participants, Burger Records.

The event was planned for 17 October worldwide and would have been a boon to the resurgent industry re-emerging after difficult times under lockdown. It was immediately cancelled when news broke that Burger, based in Fullerton, California and the fount of many of the events’ tape releases, was accused of “normalising a culture of sexual assault” at its shows and within its catalogue of artists.

Despite an attempt to rebrand and launch a separate imprint for female artists in response to the claims, Burger has been forced to shut down entirely, prompting organisers to announce the cancellation.

In a statement on its Twitter and Facebook pages, CSD, which was launched in 2013, said of Burger: “We find this behaviour to be not only abhorrent, but completely unacceptable. We stand in solidarity with those who have come forward and those who have yet to.”