Say what you will about Victory Records, but the Chicago-based label has helped a lot of bands break big in the metal and hardcore scene (including Darkest Hour and Between The Buried And Me in the past). One band that has greatly benefited from Victory Records is A Day To Remember. However, it looks like the post-hardcore band feels that their label owes them a lot more in royalties.
According to legal documents from CourtHouseNews.com, A Day To Remember filed a lawsuit against their label on May 31, 2011 for breach of contract. The suit claims, among many things, that Victory owes the band up to $75,000 in royalties, and is seeking ownership of their copyrighted recordings. You can read the entire legal document supposedly filed by the band online.
At the moment, Victory Records has yet to respond to our request for a comment. However, this would not be the first time the label has found themselves in a legal battle with bands on their roster. Most notably, Hawthorne Heights sued Victory back in 2006 over various reasons (including an issue over fraudulent accounting practices, but more notably over CEO Tony Brummel’s Ne Yo letter).
An official statement from A Day To Remember on the matter has also not been made yet. Unfortunately, it is also unclear as to whether or not this suit has been settled or is still ongoing. Hopefully more will be confirmed soon.
Update: Victory Records have released a statement confirming A Day To Remember’s lawsuit (and denying any wrong doing). You can read Victory Record’s entire statement after the jump:
“Recent reports of claims filed by the Victory artist A Day to Remember (ADTR) in litigation presently pending in US District Court in the Northern District of Illinois (a case that was just transferred from Nashville upon Victory’s successful motion based upon improper venue) have misleadingly stated that the principal issue in the case concerns the payment of royalties.
The lawsuit, filed shortly after the band hired new management, is really about the band’s refusal to fulfill their 5-album contractual commitment to Victory and their newfound desire to move to a major label. Recycled and often apocryphal stories of misguided and unsuccessful attempts by a few Victory bands to jump ship from the label that put them on the map have one common truthful thread; they always end badly for the band.
In those cases, the bands eventually seek reconciliation and often ask to return to the Victory fold after having been disappointed by their post-Victory experiences. Victory is confident that this dispute will be resolved to the satisfaction of both the band and Victory, and that ADTR will continue to deliver great music to Victory in the coming years. Victory continues to honor its commitment to ADTR by placing its significant resources behind the band’s current album, What Separates Me From You, which continues to climb the charts and meet or exceed Victory’s expectations.
The band, in the meantime, has enjoyed the benefits of the hundreds of thousands of dollars in record royalties generated from their album sales, which Victory accounts for in full compliance with its contract. Victory’s job remains the same- work hard, sell records and abide by our agreements.”
Looks like A Day To Remember’s court battle with Victory is nowhere near resolved. Updated legal documents, including Victory’s countersuit, can be seen over at the AltPress.
