Victory Records
| Victory Records | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Founded | 1989 |
| Founder | Tony Brummel |
| Distributor(s) | RED |
| Genre | Various |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Location | Chicago, Illinois |
| Official Website | www.victoryrecords.com |
Victory Records is a Chicago-based record label founded by Tony Brummel. It is a privately held corporation. It also operates a music publishing company called "Another Victory, Inc." and is the distributor of several smaller independent record labels.
Victory Records has deals with major music distributors, which include Best Buy, Amazon, Trans World, Hot Topic and more. Music by bands signed to Victory Records can be purchased on iTunes; a few Victory albums have also been released on the Australian iTunes.
Contents |
[edit] History
Originally focusing on hardcore punk or post-hardcore bands, Victory later expanded to emo, pop rock and metal. The label has had multiple records exceeding the 250,000 sales mark, including gold records The Silence in Black and White by Hawthorne Heights and Taking Back Sunday's Tell All Your Friends and Where You Want to Be. Recently, Victory has expanded their roster to an even wider variety of genres, including nu-metal and alternative.
In early 2002, 25% of the label was announced to have been sold to Universal Music Group.[1] However, later that year the deal was terminated by Victory.[2] Victory is currently partnered with and distributed by Sony's RED Distribution.
On Thursday September 29, 2011, Erik "Hi Fi" Kish, frontman and guitarist for early Victory Records Rockabilly artist Hi-Fi and the Roadburners passed away from a motorcycle accident from the previous evening. Hi-Fi and the Roadburners played an early role within the Victory Records roster as they were often a supporting act on the early Victory Hardcore roster.[3]
[edit] Bands on label
[edit] Relations with label
Victory Records has had mixed relations with artists signed to the label. Over the years, multiple bands have cited grievances, conflicts, or filed lawsuits against the record label.
Former Victory band Thursday has had a conflict with the label, citing issues with royalties. The band also cited an incident involving the Victory Records marketing staff producing whoopie cushions for the promotion of their 2001 album Full Collapse, against their wishes.[4][5][6] Thursday stated in the DVD accompanying their compilation album Kill the House Lights that they chose to go to a major label (Island Def Jam in 2002) and after fulfilling their contract, Tony Brummel and Victory Records welcomed Thursday "back with open arms."[4]
Ska group Streetlight Manifesto has had numerous conflicts and a generally poor relationship with Victory Records. The band is leaving the label after their next album.[7] In February 2012, Streetlight Manifesto went so far as to request that their fans boycott their music.[8]
Despite the controversy, relations between Victory Records and its bands have not been all negative. Close Your Eyes and Ill Niño have mentioned positive relations multiple times in interviews, Endwell and Emmure stated that Victory Records has always helped them.[9]
[edit] Hawthorne Heights lawsuit
On August 7, 2006, the Victory-signed band Hawthorne Heights announced in a "manifesto" on their website that they were leaving the label[10] and filed a lawsuit against it, accusing Victory of fraudulent accounting practices and for "severely damag[ing] the band's reputation and relationship with their fans."[11] Brummel allegedly issued public statements in the band's name criticizing hip-hop and singer Ne-Yo (whose CD In My Own Words was Hawthorne Heights' most prominent competition on the Billboard 200 charts),[12] as well as urging street team members to conceal copies of Ne-Yo's CD in record stores.[10][11] On September 13, 2006, Victory records countersued Hawthorne Heights, accusing the band of breach of contract and libel.[13][14]
In October 2006, a Chicago judge dismissed two of the three main claims in the band's suit, ruling that the trademark and copyright violation allegations were unfounded.[15] On March 5, 2007 a federal judge in Chicago ruled that Victory Records does not hold exclusive rights for the band's recording services and that the band can record for any label. Specifically, the Judge stated: "The agreement contains no exclusivity provision, nor does any of its language appear to prevent [the band] from recording elsewhere during the life of the agreement".[16] The judge later reaffirmed this ruling on May 17, 2007, stating that Hawthorne Heights is still contractually bound to deliver two albums to Victory, but may record albums which are released elsewhere.[17]
In January 2008, Victory filed a lawsuit against Virgin/EMI Records alleging that "Virgin/EMI improperly induced platinum-selling band Hawthorne Heights to repudiate its contract with top independent label Victory Records", including allegations that Virgin/EMI funded the initial phase of Hawthorne Heights' lawsuit against Victory. The suit sought actual damages of $10M and punitive damages of $25M.[18][19]
[edit] A Day to Remember lawsuit
On December 15, 2011, it was announced that Victory act A Day to Remember have plans of pressing charges against the label due to breach of contract. Legal action was reportedly initiated on May 31 of that year, in which the band claims that Victory owes them over $75,000 in royalties.[20] Victory Records has said, on their behalf, that the lawsuit is actually about the band's refusal to fulfill their 5 album contractual commitment to Victory and their newfound desire to move to a major label.[21]
[edit] Criticism
Beginning in May 2011, the label was widely criticized for signing groups perceived as inferior to many of the bands they signed in the past.[22] Bands signed during this period include The Bunny The Bear, These Hearts and most particularly, Design the Skyline, labeled as "the worst band ever" by critics.[23][24][25] Design the Skyline and Victory Records even received death threats following their signing.[26] Although Victory refused to comment on the signing, they continued to promote the band regardless of the criticism. The band however, did comment on their controversy, stating; "We really don’t mind. We can honestly see why people give us negative feedback for one, the way we look and the fact that we got signed to a mainly hardcore metal label with just one song; we stick out like a sore thumb. And not to mention how young we are."[27]
[edit] Artists
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ MCA acquires 25% of Victory Records, PunkNews, 2002-04-17
- ^ MCA / Victory deal falls apart, PunkNews, 2002-10-20
- ^ R.I.P. Erik Kish, Hi-fi and the Roadburners
- ^ a b Punknews Thursday complaints regarding victory
- ^ VH1.com : Taking Back Sunday : Taking Back Sunday's New Album Not So New After All - Rhapsody Music Downloads
- ^ Thursday Knew Victory Treaty 'Would Confuse Everybody' | News | VH1.com
- ^ dyingscene.com/news/streetlight-manifesto-hates-their-label/
- ^ "Streetlight Manifesto Proudly Boycotts Itself". StreetlightManifesto.com. http://streetlightmanifesto.com/streetlight-manifesto-proudly-boycotts-itself/. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
- ^ Endwell speaks
- ^ a b The REAL Manifesto, Hawthorne Heights, 2006
- ^ a b Hawthorne Heights Sue Victory Records - News Story | Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV News
- ^ Hawthorne Heights Say Don't Believe Your Inbox - News Story | Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV News
- ^ Punknews, Victory files countersuit 10/13/2006
- ^ Victory Records Countersues Hawthorne Heights - News Story | Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV News
- ^ Montgomery, James (2006-10-20). "Hawthorne Heights Dealt Damaging Blow In Case Against Record Label". MTV News. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1543656/20061020/hawthorne_heights.jhtml. Retrieved 2007-02-27.
- ^ Jack, Soapy (2007-03-06). "Hawthorne Heights Wins Partial Legal Victory". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003554353. Retrieved 2007-05-09.
- ^ Jack, Soapy (2007-05-17). "Hawthorne Heights Not Bound To Victory". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003587670. Retrieved 2007-05-18.
- ^ "Virgin/EMI Wrongfully Attempted to Poach Hawthorne Heights From Victory Records, Lawsuit Claims". Reuters. 2008-01-14. http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS188791+14-Jan-2008+PRN20080114. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
- ^ Jacobson, Bryce (2008-06-08). "Hawthorne Heights To Release New Album; Drop Victory Lawsuit". Driven Far Off. http://www.drivenfaroff.com/2008/06/06/hawthorne-heights-to-release-new-album-drop-victory-lawsuit/. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
- ^ "A Day To Remember to sue Victory Records". Kill Your Stereo. http://www.killyourstereo.com/news/12209/a-day-to-remember-to-sue-victory-records/. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
- ^ http://www.rocksound.tv/news/article/a-day-to-remember-taking-label-to-court
- ^ Powell, Dylan. "These Hearts: Forever Ended Yesterday". Mind Equals Blown. http://mindequalsblown.net/2011/07/these-hearts-forever-ended-yesterday/. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
- ^ Caraeff, Ezra. "Is Design the Skyline the Worst Band in the History of Music?". End Hits. http://endhits.portlandmercury.com/endhits/archives/2011/05/25/is-design-the-skyline-the-worst-band-in-the-history-of-music. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
- ^ "Worst band of the Week: Design the Skyline". Caught in the Crossfire. http://www.caughtinthecrossfire.com/music/news/worst-band-of-the-week-design-the-skyline/. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
- ^ Fisher, Jason. "DESIGN THE SKYLINE Members Address All The Hate Directed At Them". The Gauntlet. http://www.thegauntlet.com/article/1225/22383/DESIGN-THE-SKYLINE-Members-Address-All-The-Hate-Directed-At-Them. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
- ^ "Design The Skyline starts getting death threats on Facebook page". Billy Moses. http://billymoses.com/2011/05/23/design-the-skyline-starts-getting-death-threats-on-facebook-page/. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
- ^ "Design the Skyline Interview". Hero. http://herozine.tumblr.com/post/7471062040/design-the-skyline-interview. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
