TYLER FELSKE

The underground/independent music scene is a great example of how greed can ruin lives. Victory Records is notorious for ruining bands, especially fiscally.

A Day To Remember is a band that some of you may have heard of. Being one of the few metalcore bands to become extremely popular and selling out venues nationwide, they do not deserve what Victory is putting them through.

About two years ago, ADTR filed a lawsuit against Victory Records because Victory wasn’t paying them the royalties that they had owed them from their previous albums. The case went to court, and Victory had filed a suit against ADTR saying they refused to record a fifth album to fulfil their contract, which is why they weren’t paying them. Even though they only refused to record the album because the weren’t getting paid. Confusing right? ADTR eventually won the case and was allowed to self release their fifth album, “Common Courtesy”.

The issues don’t stop there. In late 2015, Victory Records owner Tony Brummel started a lawsuit against Tomas Kalnoky, the singer for Streetlight Manifesto a Ska band from New Jersey, for $1 million. The band’s response to the lawsuit was revealing in a Twitter post that they had not been paid a dime from Victory Records in the last two years. ““Ironically, @victoryrecords hasn’t paid us a cent in royalties in over 2 yrs. More info soon. #irony #douchenuggets”. Three days after the original claim of the lawsuit was made, Streetlight Manifesto posted on their Facebook page “THE REPORTS ARE SIMPLY NOT TRUE. Tony Brummel / Victory Records are NOT suing Tomas for $1 Million…He’s actually suing Tomas for FIVE MILLION DOLLARS”.

The Canadian hardcore outfit, Counterparts, still has problems with Victory Records, despite the fact that the band was only signed for a couple of years and two albums. The band has tweeted about their problem with Victory Records continuing to sell their merchandise, even though they are no longer signed.

Past issues that involve Victory Records include problems with fan relations and bands. Bands such as Aiden, Hawthorne Heights and Thursday have all had major public disputes with Victory.

Now as a fan of these bands and a musician myself, I feel that Victory Records should be shut down and pay the bands the money they deserve and earned. If my band was in the situation that some of these other band are or were in, I would file a lawsuit immediately and do everything in my power to get Victory Records shut down.

My band and I have made an agreement that we would never accept a record deal from Victory Records even if it was the only one offered to us.