Q: Why do I not have my record yet? I totally want it.
A: Simple – Victory Records has refused to send us any of Streetlight’s new album. Without that – we can not send out pre-orders. Classy move. Read on for more information about your order.

The above is on the front page of Streetlight Manifesto web site.  For some reason Victory Records always ends up in the news.

It first began in August 2006, when Hawthorne Heights filed a lawsuit against Victory Records, accusing the label of creative accounting practices, unpaid royalties and for damaging the band’s reputation and relationship with their fans.

By June, 2008, Hawthorne Heights had dropped the lawsuit and by August 2008, released their third album.  I enjoyed the first two Hawthorne Heights album, however the third album was a disappointment.  By the time Skeletons was released on Wind Up Records, it was all over for Hawthorne Heights.

In 2011, A Day To Remember also filed a suit against Victory Records for unpaid royalties. Victory Records is saying that the issue isn’t about unpaid royalties, and that the real issue is the band wanting out of their 5 album contract.

So back to Victory Records and Streetlight Manifesto.  The relationship is so strained, that Streetlight Manifesto even told their fans to download their album from other free sources, to not purchase the album from any physical and online retailers and to only purchase merchandise from the band’s website.

The loser in all of this is the fan.  What Victory Records fail to realise is that fans support bands.  If bands have fan support, then Victory Records will make money as well.  No one buys music because Victory or Century Media or any other label released it.  They buy music because a BAND released it.