Credit: James HartleyFlorida emo-hardcore band A Day To Remember has emerged victorious in a five-year legal battle with its record label.
According to Alternative Press, on Wednesday an federal jury in Illinois released the band from its 2006 contract with Victory Records and awarded the band $4 million in unpaid royalties owed them by the label.
"As many of you know, more than 5 years ago we filed a lawsuit against Victory Records seeking freedom and resolution on several issues we had with them. For the past 2 weeks we have been in court arguing our case. Today, the jury came back with a unanimous verdict in the trial granting us that freedom and resolution," the band wrote in a statement after the verdict."Thank you to the fan base for supporting us through this difficult time, we couldn’t have done this without you. This isn’t just a victory for us but also a victory for every band wronged over the years. Right doesn’t always win, but today it did."
In a breach of contract lawsuit filed in May 2011, Victory Records claimed A Day to Remember left the label before fulfilling a five-album commitment. In 2013, a judge ruled ADTR could self-release the Common Courtesy album, but the case proceeded to trial because the band might have potentially owed Victory Records an additional two albums.
In the final verdict, the jury said ADTR’s two concerts films released through iTunes counted as part of the five-album contract with Victory. The band was granted composition rights to its songs, as well as the right to license the music. Victory retained sound recording rights, meaning it can continue selling ADTR’s albums while paying royalties to the band.
A Day to Remember released their latest album, Bad Vibrations, on September 2.
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