Modern rock group Hawthorne Heights is leaving Victory Records and the band has filed a $10 million lawsuit, claiming the label made it appear the group was “at war against rap artists.” In a lawsuit filed in the District Court of Northern Illinois, Hawthorne Heights claimed Victory Records has damaged their reputation with fans and that despite selling millions of records, they have never “seen a single dollar in artist royalties from Victory Records.” Hawthorne Heights claims that Victory CEO Tony Burmmel sent out letters under the guise of the band, calling for fans of Hawthorne Heights to help the group’s sophomore album If Only You Were Lonely secure a #1 spot on the charts by physically moving competing R&B singer Ne-Yo’s In My Own Words around the store when their CD’s were released in Feb. 2006. “At the time of the letters we were branded as racists by some, all over a letter we did NOT write, targeting a genre which we have NOTHING against whatsoever….when questioned about the letters Tony was more upset that we had told the press that he actually wrote the letters…” Hawthorne Heights said in a statement.
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