Victory Records sued by top band

Chicago-based independent music label Victory Records is being sued by its bestselling band, Hawthorne Heights.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court this week, alleges that Victory has failed to account for and pay the band money that is contractually owed to it. And as a result, the band sent a letter terminating its relationship with Victory.

“Our departure is anything but amicable,” the band said in a statement on its website. “After selling more than 1.2 million copies of ‘The Silence in Black and White’ and ‘If Only You Were Lonely,’ we have never seen a single dollar in artist royalties from Victory Records.”

Anthony K. Brummel, Victory’s owner, said he had not yet seen the lawsuit.