Emmure Deny The Were Cheated Or Robbed By Victory Records

posted in: Music News • Rock

There has been a lot of talk over the last few years about the way Victory Records conducts business. A handful of former artists, including Taking Back Sunday and Hawthorne Heights, have fought long court battles over claims of unpaid royalties, which has attributed to a drop in sales and popularity for the label. Now, having just re-signed to Victory for the third time, deathcore outfit Emmure have spoken to Alternative Press in support of the label that claims to ‘run the streets.’

In a new interview about their recent re-signing, Emmure frontman Frankie Palmeri discussed the the reasoning for the band’s decision to return, as well as their past experiences with the label. Frankie clarified:

There were a lot of different reasons to resign with Victory. First off, I think the continuity of a band’s career is dependent on the relationships you make internally. We have a good relationship with Victory Records on all levels. We have a personal relationship with everyone who works there, from publicity to art director. We are also lucky because Victory Records has never stifled us creatively. Any idea we have ever had, they’ve been like, Yeah, let’s do it, whether it be a music video or an album theme or anything like that. They actually believe in our band, and they want to see what we’re going to do next. They are curious and excited about our material. It’s good to have that kind of backing from any label, period. It’s good to have that freedom to try new things. Even if you fail, they are still behind you. You can’t buy that. You can’t just expect that from people. It’s something you have to earn, and are blessed if you get.

On another aspect, our fans are not totally reliant on Victory putting the album out, but it’s easier for us to reach those fans if we stay on the same label. They will already have that familiarity. The continuity overall is really one of the main reasons to re-sign.

You know, there are those horror stories that people are going to spit out, but here’s the bottom line: All record labels are exactly the same. I don’t care which way you cut it. They are doing the same kind of business on all corners. Victory does good business, and if you’re a band that is expecting more than what you get, then you’re going to feel cheated and robbed. Personally, I’ll tell you right now, we’ve never been robbed. We’ve never been cheated of anything. Victory has been our home for basically our entire career, and it hasn’t done us wrong.

I think there is a lot to say about our band, to have not only continued success, but to have survived the hurdles along the way. It’s not easy. Anyone who thinks that, Oh, we signed to Victory, my life is great now is wrong. Things have never gotten crazier up until then. It’s serious then, you have to perform at a certain level. There is a lot of pressure in that.

I get a little frustrated because I think people forget that Emmure came from the gutter, the fucking underground of the underground, playing clubs no one has ever heard of and VFW Halls no one has ever seen. We did all that shit for years. Now it’s paying off. It’s paying off for us, and for Victory as well. The big reason Victory believes in us so much is because we had that gradual following and we came from that all or nothing place. Major shout out to our Victory family for continuing to believe in us.

Emmure last record, Slave To The Game, hit stores in 2012 through Victory Records. Their next album is expected in spring 2014, but at this time no date, title, or production information has been made available.