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Rock band A Day To Remember wins court battle

On Behalf of | Dec 7, 2016 | Contract Disputes

Missouri residents may be familiar with the rock band A Day To Remember. It has released several albums with Victory Records and Indianola Records. The exact number of albums that the band has recorded has been a key issue in an ongoing contract dispute with Victory Records.

In 2011, the members of ADTR filed a lawsuit against Victory Records claiming that the recording contract was breached. The band had other complaints including a dispute over the ownership rights to copyrighted works. Victory Records then accused ADTR of violating the terms of the recording contract by failing to deliver five albums. Later on, Victory Records was accused of withholding royalty payments that were due to ADTR.

The contract dispute finally came to an end when a jury in Illinois ruled in favor of ADTR on Nov. 22. After a two-week trial, the jury decided that ADTR did fulfill its recording obligations by delivering several albums to Victory Records that included full-length albums, re-releases of old recordings and live recordings. The jury ordered Victory Records to pay ADTR $4 million in compensation for unpaid royalties for merchandise sales and digital downloads. ADTR was granted composition rights, and Victory Records was granted sound recording rights.

Drafting a contract that involves the delivery of works of art can be very complicated. If both parties do not understand the implications of every provision in the contract, problems could arise later on. In an attempt to avoid protracted and expensive litigation, the parties sometimes ask their respective attorneys to attempt to negotiate a settlement.

Source: THE PRP, “A Day To Remember Win Court Case Against Victory Records, Label Ordered To Pay $4 Million (Updated),” Nov. 23, 2016