Hawthorne Heights Files Lawsuit Against Victory Records

The poster boys for both MySpace and Victory Records Hawthorne Heights have filed suit against the label claiming that the label has "severely damaged the band’s reputation and relationship with their fans" and practiced fraudulent accounting.

Hawthorne Heights first came to prominence armed with a large fan base cultivated via MySpace prior to signing with Victory. Now they believe the label has hurt rather than enhanced that relationship. Specifically sited in the suit was the label’s controversial letter to Hawthorne Height’s street team telling them to hide Ne Yo new CD which was competing with Hawthorne for first week sales.  Outspoken Victory head Tony Brummel later called the CD "a joke.

In an era where the internet has created band/fan relationships that are less filtered by record labels and the media, Hawthorne Heights understands that it’s those fans and not any corporation that will shape their future success.

"Despite the band’s lack of knowledge or approval of Brummel’s schemes and tactics, Hawthorne Heights have become irreparably associated in the public mind with Brummel’s conduct," the band wrote in the lawsuit.

"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," the band explained in a letter posted on its Web site. "Because of these letters, our second album debuted at #3 on the charts, an incredible feat, which would normally be cause for joy, but now is tainted much like Barry Bonds’ statistics."

Read more @ MTV News and the band’s full statement here.