Here’s the head-scratcher of the day: Ill Nino have signed with Victory Records. Not just for the release of their next album, either – but for merchandising and publishing, too.

For Victory, this is a, uh, y’know, victory: Ill Nino are one of those nu-metal bands that still have a pretty decent-sized following (I think. Don’t quote me on that. But when they play here in NY, I’m always surprised at the size of the venues they book, so I’m assuming that people are going to see them. That being said, I’m never one of those people, so it’s entirely possible that they’re playing to empty rooms.). As is the case when Victory signed Otep, this means maximum payback with minimal effort, ’cause the fanbase is already in place (I call it “The E1 Business Model.”).

But I have no idea what’s in it for Ill Nino. I suppose they just became a “priority” band on the label, which is to say, they’re bigger fish in a smaller sea, as opposed to, say, if they were still on Roadrunner, where I imagine no one would take their calls so long as anyone from Slipknot, Nickelback, Killswitch Engage, or any number of bands were on the other line. On the other hand, they now get to experience Victory head honcho Tony Brummel’s allegedly shady business practices first-hand.

Is the trade-off worth it? I can’t imagine that it is, seeing as, like I said, Ill Nino already has their audience in place, and probably need less label support than an unestablished band would. But I could be wrong, I s’pose.

The good news is, I don’t actually like Ill Nino, so whatever happens, I can just stand back here in the peanut gallery and crack wise. Good times.

-AR