The Beastie Boys Take Monster to Court Over Ill License

The surviving Beastie Boys are fighting for their right to get paid this week.

Adam "Ad Rock" Horovitz and Michael "Mike D" Diamond, appeared in a New York court to demand more than $2 million from Monster Energy drink, which had used the Beastie Boys songs "Sabotage," "Make Some Noise" and "So What'cha Want" as the soundtrack for a video commemorating an annual snowboarding contest, Ruckus in the Rockies. The video was posted on YouTube.

While Monster acknowledges that it used the material without permission, the surviving members of the group — the third, Adam "MCA" Yauch, died in 2012 — claim that the $125,000 that the company is offering is way too low. Yauch's will had stipulated that his name, music, image or "any artistic property created by me" should not be used for advertising. The $2 million in damages covers $1 million for use of the songs and another $1 million for an "implied endorsement." Read more...