The Beastie Boys will never tour or record new music again, a court has been told.
Mike D and Ad-Rock appeared in a New York court as part of a copyright infringement case and – for the first time since MCA Adam Yauch’s death in 2012 – spoke out on the band’s future.
The B Boys launched a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Monster Energy Drink after the firm used some of their songs in a video to promote a snowboarding event.
Mike D – AKA Michael Diamond – told the court: “We have not been able to tour since MCA, Adam Yauch, died. We can’t make new music.”
Ad-Rock – real name Adam Horovitz – and Mike D said they were respecting the wishes of MCA, who died of cancer and wrote in his will “… in no event may my image or name or any music or any artistic property created by me be used for advertising purposes.”
Diamond said that if the beverage company had asked permission to use the tracks, their response would have been “absolutely no.”
Diamond also revealed that the denied Arnold Schwarzenegger the use of their hit Sabotage in his 2014 movie of the same name, a licensing opportunity that would have earned the band a substantial amount of money.
He said: “It felt like too much of an endorsement. We weren’t fans of Mr Schwarzenegger’s recent work.”
