10:18 pm - 08/09/2012
Fans of the Beastie Boys will never need to worry about hearing "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" in a DayQuil commercial or "Brass Monkey" in a spot for Brass Monkey. The last will and testament belonging to founding member Adam "MCA" Yauch — who died in May after a battle with cancer — was filed Tuesday in Manhattan Surrogate Court and reportedly contains a clause that bars advertisers from using his music, likeness, or any art he's created in connection with hawking products. We hope this means no commercials where he'll be dancing with a vacuum (like the decade-passed Fred Astaire in 1997) or praising diet cola (like the 20-years-dead Louis Armstrong somehow did in '91), and certainly no shoe ads like the ones that featured Kurt Cobain, Joey Ramone, and Joe Strummer a few years ago. It's unclear, though, whether his bandmates could supersede the clause.
"Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, in no event may my image or name or any music or any artistic property created by me be used for advertising purposes," reads a copy of the will, according to Rolling Stone. The phrase "or any music or any artistic property created by me" was reportedly added in handwriting.
The will also reportedly stipulates that the artist is leaving $6.4 million, earned from his work with the Beastie Boys and his indie film distro Oscilloscope, go into a trust for his wife, Dechen, and 13-year-old daughter, Tenzin. It also names Dechen the executor of his estate.
The news about advertising is particularly timely, though, considering the Beastie Boys are currently going head-to-head with an energy drink company who put together a 24-song mega mix for a viral campaign.
It's unclear whether Yauch's will would prevent his bandmates from ever selling the music they wrote together to advertisers. Yauch's lawyer and a spokesman for the Beastie Boys did not respond to requests for comment.
Sources: 1, 2
Cause I'm a specializer, rhyme reviser / Ain't selling out to advertisers
What you get is what you see / And you won't see me in the advertising
Adam Yauch's Will Prohibits Use of His Music in Ads
Fans of the Beastie Boys will never need to worry about hearing "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" in a DayQuil commercial or "Brass Monkey" in a spot for Brass Monkey. The last will and testament belonging to founding member Adam "MCA" Yauch — who died in May after a battle with cancer — was filed Tuesday in Manhattan Surrogate Court and reportedly contains a clause that bars advertisers from using his music, likeness, or any art he's created in connection with hawking products. We hope this means no commercials where he'll be dancing with a vacuum (like the decade-passed Fred Astaire in 1997) or praising diet cola (like the 20-years-dead Louis Armstrong somehow did in '91), and certainly no shoe ads like the ones that featured Kurt Cobain, Joey Ramone, and Joe Strummer a few years ago. It's unclear, though, whether his bandmates could supersede the clause.
"Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, in no event may my image or name or any music or any artistic property created by me be used for advertising purposes," reads a copy of the will, according to Rolling Stone. The phrase "or any music or any artistic property created by me" was reportedly added in handwriting.
The will also reportedly stipulates that the artist is leaving $6.4 million, earned from his work with the Beastie Boys and his indie film distro Oscilloscope, go into a trust for his wife, Dechen, and 13-year-old daughter, Tenzin. It also names Dechen the executor of his estate.
The news about advertising is particularly timely, though, considering the Beastie Boys are currently going head-to-head with an energy drink company who put together a 24-song mega mix for a viral campaign.
It's unclear whether Yauch's will would prevent his bandmates from ever selling the music they wrote together to advertisers. Yauch's lawyer and a spokesman for the Beastie Boys did not respond to requests for comment.
Sources: 1, 2
Cause I'm a specializer, rhyme reviser / Ain't selling out to advertisers
What you get is what you see / And you won't see me in the advertising
I'm over it when it comes to you yourself but not so much when it comes to other people.
It's just. It's something I find really distasteful in general.
Edited at 2012-08-10 04:17 am (UTC)