The Beastie Boys – the US hip-hop band best known for their love of VW emblems – have successfully sued energy drink firm Monster for almost $2m after it used their music in marketing campaigns without the band’s knowledge.
Monster Energy admitted to a Manhattan courtroom that it had been using Beastie Boys songs – Sabotage, So Watcha Want, Make Some Noise, Pass the Mic and Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun – in online promotional videos for weeks.
It was ordered to pay $1.7m (£1m) to the surviving pair, $120,000 for each of its 10 violations, plus $500,000 for using the bands character without permission, which the jury thought gave a false impression of endorsement.
“We’re happy,” was Adam ‘Ad-Rock’ Horovitz’ reaction to the verdict outside the courtroom, who had testified that the group would not licence songs to endorse products.
Michael ‘Mike D’ Diamond also testified that, following the death of Adam ‘MCA’ Yauch in 2012, the band was very protective over their music as they are dependent on the revenue it creates. “We cannot tour. We cannot make recordings,” he told the jury.
Lawyers for Monster Energy said they will appeal the decision after it thought that it shouldn’t have to pay more than $125,000 for its offences. The Beastie Boys had been hoping to claim $2m.