The Beastie Boys Will Sabotage Any Commercial Using Their Music
And Chili’s is the latest to learn.
If you’re using a Beastie Boys song in a commercial, you better be ready to fight for your right in court. The Beasties sued restaurant operator Brinker International on July 10 over a 2022 ad for Chili’s that used their song “Sabotage” and re-created its music video against their will, per Reuters. Because of the ad, they argue, “the public was confused into believing” the group supported the restaurants. No, they prefer artistic integrity to baby-back ribs. The Beasties famously keep their music out of commercials — late member Adam “MCA” Yauch even stipulated it in his will in 2012 — and have previously won similar suits against Monster Energy and GoldieBlox. This time around, they’re only asking for $150,000 plus attorney’s fees from Brinker, but the suit said the ad caused “irreparable harm” to the group “that cannot be fully compensated by money.” And no, fajita platters and Presidente Margaritas probably won’t help either.
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