In 2012, the Beastie Boys’ Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz and Mike “Mike D” Diamond sued Monster Energy Drink for $2.5 million for using their songs in a promotional video without permission. At Monster’s annual “Ruckus In The Rockies” snowboarding competition, DJ Z-Trip put together a special Beastie Boys mix to commemorate the late Adam “MCA” Yauch, who had died just days before the competition. That mix later accompanied a promotional video and was made available for download as an mp3.
Earlier this year, Horovitz and Diamond were awarded $1.7 million in the case. But now, Capitol Records and Universal-Polygram International Publishing are seeking even more damages—$1.2 million to be exact—for the same infringement. The mellows of Monster representatives were promptly harshed, as they had already released a statement after the first verdict saying that, while they “respect” the ruling, they also “strongly disagree” with it, and were planning to file an appeal right after they nail this kick-flip.