Grand Royal was the
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
-based
vanity record label set up in 1992 by rap group
Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Mike D, Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (voca ...
in conjunction with
Capitol Records
Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...
after the group left
Def Jam Recordings
Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop.
The ...
.
''Grand Royal'' was also the name of a magazine written and published by the group.
Described as a publication that "came to define part of Generation X," the total distribution of the six issues of ''Grand Royal'' was estimated at 300,000 copies.
Due to mounting debts, Grand Royal went out of business in 2001. Its assets were sold off via auction on
Bid4Assets
Bid4Assets, established in 1999, was the first online real estate auction website to operate in the United States. The company auctions distressed real estate and personal property for private investors and federal and local government. It has se ...
; these assets did not include any rights to Beastie Boys music.
The assets and back catalog were purchased by a group of fans who in turn started GR2 Records.
In 2016, GR2 sold the rights and master recordings of Grand Royal's second release ''My Crazy Life'' to a member of the band
Dead Fucking Last
Dead Fucking Last (also known as DFL) is an American punk rock band that was founded in 1991 in Los Angeles, California by Tom Davis, Monty Messex, Adam (Ad-Rock) Horovitz and Tony Converse.
History Grand Royal Records
DFL was founded in 1991 ...
.
In 2017, Stiletto Entertainment, the company that currently owns GR2, was sued by dance-punk band
Liquid Liquid
Liquid Liquid is an American no wave and dance-punk group, originally active from 1980 to 1983. They are best known for their track "Cavern," which was covered—without proper permission or attribution—by the Sugar Hill Records house band as ...
for
copyright infringement
Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, s ...
,
breach of contract
Breach of contract is a legal cause of action and a type of civil wrong, in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party ...
, and not paying them royalties over the unauthorized licensing of their music and sales of the 2008 reissue of their 1997 compilation ''Liquid Liquid'', which was originally distributed by Grand Royal.
See also
*
List of record labels
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File:AmMusicBunk78.jpg
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Lists of record labels cover record labels, brands or trademarks associated with marketing of music recordings and music videos. The lists are organized alphabetically, b ...
*
List of Grand Royal artists
This is a list of the artists who recorded for Grand Royal.
* Derek Allan
* Alec Empire
* Atari Teenage Riot
* At the Drive-In
* Bash Ton
* Beastie Boys
* Big Fat Love
* Bis
* Bran Van 3000
* BS 2000
* Buffalo Daughter
* Butter 08
* Dead Fuckin ...
References
American record labels
Record labels established in 1992
Record labels disestablished in 2001
1992 establishments in California
2001 disestablishments in California
Vanity record labels
Alternative rock record labels
Defunct companies based in Greater Los Angeles
Beastie Boys
Capitol Records
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