The label that housed the Beastie Boys since their Check Your Head days in the early nineties has gone down the tubes. Grand Royal Records, started and owned by Beasties Mike D, Ad Rock and MCA, has ceased operations. A press release posted on the label’s site www.grandroyal.com stated “mounting debts, decreasing assets and increasingly harsh industry conditions” as the reason for the shut down.
The label, which housed artists like Luscious Jackson, Atari Teenage Riot, Ben Lee, and John Lennon’s son Sean, consistently lost money since it was started in 1993. The Beastie Boys kept it going as a venue for eclectic music, but the monetary losses just became too much. The label also produced Grand Royal magazine.
A RIP message on the label’s website also hinted that the Beastie Boys, previously thought to have hung up the mic after 1998’s Hello Nasty, may be looking to work on a new project.
