Grand Royal at Auction
For a Record Label Founded by the Beastie Boys, the End Is Less Than Grand (nytimes)
At first it seems too strange to be believed: The once-acclaimed, now-closed Grand Royal, the boutique record label started by the hip-hop stars the Beastie Boys in 1993, is for sale via online auction, cast off as if it were a chipped dinette set.
But peruse the "due diligence" section on the Bid4Assets.com Web site, and the reality of a shuttered record label emerges. Up for sale, along with some master recordings, are oddities like 267 cassette copies of the eponymous debut from the rap-metal duo Moistboyz, a recording contract with the rock band Pavement, and 51 lime-green tank tops emblazoned with the logo of bygone alternative-rockers Luscious Jackson.
* Ray, 1/20/2004 04:14:16 PM