August 31, 2001

11:33 PM

Grand Royal is shutting down!the label, started by the beastie boys in 1993, is officially no more.

"This is one of the most difficult decisions we’ve ever had to make," said co-founder Mike Diamond a/k/a Mike D of Beastie Boys. "Over the years the Grand Royal family had grown to include some of the most talented musicians and staff in the business. It’s tragic that the same growth has also produced an overhead and infrastructure that can no longer viable."

truly a sad day for independent music!
posted by mcsweetie (31 comments total)

Suckers they be saying they can take out Adam Horovitz.
posted by ktheory at 12:02 AM on September 1, 2001

i sincerely love the beastie boys and their music. i've bought their records and listened to them since their first album. i even bought paul's boutique and loved it. it's kinda hard to run a successful record label when the artists(other than the beastie boys) don't sell records. sean lennon and atari teenage riot are the first to come to mind. other than luscious jackson did any of their artists sell a decent amount of records? how long has it been since luscious jackson had a "hit"? i know commercialism blah blah blah doesn't make the world go around but that's what it takes to make money in most cases and that's too bad.

btw, grand royal magazine is one of the best magazines i have EVER read. the article on the "jew fro" (think garfunkel) was great. only problem was they never released grand royal magazine on time and on any consistent basis so i couldn't find it and didn't subscribe b/c i never knew if another one would be released. they had a decapitated version of it online but it only gave parts of articles and a few sound clips. i still have the interview they did with ted nugent in 98(or was it 97 or 96) where he claimed to be "a bigger nigger than russell simmons." god damn that was funny. if anyone has saved back issues or has it saved online or has ANYTHING from the grand royal magazine i would be eternally grateful.

in honor of grand royal magazine and the closing of grand royal i've posted the ted nugent interview here.
posted by suprfli at 12:03 AM on September 1, 2001

i even bought paul's boutique and loved it.

Couldnt agree more. Best album they have made.

grand royal magazine is one of the best magazines i have EVER read

Agree as well. I think it was the Lee Perry cover where they had a feature about the best magazines to roll a joint on, and Grand Royal finished out of the money. Very cool and sharp stuff throughout. It was a drag they never got it out on time, or at least semi-regularly.

superfli, thanks for posting that interview. I''ll try to dig up some of the GR mags (maybe only one or two issues) i had inre: your request.
posted by bruyneel at 12:39 AM on September 1, 2001

Fuck.
posted by dong_resin at 12:52 AM on September 1, 2001

The Rare Music Radio station on their site is great, it has been posted here before but it's worth restating in this thread - catch it whilst you can.
posted by johnny novak at 1:34 AM on September 1, 2001

It's very sad, it seems like it's the end of an era... whazzup with the indie scene?
posted by fabrizio at 3:11 AM on September 1, 2001

Yup, a sad day indeed.Rare Music Radio was a particular favourite. is a good alternative.
posted by the cuban at 3:26 AM on September 1, 2001

Hey, I happen to like Atari Teenage Riot.... just not enough to sustain an entire record label. At least it seems that Digital Hardcore will keep putting out music.
posted by jess at 4:28 AM on September 1, 2001

that sucks. i've sort of been reading this diaryland about one of their web editors(?) who just moved out to la...

this is dumb, but does this mean discosis won't be released in the states? i was really looking forward to that album.
posted by kliuless at 5:26 AM on September 1, 2001

ah darn. its a shame they couldn't keep the label going. who's going to take on the bands now?
posted by ewwgene at 7:10 AM on September 1, 2001

independent music? since when does the boutique label of a high profile major label artist qualify as "indie?"

and yeah, grand royal mag was good, but not indespensible . . . we still have Vice, at least. Personally, I'm still mourning the loss of POPsmear.
posted by hipstertrash at 7:21 AM on September 1, 2001

Although this is truly (for lack of a better word) sad, the one thought that I had over anything else is that they were also fortunate to make the label work for as long as they did. Eight years isn't a bad run for a niche label like Grand Royal. I've got a friend who has his own label/distribution company who struggles every day to keep it in the black, but he says that it's worth it - a lot of the bands who are on Deep Elm, his label, might not be heard by anyone if they hadn't been signed. A lot of bands on indie labels don't want to be on the majors, and I don't blame them

The bands that are currently on Grand Royal could probably do well by taking the Fugazi DIY route, and head on over to Southern Records for distribution. At least they could continue to make the music they want without being forced to do things that they're not necessarily comfortable with in order to make money or create an image.
posted by soynuts at 8:52 AM on September 1, 2001

independent music? since when does the boutique label of a high profile major label artist qualify as "indie?"

I figured at least one person would take up issue with my use of the word "indie" so I prepared a retort in advance:

o/~ you think it's chocolate milk but it's watered down yoohoo! o/~
posted by mcsweetie at 10:05 AM on September 1, 2001

there are some sweet deals in the store if you want to scoop stuff up b4 it's gone.
posted by o2b at 10:11 AM on September 1, 2001

at the drive in are selling a lot of records, right? relatively, i mean. they're on grand royal, as far as i remember.

kliuless: the diaryland diary is mary chen's. she's funny.
posted by sugarfish at 10:19 AM on September 1, 2001

I suppose for someone close to this it looms large. I don't have even the slightest idea what kind of music the Beastie Boys made: Heavy metal? Rap? Chamber music? Polkas? (Hey, if the accordion is good enough for Al Yankovic, it's good enough for the Beastie Boys, whoever the heck they were.)

I think you need to take a step back and try to put this into proportion.
posted by Steven Den Beste at 10:27 AM on September 1, 2001

Damnit, that just moved the US release of the new Bran Van 3000 cd from "Summer 2001" to "Early 2002."
posted by eyeballkid at 10:52 AM on September 1, 2001

I think you need to take a step back and try to put this into proportion.

why?
posted by mcsweetie at 10:58 AM on September 1, 2001

Steven, what purpose on earth did your post serve? I'll be sure to find a way to slag *your* priorities next time you post something that strikes you as a loss to whatever artistic culture you hold dear.

If I may veer further off-topic long enough to remind the fine members of this community that our diversity is, or should be, our strength, and what's important to other people may not be important to you and *that's okay*.

sheesh.

---I'm not a huge indie music fan and I try to avoid glowing with that special pretentious aura a person gets when throwing around terms like "sellout", but I do think it's a sad thing when a label created by artists for artists (instead of one created by suits for moneymakers) can no longer keep its head above water.
posted by Sapphireblue at 11:04 AM on September 1, 2001

Oh, for crying out loud. Lighten up. I wasn't trying to slag anyone, just making a small joke. (Yes, I know: "extremely small. Microscopic.")
posted by Steven Den Beste at 11:20 AM on September 1, 2001

this is indeed sad news. grand royal was certainly a different type of label; you could find all sorts there. i'm not so sure i'd call it independent, since it was owned by capitol records when you look at the big picture, but that's another tangent entirely.

sugarfish: yeah, ATDI is still selling records like mad, however they've stopped touring, and they aren't saying whether it's temporary or permanent. as a matter of fact, the information on whether they will continue to play together at all seems to change all the time. check their website for seemingly ever-changing details.

Steven Den Beste: the beastie boys have been changing the face of hip-hop and rock music for what is now approaching 2 decades. they have several multi-platium albums, and have done several world tours. they also organize insanely large benefit venues such as the free tibet concerts. i think maybe you need to take a step back and put this in perspective. here's a good place to start: allmusic. they may not be on your musical barometer, but they've been on millions of people's for roughly 16 years. grand royal records was quite a big thing back in the 90's when it's potential was fully realized and put into motion.

fyi: sean lennon's "into the sun" went gold not long after it's release (and could easily be platinum now). that's a lot better than most at grand royal.

but it's true, when 2 or 3 acts are the only ones selling albums, it makes it very difficult to run a label in a stable financial manner.

grand royal, we hardly knew ye...
posted by basmati at 11:25 AM on September 1, 2001

Well, let's talk about perspective. I just wrote this to Michelle, but it bears repeating here. When I find myself reacting strongly to something, I use what I call the "ten year rule": Ten years from now, looking back on this, will I still think then that it is important as I seem to be thinking it is now?

For some things the answer is "yes". The Gulf War is still important. The Civil Rights movement is still important. My father's death when I was 19 is still important. The end of a loving relationship I had with a woman fifteen years ago is still important. (I still miss her.)

The breakup of the Doobie Brothers wasn't important. It hardly matters. In fact, most aspects of pop culture aren't important in the long run. The cancellation of a major TV show doesn't matter. Who wins the World Series doesn't matter. What most pop groups do doesn't really matter. The music I was listening to fifteen years ago is on Muzak now.

Ten years from now, will you still be brooding over the end of this record label? It seems doubtful.

My step back perspective is that ten years from now this won't matter to hardly anyone.
posted by Steven Den Beste at 11:44 AM on September 1, 2001

The cancellation of a major TV show doesn't matter.

Quick! Someone tell the legions of Star Trek OST fans!
posted by lia at 11:51 AM on September 1, 2001

But Steven why apply this "ten year rule" on a site in which your comments disappear off the end of the page after a week? Get some perspective man.

Here's another "ten year rule" for you. Don't cry into your beer over girls who left you more than ten years ago. You'll alienate your drinking buddies.

And here's the "forty year rule". Forty year from now the Gulf War won't matter, the Civil Rights movement won't matter. Nothing at all will matter because, in the very long run, we'll all be dead.
posted by dydecker at 12:17 PM on September 1, 2001

My step back perspective is that ten years from now this won't matter to hardly anyone.

so?
posted by mcsweetie at 12:48 PM on September 1, 2001

steven - if you don't know who the beastie boys are why are you even reading or posting to this thread? just move on. we don't care that you don't care or don't know who the beastie boys are. are we supposed to be impressed that you're so out of touch or desparate to be flamed that you had to tell us what you think is important or not important?

i enjoy the beasties. grand royal ending isn't the end of the world. not a huge deal. it's interesting to discuss and that's the extent of it....sheesh.

now back to our regularly schduled program - does anyone have the bs2000 album? what did you think of it?
posted by suprfli at 3:26 PM on September 1, 2001

does anyone have the bs2000 album? what did you think of it?

you mean their first or second album? I've got both and tend to prefer the first one. it's much more wilder and less formulaic. not to say that simply mortified doesn't have it's moments!
posted by mcsweetie at 3:44 PM on September 1, 2001

Forty year from now the Gulf War won't matter, the Civil Rights movement won't matter. Nothing at all will matter because, in the very long run, we'll all be dead.

Someone tell that to Peter Brokaw and his greatest generation.
posted by turaho at 7:00 PM on September 1, 2001

steven: "Ten years from now, will you still be brooding over the end of this record label? It seems doubtful."

you may be right on that count. in ten years i probably won't be concerned with grand royal's disappearance the way i am today.

"My step back perspective is that ten years from now this won't matter to hardly anyone."

but you're right and wrong. it won't matter on the surface, but it will indeed matter to anyone who desires easy access to a wide variety of quality music at a fair price in the years to come. the semi-monopoly of the major record labels (of which grand royal parent company capitol is a part) already controls what is presented to joe $. consumer with a very strong arm. losing the perspective that grand royal brought to the table will only further the demise of quality in popular music, and even moreso for not-so-popular music.

and in an attempt to separate the beasties boys from grand royal for a moment...
this made me look at your doobie brothers perspective. yes, the demise of the doobie brothers is forgettable now, but that's because they didn't do anything particularly ground-breaking, musically speaking. the beastie boys changed and molded a genre of music in ways that no ever could have predicted. three jewish kids from brooklyn major innovators in the evolution of the hip hop genre, still together 16 years later, still influencing the world of music of which they are still a part? i'm pretty sure no one was thinking that when they first began releasing records. whether the beasties are still together or not in ten years, they will be remembered and revered in the history of hip-hop and modern music, because they already are. the b-boys transcended simple pop culture, and became a new pillar in musical history years ago.

grand royal happens to be the record label they created, and the loss is truly unfortunate for a label that attempted to give it's artists the opportunity to mold the world of music with the same freedom it's founders had. it's unfortunate for us the listeners as well, whether you listen to artists on the grand royal label, or artists on a similar now-even-less-likely-to-exist-in-the-future label.

me: "in ten years i probably won't be concerned with grand royal's disappearance the way i am today."

i've changed my mind, and would like to retract this statement. because i've got a bad feeling that ten years from now, i'll look at the state of the music industry and think, "if only labels like grand royal hadn't shut down..."
posted by basmati at 11:12 AM on September 2, 2001

RIP & thanx for the tunes....
posted by Miyagi at 5:52 PM on September 4, 2001

Ten years from now, will you still be brooding over the end of this record label? It seems doubtful.


a) I may be dead tommorow.

b) You're still mourning a breakup from 15 years ago and WE NEED PERSPECTIVE?! My goodness!

I'm still reeling a bit from the fellow who claimed to be a huge BB fan and then says he "even" liked Paul's Boutique. "EVEN?" It's quite possibly the BEST record they ever did.
posted by glenwood at 8:13 PM on September 4, 2001