the curious case of Grand Royal Records

[Shellhead]

Everybody "knows" that record labels are evil, that they exploit the artists and rip off the fans, too. Of course, everybody tends to oversimplify things so they can sound smarter.

Grand Royal Records was a record label started by the Beastie Boys in 1992. They aren't my favorite band or even remotely close, but I do admire their career. The label finally went out of business in 2001, but they did manage to crank out 93 albums by a variety of acts that included:

Atari Teenage Riot
Luscious Jackson
Money Mark
Sean Lennon
the Beastie Boys
and a few dozen other bands

Luscious Jackson's first live gig was opening for the Beastie Boys. They couldn't even get a record company to listen to their demo, which they paid for with tip money they saved from their restaurant jobs. That got Mike D of the Beastie Boys thinking about starting his own label. Once Grand Royal was up and running, the first band they invited to join the label was Luscious Jackson. Other acts signed were sometimes friends or associates, but also just artists that the Beastie Boys appreciated.

Now here's the funny thing... when Grand Royal went out of business in 2001, they put up their music catalog for sale. A group of fans of Grand Royal Records bought their assets and are keeping the operation alive as GR2. They even have a current artist, Let's Go Sailing. (No, I haven't heard of them either.) That kind of dedication speaks of a record label that inspired people and did things for all the right reasons and not out of mindless greed.

[MartinRedmond]

Didn't they go broke investing too much money on a band called At the Drive In?

Grand Royal also signed Bran Van 3000 just before they crashed. The band/collective are back this year. It's like a giant mixed tape, I reccomend Glee and Discosis.

I loved Luscious Jackson as well.

[Patient Boy]

Didn't they go broke investing too much money on a band called At the Drive In?


I'd never heard of this, and Relationship of Command was a decent seller for the label (although the band broke up soon after). I seriously doubt this was the major reason for their dissolution, especially since the only really big act on Grand Royal was the Beastie Boys themselves.

I hadn't heard of GR2 prior to this. More power to them, I guess.

[mattx110]

Steve Vai has favored nations. There are record labels that try to not be evil. I kinda trust sugar hill records.

Getting the right amount of artists in charge, with a properly leashed marketing team is better for everyone. A sustainable niche label is better for music than the alternative.

[Spike-X]

Everybody knows that major record conglomerates are evil, that they exploit the artists and rip off the fans, too.

Fixed it for you.