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GoldieBlox has already removed the Beastie Boys‘ song ‘Girls’ from the company’s ‘Princess Machine’ commercial, which debuted last year, but it looks like the toy company has gone a step further and is issuing a public apology to the two remaining members of the hip-hop group.
The toymakers reveal that they should have contacted the Beastie Boys to “secure the proper rights” to the track before putting it in ‘Princess Machine.’ The ad the soon went viral after its release. However, it’s unlikely that the toy company’s request would have been granted after late member Adam “MCA” Yauch will stated that anything he’s in, wrote or created can’t be used for advertising purposes.
GoldieBlox wrote on its website:
“We sincerely apologize for any negative impact our actions have had on the Beastie Boys. We never intended to cast the band in a negative light and we regret putting them in a position to defend themselves when they had done nothing wrong.
As engineers and builders of intellectual property, we understand an artist’s desire to have his or her work treated with respect. We should have reached out to the band before using their music in the video.
We know this is only one of the many mistakes we’re bound to make as we grow our business. The great thing about mistakes is how much you can learn from them. As trying as this experience was, we have learned a valuable lesson. From now on, we will secure the proper rights and permissions in advance of any promotions, and we advise any other young company to do the same.”
While the Beastie Boys didn’t try to take GoldieBlox to court, the toymakers flipped the script and sued the hip-hop group. Claiming they didn’t use the actual song, but a parody of it instead. However, the suit didn’t hold up, and GoldieBlox did take the song down in the end. The company’s founder Debbie Sterling explained that she was unaware of Yauch’s wishes.
Hopefully, this will put the whole saga to rest.
