Beastie Boys License a Song for an Ad for First Time Ever, for Joe Biden Spot Focused on Live Music Shutdown

The Beastie Boys had never before licensed any of their songs for an advertisement, but that commercial blackout came to an end during Sunday’s Steelers/Browns game, when the sounds of “Sabotage” accompanied a spot for the Joe Biden presidential campaign.

It wasn’t just any campaign spot, but one that focuses on how the COVID-19 shutdowns have decimated the live music industry. The ad focuses on a club in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the Blind Pig, that remains shuttered this year after a 50-year run as a pillar of the community, which the owner blames on what he considers Donald Trump’s shortsighted response to the coronavirus crisis.

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