Beastie Boys Mark 40 Years of Licensed to Ill With a Vinyl Reissue

By Miles Carter,

Artwork for Beastie Boys' Licensed to Ill: a silver jet tail with the band's red-and-white diamond logo, an American flag, and a Def Jam mark against a pale sky
Artwork: Licensed to Ill / Def Jam Recordings

On Nov 12, 2026, the Beastie Boys announced a limited Vinylphyle edition of Licensed to Ill, newly remastered and pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI, with the band logo etched on Side D, and opened a pre-order. The set is priced at $54.98 and ships March 18, 2027, per the band's store.

The two 180-gram black LPs were cut from the original analog tapes by Joe Nino-Hernes at Sterling Sound. The package includes a gatefold tip-on jacket, a four-panel insert with scans of the original tape boxes, and all-new liner notes by Public Enemy co-founder Chuck D. Side D is an etching, with no audio. Licensed to Ill came out Nov 15, 1986. Rick Rubin and the Beastie Boys produced the album.

Billboard's Billboard 200 chart history shows Licensed to Ill peaked at No. 1 for seven weeks and spent 152 weeks on the list. On Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, the album peaked at No. 2 and stayed on that list for 40 weeks. Billboard's Hot 100 chart history lists "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)" with a No. 7 peak and 18 weeks on the chart, and "Brass Monkey" with a No. 48 peak and 10 weeks. The RIAA Gold & Platinum database lists Licensed to Ill, on Def Jam, as a 1x Diamond album, certified March 4, 2015.

A 40th-anniversary pressing is the catalog formalizing what the charts settled a long time ago.

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