As you may have heard, on Friday Adam Yauch died. Yauch was one of the Beastie Boys, one of the musical voices of their generation.

Neal Brennan is a comedian, and the co-creator of the Comedy Central series “Chappelle’s Show.” To honor Yauch, Brennan posted an unreleased Beastie Boys performance on his YouTube page. The performance was supposed to be for season three of “Chappelle’s Show,” but when comedian Dave Chappelle left the program, it never had a chance to see the light of day.

Until today that is.

Unfortunately, lawyers for Viacom have sent a takedown notice to YouTube, and the video has been removed.

Considering the video has never been released, and considering it was posted by the co-creator of the show in honor of one of his musical heroes, the decision is a bit surprising. If it had aired on TV, then Viacom would have a legitimate beef, but it did not air on TV, and if Brennan hadn’t posted it, it may never have seen the light of day.

The ball is now in Viacom’s court. Will the company post it itself? Will it let Brennan post it? Or will the attorneys let the musical tribute whither and die, never to be seen again? We shall see…