Customers included Thurston Moore, Rick Rubin, Vivien Goldman and Nick Cave.
Indeed, Bahlman mentored Rick Rubin and helped him distribute the initial Def Jam releases.
Though he eventually won a lengthy court case and set an early precedent in the still poorly defined realm of sampling law, the results were disastrous for all involved.
Sugar Hill declared bankruptcy rather than pay the ordered $600,000 settlement; faced with enormous legal costs and disillusioned with the music business, Bahlman folded 99 Records."
[citation needed] Bahlman currently lives in Brooklyn with his partner Anne-Katrin Titze who teaches literature at Hunter College, and is passionate about wildlife conservation.