Despite the former frontman’s controversial political criticism, Pink Floyd sold its music rights to Sony for $400 million.
After years of unsuccessful negotiations, legendary British rock band Pink Floyd has finally agreed to sign over its recorded music rights to Sony Music for around $400 million, according to the Financial Times.
This agreement, described by Variety as “one of the most important in recent years”, also includes the name and image of the group, allowing the label to benefit from revenues from merchandising and derivative products such as films and television series. However, the songwriting rights remain the property of the members.
Prior to this deal with Sony, Pink Floyd had been trying for at least two years to sell their catalog, being in talks with several major companies, including Warner Music, BMG and Hipgnosis, which designed most of their albums’ iconic artwork, in 2022 .
Pioneer of progressive rock
Initially led by guitarist and singer Syd Barrett, the group enjoyed modest success in the mid-1960s before becoming a central figure in the London psychedelic scene. However, his increasingly unstable behavior, mainly due to his excessive drug use, led the other members to replace him with one of his childhood friends, David Gilmour. Subsequently, bassist Roger Waters would become the leader of the group, writing all the songs from 1972 before his departure in 1985.
The following year, Pink Floyd achieved worldwide fame with the album “The Dark Side of the Moon” (1973), the third best-selling album of all time, behind AC/DC’s “Back in Black” ( 1980) and Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” (1982). The group had a string of hits in the 1970s with “Wish You Were Here” (1975), “Animals” (1977) and “The Wall” (1979), the latter leading to a film adaptation. Their latest album, “The Endless River,” was released in 2014.
The agreement was finalized despite numerous controversial statements from their former leader Roger Waters, who notably compared Israel to Nazi Germany, while rejecting accusations of anti-Semitism. He also claimed that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, although “illegal,” was intended to “fight Nazism there.” His concerts in Poland were also canceled in 2022 due to his remarks.
