After years of false starts, the iconic British rock band Pink Floyd has agreed to sell their recorded-music and name-and-likeness rights to Sony Music for approximately $400 million, sources confirm to Variety.
The deal, one of the largest of many in recent years, apparently has finally concluded despite decades of ongoing infighting and bitter words between the band members, notably chief songwriters Roger Waters and David Gilmour; also involved are drummer Nick Mason and the estates of keyboardist Richard Wright and founding singer-songwriter Roger “Syd” Barrett.
The deal comprises recorded-music rights but not songwriting, which is held by the individual writers, as well as name-and-likeness, which includes merchandise, theatrical and similar rights. While Pink Floyd was famously anonymous as personalities, presumably most if not all of the iconic artwork on their albums, which was largely designed by the British firm Hipgnosis, is included.
While reps for the bandmembers and Sony declined or did not respond to requests for comment, the Financial Times, which first reported this latest iteration of the sale, wrote of it as fact and sources familiar with the situation confirmed the deal to Variety.
On a purely business level, the Pink Floyd recorded-music catalog, not to mention its merchandising rights, is one of the most valuable in contemporary music, with classic albums like Dark Side Of The Moon, The Wall, Wish You Were Here, Animals, Meddle, Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, More, and more.
Read the full report at Variety.
