LONDON, October 2. /TASS/. British rock band Pink Floyd has agreed to sell the rights to its vast catalog of music, including hits such as Wish You Were Here and Money, to music label Sony for almost $400 million, the Financial Times (FT) reported, citing sources.
According to the publication, the deal also gives Sony the right to sell merchandise using the band’s name as well as to use the band’s likeness in movies and TV series.
The bombshell sale comes after years of disagreement between the band members over their musical legacy. In the end, they viewed the terms of the deal as too good to pass up.
In 2022, rumors swirled that Hipgnosis, Warner Music and BMG had all put in bids to buy Pink Floyd’s music. However, nothing materialized because the musicians were unhappy about the tax structure of the potential deals. Sony Music and David Gilmour declined to comment. Roger Waters, who has been at odds with Gilmour for more than four decades, could not be reached, the FT says.
Earlier, Sony Music managed to acquire the rights to the music catalog of legendary British rock band Queen, with such compositions as Bohemian Rhapsody, Don’t Stop Me Now, Another One Bites the Dust and We Will Rock You, for almost $1 billion, the publication recalls.
Pink Floyd, beloved for its deep lyrics, musical innovation, creative album covers and grandiose shows, was founded in 1965 by Richard Wright (keyboards, vocals), Roger Waters (bass guitar, vocals), Nick Mason (drums) and Syd Barrett (vocals, guitar).
In 1968, David Gilmour joined the foursome, replacing Barrett after he had to leave the group due to drug problems. In 1994 the band broke up, but later reunited, staying together until its final dissolution in 2015.