Pink Floyd Has Completed a $400 Million Sale of Music Rights to Sony.
After years of negotiations, the former rock band Pink Floyd has finalized a deal to sell the rights to their catalog. This agreement, which encompasses both their recorded music and rights to the band’s name and likeness, has been made with Sony Music for approximately $400 million, involving the surviving members and the estates of deceased members.
Despite the growing trend among artists to sell their rights, Pink Floyd took longer to finalize their deal primarily due to ongoing tensions between key songwriters Roger Waters and David Gilmour. Their personal and political differences have made collaboration nearly impossible.
While Waters and Gilmour retain their individual publishing rights to the lyrics they wrote, the sale does include merchandising, theatrical productions, and streaming revenue from the band’s albums and films, as well as their iconic album artwork. The deal also involves drummer Nick Mason and the estates of late members Richard Wright and Syd Barrett.
Pink Floyd’s catalog features some of the most successful albums in classic rock history, such as “Dark Side of the Moon” and “The Wall.” With this acquisition, Sony adds Pink Floyd to its impressive roster of major catalog sales, which includes artists like Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan.
The band had been seeking a buyer for years, initially aiming for $500 million, with reports in 2022 suggesting a deal was close. However, the ongoing conflict between Waters and Gilmour delayed the process, and Waters’s recent political statements may have influenced the final price, allowing Sony to secure a relative bargain.
In a recent interview, Gilmour expressed his relief at finally concluding the sale, stating that he wanted to eliminate the ongoing decision-making and disputes associated with retaining the rights. He referred to this conclusion as his “dream,” which has now come to fruition.
