First Queen and now Pink Floyd – Sony apparently purchase the rights to the prog legends, according to sources
- Pink Floyd are rumoured to have completed a sale of their rights and back catalogue, according to industry sources.
- The sale is estimated to be costing Sony the equivalent of £324 million.
- But as the ink looks to still be drying, is Pink Floyd’s sale now the most lucrative in history?
Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen have all done it, and now sources close to Pink Floyd are touting that Sony have bought the rights to their back catalogue, earning them millions.
That’s according to a report from Music Business Worldwide, who alongside the Financial Times have quoted the source that the deal has fetched the band around $400m USD (just short of £324m).
It would mark the second huge acquisition by Sony for an artist back catalogue, after a reported deal was struck with the remaining members of Queen earlier this year, with the deal including publishing rights, ‘name and likeness’ rights, plus recorded music rights outside of North America.
Should the sale be agreed upon by the band, it would make their catalogue one of the most lucrative sales since artists began selling the right to their music and likeness, after David Bowie helped set the trend way back in 1997 when he began issuing “Bowie Bonds.”
That deal allowed him to sell the rights to future royalties of his catalogue for a 10-year period in exchange for $55 million upfront. These bonds were secured by the income generated from his back catalogue of albums recorded between 1969 and 1990.
But is this deal the most lucrative back catalogue sale since the trend took off with a number of artists including Justin Bieber? We’ve got our music data out and our accountancy visor on to take a look.
Who has earned the most selling their back catalogue so far?
Should the acquisition of Queen’s catalogue and rights equate to the amount initially reported by Music Business Weekly earlier in the year, they would in fact be the most lucrative act to sign such a deal – with Sony reportedly spending $1b USD (£1b) to make the deal a reality.
Pink Floyd’s acquisition would sit as the fourth most lucrative rights deal in history, with both Michael Jackson (£486m) and Bruce Springsteen (£405) both topping David Gilmour and company.
The top ten back catalogue deals made by musicians
Source: Forbes/Music Business Worldwide
- Queen: £1.03 billion
- Michael Jackson: £486 million
- Bruce Springsteen: £405 million
- Pink Floyd: £324 million
- KISS: £243 million
- Phil Collins & Genesis: £243 million
- Bob Dylan: £243 million
- Tina Turner: £243 million
- David Bowie: £202.5 million
- Sting & The Police: £202.5 million
What do you think Sony will undertake if they indeed purchase the rights and back catalogue to Pink Floyd, and would you buy any of their forthcoming works should they be reissued by the company? Let us know your thoughts on the prospective sale down below.
