Pink Floyd have sold their recorded music catalogue — as well as the rights to their name and likeness — to Sony Music for a whopping $400 million USD, the Financial Times reports.
While a representative for Sony declined to comment, a source confirmed the veracity of the details to Rolling Stone. In addition to owning the master recordings for each of the band’s albums, the company now also has the rights to licensed merchandise, as well as any spin-offs (film, TV, etc.).
This deal ends (theoretically, anyway) the years-long dispute between David Gilmour and Roger Waters over the very-delayed Animals remaster. According to Waters, Gilmour vetoed the release because the liner notes written by journalist Mark Blake reportedly revealed parts of the album’s creation that the guitarist wanted to remain secret. Waters further alleged that this was just the latest in “an ongoing campaign” by Gilmour and his wife, Polly Samson, to “claim more credit … than is his due.”
Pink Floyd join the ranks of other legacy acts — and Tame Impala — who have sold their recorded music catalogues for large sums over the past few years, which we can all agree have been economically challenging, to say the least. Queen had the most expensive catalogue sale to date back in June, selling their music for a cool $1 billion.
