Pink Floyd Sells Music Rights To Sony For $400m

Pink Floyd has made a major move by selling the rights to their recorded music, name, and likeness to Sony for a whopping $400 million. This decision is sure to bring a sigh of relief to David Gilmour, one of the band’s key members.

The Financial Times and Digital Music News have confirmed this long-anticipated deal. Fans can expect to hear more Pink Floyd songs popping up in movies, TV shows, games, and other media through various licensing agreements. This sale marks Pink Floyd as one of the last major classic rock bands to make such a move, following years of unsuccessful negotiations between bandmates Gilmour and Roger Waters.

Behind the Negotiation Scenes

One of the main hurdles in finalizing the deal was the tax structure, which caused friction between the two legendary musicians. Other bidders included Warner Music, Hipgnosis, and BMG, but in the end, Sony won the rights.

Gilmour has been vocal about his desire to sell, stating:

“To be rid of the decision-making and the arguments that are involved with keeping it going is my dream. If things were different… I’m not interested in that from a financial standpoint. I’m only interested in it from getting out of the mud bath that it has been for quite a while.”

Nick Mason is now the only other living core member of Pink Floyd, following the deaths of Syd Barrett and Richard Wright. Mason has taken a different path by forming an offshoot band called Saucerful of Secrets, which highlights Pink Floyd’s early music.

While neither Pink Floyd nor Sony has officially confirmed the deal, Gilmour has recently chosen to stay quiet about his ongoing issues with Waters. “Do you know what decade of my life I was in when Roger left our pop group?” he asked. “My 30s. I am now 78. Where’s the relevance?”

What’s Next for Sony

Although Sony may have paid a substantial amount, this deal reportedly only includes Pink Floyd’s recorded rights, leaving songwriting rights untouched. Sony has a history of high-profile acquisitions, including the rights to Queen’s catalog for over $1 billion. With backing from private equity giant Apollo, which agreed to support Sony with up to $700 million for more music deals, the future looks bright for Sony, especially with rights to catalogs from Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan already under their belt.