Legendary British rock band Pink Floyd has agreed to sell its music rights and name-and-likeness rights to Sony Music for approximately $400 million after years of speculation.
Sources confirmed the news to Variety on Wednesday. The deal was made after years of disagreements between band songwriters Roger Waters and David Gilmour, drummer Nick Mason, and the estates of keyboardist Richard Wright and singer-songwriter Roger “Syd” Barrett, one of the band’s founding members.
Name and likeness rights will include all merchandising rights, making this one of the most lucrative deals in the industry. The Pink Floyd recorded music catalog includes popular albums such as “Dark Side of the Moon,” “The Wall,” “Wish You Were Here,” “Animals,” “Meddle,” “Piper at the Gates of Dawn,” “More,” and others.
The outlet noted that Pink Floyd’s catalog has been for sale for years with an asking price of $500 million. However, the sale was complicated by infighting among band members and the public’s opinion of Roger Waters making controversial political statements against both Israel and Ukraine, which is rumored to have made potential buyers hesitant to close the deal.
Waters also told Rolling Stone during a 2022 interview that the United States is “the most evil [country in the world] of all by a factor of at least 10 times.”
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Pink Floyd was formed in London in 1965 and is considered one of the most progressive rock bands of all time. The band has gone through a lot of drama over the years as disagreements raged among the members. Wright left Pink Floyd in 1981, and Waters followed in 1985. Wright later came back and rejoined.
The albums “The Dark Side of the Moon” and “The Wall” were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. These two LPs, along with “Wish You Were Here,” are among the best-selling albums of all time. In total, Pink Floyd’s albums have sold 75 million copies in the U.S., making it the 10th most of any artist, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.
The acquisition of Pink Floyd’s catalog is one of several high-profile buys for Sony, who also recently acquired Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, and Queen’s non-North American rights in the past few years, per Variety.