The BBC reports the English High Court has decided in favor of Pink Floyd in a dispute the band has been engaged in with its long-time record label EMI.
At issue is whether the label has the right to sell Floyd’s tracks individually online. The ruling could remove Floyd’s catalog from the iTunes Music Store and the like.
The band had maintained its contract prohibits EMI from selling its tracks piecemeal without band permission, and this contract, agreed upon before the advent of MP3, included online sales.
EMI disagreed, saying the word “record” in the contract meant a physical thing that didn’t apply to digital files sold online.
The court today sided with the band, which wasn’t present to hear the ruling, saying the contract guarantees to preserve the “artistic integrity” of the band’s albums, which prevented so-called “unbundled” sales of individual tracks without the Floyd’s say-so.
EMI has been ordered to pay $60,000, but, in a statement, said, “Today’s judgment does not require EMI to cease making Pink Floyd’s catalogue available as single track downloads, and EMI continues to sell Pink Floyd’s music digitally and in other formats.”
This latest court ruling is part of a much larger long-running dispute between the band and label over approximately $15 million in allegedly unpaid royalties.
Собака – друг человека!