News

The Financial Times is reporting Pink Floyd has struck a deal to sell its back catalog to Sony for approximately US $400 million.

The deal is said to include rights to the band’s original recordings, as well as its “name and likeness.” The publishing rights of the band’s output is not included.

The band has been searching for a buyer for the last couple years. Potential suitors have been rumoured to include Sony Music Group, Warner Music Group, BMG, Hipgnosis, Concord, Primary Wave, and Blackstone, a private equity group.

Royalities for Floyd’s recordings are collected by two UK-based businesses: One for work that included band co-founder Roger Waters, and another for work completed after Waters’s departure in the mid-1980s.

For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023, the combined revenue of those two entities was approximately US $50 million.

According to the Financial Times, David Gilmour declined to comment on the sale; and Waters was unavailable for comment. But Gilmour recently told Rolling Stone, “To be rid of the decision making and the arguments that are involved with keeping it going is my dream. …  I’m only interested in it from getting out of the mud bath that it has been for quite a while.”

Thanks to Billy Green for this shot of his “Floydian Slip” stickers in the wild.

Get your free stickers here. And send us a photo of them, and we’ll post it here.

Next month select Pink Floyd fans will have the opportunity to help create artwork inspired by the band’s “The Dark Side of the Moon” — using their brainwaves.

Pollen Audio Group, working with Richard Wright Music and Dolby Laboratories, will monitor the brainwaves of 100 volunteers as they listen to “The Great Gig in the Sky” from Floyd’s “Dark Side.”

“Your participation will involve listening to ‘The Great Gig in the Sky’ in Dolby Atmos while your brain’s responses are recorded using advanced (non-invasive) EEG technology,” according to the Pollen Audio Group’s website. “This process will capture the subtle dynamics of neural activity as it synchronizes with the music, revealing a snapshot of how your mind reacts to this timeless track from one of the world’s most iconic bands.

“What’s truly special is that your brain’s responses will be transformed into an artistic visualization. This personalized artwork will showcase the dynamic interplay between your neural patterns and the music’s emotional journey, creating a tangible and beautiful memento of this unique experience.”

The recordings will be used to create “Brainstorms: The Great Gig in the Sky,” an art installation  that will be open to the public at a London venue later this year.

The brain recordings will take place Oct. 2-6 at Dolby’s Screening Room & Labs in Soho, London. Travel to Dolby’s studio and any other expenses will not provided.

“The Great Gig in the Sky” was written by keyboardist and Floyd co-founder Rick Wright. Session singer Claire Torey improvised vocals for the track, which earned her a co-writing credit on the song decades later.

Hopefuls can apply online to participate. Deadline to apply is Sept. 21.

Legions of Pink Floyd “fans” found themselves in an uproar this past week over the band’s new artwork promoting the 50th anniversary of “The Dark Side of the Moon” album.

With a nod to the original album sleeve’s prism and rainbow design, the logo caused a number of followers of the band’s social media streams to speak out against what they erroneously believed to be a reference to LGBTQ solidarity.

“Sickening,” one user posted. “I used to listen for the music. But I’m done now. Gay propaganda being put into everything.”

“Yeah, cuz I always hear Pink Floyd fans saying ‘I wish Pink Floyd was more gay,'” posted another.

The posts sparked a number of counter-posts mocking the clueless.

Follow the fun: https://twitter.com/pinkfloyd/status/1616083353966444548

(Read more: “50th anniversary boxset and more coming for ‘The Dark Side of the Moon'”)

“Floydian Slip” was recently approached by a firm demanding payment for a photo published on our website.

In response, we’ve created a fund-raising campaign at Indigogo to help to recoup some of our losses incurred as a result of this claim.

Donors who reach certain levels will be eligible to receive “Floydian Slip” swag, as well as on-air mentions announcing their support for “Floydian Slip” across our network of more than 110 stations.

Our campaign will run through Nov. 10, and contributions of any size are appreciated.

Learn more and contribute now

Speculations we reported on in May (“Report: Pink Floyd considers selling catalog”) that Pink Floyd is considering selling its music catalog appear to be true.

The Times reports a number of entities are competing for ownership of the band’s songs as well as master recordings. The report states the band is seeking £400 million, the equivalent of approximately $470 million US.

Private equity group Blackstone is said to be in the running, as well as Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group Corp., BMG and Primary Wave. Sony and Warner already distribute some of Floyd’s work.

According to Bloomberg, the deal would also include the right to create official band merchandise.

If the band strikes a deal, it would be one of the largest transactions in music history.

Pink Floyd has joined social media short-form video platform TikTok.

At 9 a.m. EDT today, the band was to add its catalog to the TikTok Sound Library, allowing users access to official sounds from all of the band’s studio albums for use in their TikTok creations.

As of this writing, the URL provided by the band in a press release — www.tiktok.com/pinkfloyd — results in a 404 “Page not found” error.

“In giving the global platform access to their music, Pink Floyd encourages innovative film making through these unique mediums,” the statement reads.

The release also states Floyd will use TikTok to “regularly post unique video content.”

Addendum (May 31, 2022): The correct URL is www.tiktok.com/@pinkfloyd

Bloomberg reports Pink Floyd might be considering selling its recorded music catalog.

In a story published yesterday, Bloomberg cites three unnamed sources as saying over the past week representatives for the band have been courting potential buyers.

Any transaction could involve enormous amounts of money. Floyd has sold 75 million records in the United States alone, according to the report.

It’s not clear whether any deal would be limited to the recorded output of the band; or if it might include songwriting rights.

The music industry has seen a trend of high-profile artists selling their song rights.

At the end of 2020, Bob Dylan sold his songwriting catalog to Universal Music Publishing Group for $400 million. That came on the heals of Stevie Nicks selling the majority of her songwriting to Primary Wave for approximately $100 million.

Other artists conducting similar transactions include Barry Manilow; the estates of Bob Marley, Whitney Houston and Ray Charles; Richie Sambora; 50 Cent; Nelly; Imagine Dragons; the founders of Blondie; and others.

Industry pundits speculate the loss of tour revenue during the pandemic shutdown has fueled some of these transactions. Though for artists the age of Floyd, the press of approaching mortality might be a larger factor.

As Rolling Stone wrote in January 2021: “Dylan is nearly 80 years old, has had six children, and will surely be thinking about his estate planning. A lump of $400 million is far easier to divvy up than a lifetime’s patchwork of publishing copyrights.”

That article also cited changing U.S. tax laws as providing a strong incentive. Though it’s not clear how U.S. laws might affect members of Floyd, at least one of which, Roger Waters, seems to call the U.S. his permanent residence.

Representatives for Pink Floyd declined comment for the Bloomberg story.

Three guitars decorating the walls of the Hard Rock Cafe in Niagara Falls, NY, were stolen this week.

One was signed by Pink Floyd members David Gilmour, Richard Wright and Nick Mason. The other two were from Neil Young and Guns ‘N Roses.

Authorities say the theft occurred at approximately 10:30 am ET this past Sunday. The suspect is a man believed to be in his 30s with some facial hair wearing a black and white cap, black hoodie and black shorts.

Anyone with information is asked to contact detective Ryan Campbell with the Niagara Regional Police at (905) 688-4111, Option 3, Ext. 9584.