British dad rock royalty Pink Floyd might be the latest artists to cash in on their back catalog, with Sony making an offer for the songbook to the tune of $500 million, according to a new report from the FT.
The deal’s been a while in the making, as disagreements within the band that brought us The Dark Side of the Moon complicated negotiations last year. Although the internal feuding hasn’t faded — guitarist David Gilmour this week told fans who hoped for an Oasis-style reunion to “dream on” — Sony Music execs are hoping they can work out a way to add Pink Floyd’s music to their expanding portfolio.
Full catalog sales have been happening in the music industry for decades, though the practice has surged in the years since the pandemic, when musicians found revenue streams aside from international touring, and investors were drawn in by the longevity of certain artists’ music. Thankfully for some of the biggest artists in music history, Sony (and others) have been all too happy to splash out on the rights for major songbooks.
This year alone, Sony Music has spent $1.27 billion acquiring Queen’s catalog, as well as $600 million on a 50% share of Michael Jackson’s, and their ~$500 million 2021 deal to buy the Boss’s tunes still ranks as one of the costliest in music history.
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