Yahoo Finance Pink Floyd Sells Music Catalog and Name and Likeness to Sony for $400 Million
The historic sale would reportedly allow Sony to profit from future merch and movie deals
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Pink Floyd members David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Nick Mason and Rick Wright in 2005Pink Floyd has reportedly sold their music catalog, along with their name and likeness to Sony to the tune of approximately $400 million.
The historic deal was reported by the U.K.'s Financial Times on Tuesday, Oct. 1.
Sources close to the matter told the outlet that ownership of the band’s likeness means the purchaser would profit from the sale of merchandise as well as other entities that could come along, such as television spin-offs and films.
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The legendary English progressive rock band consisted of founding members Nick Mason, Roger Waters, and the late Syd Barrett and Richard Wright, as well as David Gilmour, who joined in 1967.
Pink Floyd’s deal did come with stipulations, adds the Financial Times. Only their recorded rights were included, not any for the band’s songwriting.
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Before this week’s deal with Sony, the band tried for at least two years to sell their catalog, and had reportedly been in talks to do so with major companies such as Warner Music, BMG and Hipgnosis.
Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns
Pink Floyd, May 1972Variety referred to the roughly $400 million sale as “one of the largest of many in recent years.”
Earlier this year, Michael Jackson's estimated $600 million catalog was purchased by Sony.
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In January 2022, Sony Music Entertainment (SME) announced the acquisition of 11-time Grammy winner Bob Dylan’s entire back catalog of recorded music for an undisclosed amount, in addition to the rights to new music released in the future.
At the time, it was reported that the deal was worth over $150 million.
Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music/Getty
Pink Floyd, August 1971Other major deals in recent years involving other companies include Justin Bieber selling his 291-song catalog to Hipgnosis Songs Capital for a reported $200 million in January 2023, and Katy Perry selling the rights of her songs and albums released between 2008 and 2020 to Litmus Music — for a reported $225 million.
Since their start, Pink Floyd, known for hits like “Money” and “Another Brick in the Wall,” has accomplished many impressive feats — including their 1973 studio album Dark Side of the Moon making Billboard history.
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In April, the album made its way back to the Billboard 200. As reported by Forbes at the time, the album had spent 989 weeks on the chart.
The group's other hit albums include The Wall, Wish You Were Here, Atom Heart Mother and Animals. Their most recent album, The Endless River, was released in 2014 and featured Gilmour, Wright and Mason.
PEOPLE reached out to reps for Pink Floyd and Sony, but did not immediately receive a response.
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