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The dossier on the sale of masters and copyright of the Pink Floyd catalog is surprisingly gaining traction: the major Sony Music is said to be in negotiations for an estimated figure of around 500 million dollars. This is reported by the Financial Times, which already two years ago reported in great detail the derby between Warner Music (the group’s current record company) and Bmg to bring home the result. But the different visions of the game – one might say of the world – of the two “majority shareholders” Roger Waters and David Gilmour, as well as the anti-Israel and anti-NATO positions of the bassist and main author of the band, caused the sale to fail. There was also talk of an interest from Hipgnosis who, in the meantime, has found other cats to skin.
The new negotiations
According to people familiar with the situation, the band is now in talks with Sony Music. The band’s catalog includes some of the biggest rock hits of the last 50 years, such as Money , Wish You Were Here e Another Brick in the Wall. Even this time there is no guarantee of an agreement, given the problems of the past, but the discussion continues.
The potential deal shows there is still significant interest in buying and selling the music rights of famous artists, whose hits remain popular among younger generations thanks to streaming services and their use in TV series and films. However, the sector has had a tougher time in recent years, as rising interest rates have eroded returns and made other investments more attractive.
Apollo’s Support for Sony Music
In July, private equity group Apollo invested $700 million to support Sony Music in its music acquisitions. Sony Music is also in talks to buy Queen’s music rights for about $1 billion. Major deals by the subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Corp include, of course, the deal for Bruce Springsteen’s catalog with the backing of Eldridge Industries, Todd Boehly’s investment vehicle, and the acquisition of Bob Dylan’s masters.
Why Bing Sells Catalogs
At Pink Floyd, David Gilmour is undoubtedly the most convinced supporter of the operation. “It would be my dream to sell the Pink Floyd catalogue,” he declared in recent days. “Not for money, but to free myself from the burden of discussions and arguments about what to do with it.” You can’t be wrong. Giving away the rights and masters of your songbook means protecting yourself from the imponderable dynamics of a record market that had never been as volatile as it is in the streaming era. Today the majors are listed for mind-boggling figures, but the memory of the dark years of the Napster crisis is still alive. In the United States, then, in this particular historical moment also on a fiscal level it is better to have a large sum to reinvest than an asset whose margins will all be verified in the medium to long term, when the ball will be passed to the heirs. And perhaps the point is precisely this last one: among the assets of a will, money is much easier to divide. It is not a coincidence that all the rock greats who venture down these roads are at the end of the line.