Pink Floyd has made part 1 of a huge deal with Sony.
The long disbanded group sold its master recordings and likeness including its name and that pig to Sony for $400 million. This includes one of the biggest albums of all time, “Dark Side of the Moon,” and “The Wall.” Sony can now commission musicals, touring shows, all kinds of live experiences using those incredibly well known titles.
Sony Music used $400 million of the $700 million it got from Apollo Management to pull off the deal.
The deal does not cover publishing, which could bring as much or more for songs like “Another Brick in the Wall,” “Wish You Were Here,” “Money,” and deep cuts like “Comfortably Numb.” The publishing catalog is huge.
All the deal makers in the music have been after Pink Floyd for years. But the three main members — David Gilmour and Nick Mason — have been at odds with Roger Waters ever since he became an outspoken antisemite. Waters is now a pariah in the real world, though he thinks of himself as an activist.
I’m sure the publishing announcement will come soon, and bring the total to almost a billion dollars. It’s quite the payout.
