A few weeks ago, David Gilmour confirmed in an interview that negotiations were underway to sell Pink Floyd’s catalog, though he was reluctant to be involved. “My dream,” he stated, “is to not be involved in decisions like these or the discussions that follow. Financially, it doesn’t interest me. I just want to see this resolved after being stuck for a while.”
According to the Financial Times, the deal has finally moved forward, and Pink Floyd has sold its catalog to Sony Music for $400 million—a substantial figure, though not a record. For comparison, Bruce Springsteen’s catalog was reportedly sold for $500 million, and Queen’s for $1 billion. The Financial Times also noted that in July, Apollo, a private equity group, financed Sony’s acquisition activities with $700 million.
The Pink Floyd deal includes the transfer of recording rights and image rights, meaning Sony now has control over merchandise production, biopics, or official docuseries, though the edition rights were excluded from the agreement. Discussions regarding this deal had been ongoing since at least 2022.
This move places Pink Floyd alongside other legendary rock bands who are increasingly selling the rights to their recordings and other related assets.