According to a report, Pink Floyd is weighing in on sales of its recorded music catalog, which includes well-known hits like “Comfortable Numb” and “Another Brick in the Wall.”
Bloomberg reported that the British rock band, which has some of the best-selling albums in history, could make hundreds of millions of dollars from a deal, adding that representatives of the band have reached out to potential buyers.
The report said the process began in early May but it is too early to know what the outcome of the talks will be. A rep for the band did not comment.
Like many legendary rockers, Pink Floyd seeks to capitalize on the lucrative market for music rights, which has featured the likes of Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, Sting and Bruce Springsteen.
Last year, Dylan sold his massive 600-song catalog to Universal Music Publishing Group for $300 million to $400 million, while Bruce Springsteen sold his iconic song and publication catalog to Sony Music for $500 million.
Although the market has moderated somewhat, Pink Floyd has sold 75 million records in the US alone, the 10th most of any artist, the Recording Industry Association of America said. That’s almost twice as much as Dylan’s, which means the band, which was formed in 1965, has the potential to earn a hefty amount.
The group is known for producing a string of hit records in the 1970s, including 1973’s “The Dark Side of the Moon”, one of the best-selling albums in history.
Singer and bassist Roger Waters, who co-founded the band with Syd Barrett, Nick Mason and Richard Wright, left the group in 1985. Waters later sued over the use of the names of his fellow bandmates, and he struck a settlement with Group Two. Years later.
Despite years of disagreement, Brand continued to release records such as “A Momentary Laps of Reason” and “The Division Bell”, led by guitarist David Gilmour.
Barrett, who left the band in 1969, died in 2006, and keyboardist Wright died in 2008. Waters and drummer Mason are both touring as solo artists this year.
The last Pink Floyd album, “The Endless River,” came out in 2014. Gilmour and Mason last month released a song to support Ukraine amid the Russian invasion under the name Pink Floyd, called “Hey, Hey, Rise Up!” is called.
The massive deals mark the continuation of the trend of a long string of established artists selling their song books to big-pocketed investors or music labels. They’re also fueled by streaming, which offers the potential for more lucrative royalties as customers flock to services like Spotify and Apple Music.
And lower interest rates have led to a boom in deals during the coronavirus pandemic, making it easier for companies to borrow money to buy larger assets.
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