Pink Floyd are testing the appetite for their back catalogue. With Warner and BMG circling, the deal could surpass the $550 million paid for Bruce Springsteen’s.
The FT reports, according to ‘people familiar with the matter’, that Warner Music and BMG are competing to buy the band’s entire back catalogue. If the iconic British rock band did sell up, they would follow stars such as Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen in cashing in on their extensive songbooks. David Bowie’s estate has also sold the artist’s recordings recently.
Both Warner and BMG have been fixtures in this latest, back-catalogue-buying trend, as two of the world’s major record labels with the ability to offer vast sums of cash. BMG are backed by private equity group KKR.
Read: Why 2021 Was The Year of The Back Catalogue
Bloomberg first reported Pink Floyd’s willingness to sell last week.
Part of what would make the deal so appealing is the band reportedly looking to sell both the songwriting and recording copyrights. This would give any prospective buyers control over the entirety of Pink Floyd’s music, who are one of the best selling bands of all time, having already sold over 75 million albums in the US alone. This is 10 million more than Springsteen.
Both BMG and Warner Music declined to comment.
