Pink Floyd Suing EMI Over Online Royalties

The former members of Pink Floyd are suing the band's record label EMI over online royalty payments.

Rupert Howe, lawyer for the band members, said in a hearing in court in London yesterday (March 9) that his clients wanted clarification on a contract with EMI that they negotiated in 1998 and 1999.

According to the contract Pink Floyd albums should be sold as song bundles and not separated into individual tracks for sale, reports Businessweek.com. Since the contract was signed Pink Floyd songs have been made available to buy on download sites such as iTunes – which launched in the UK following the contract negotiation.

Speaking about the contract Howe said, "It was unclear whether record companies would be selling direct to the consumer or through retailers."

He added, "It's a matter of fact that the defendant has been permitting individual tracks to be downloaded online and that therefore they have been allowing albums not to be sold in their original configuration."

Elizabeth Jones, a lawyer for EMI, claimed that the contract did not cover online sales of the band's music.

The lawsuit was originally filed last April. The case continues.

Thanks for the report to Nme.com.

Comments

[Honky]

Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash!

[euan_soad]

I think it's a great idea. No-one appreciates an album as a whole anymore

[the_white_bunny]

right....
dark side of the moon is the most relevant piece of music in like 40 years. IMO

mushrooms + DSOTM = mind blowing journey.

[Jesus_Dean]

euan_soad wrote:

I think it's a great idea. No-one appreciates an album as a whole anymore

Yeah, that's the whole point. PF Albums NEED to be listened to as a whole, because there is usually a concept and a reason that the songs are put together in the order they are. PF could make a lot more money selling singles but they choose to sell their material in the original form. Props!

@ all the old dogs: who remembers the PF 8-tracks. The order fo the songs were all fükked up on those bitches as well, but they would play continuously allowing for some massive tripping.

[kidcantread]

first thing they have done together in a while

[MickeyJ]

The lawsuit was filed last April? That's 11 months ago...

And yeah, I agree with the above, can't stand single tracks. It's why I never liked Greatest Hits albums.

[bass-man9712]

i agree, you cont just listen to one PK song on the album, they all tie togther, some people gottaread contracts better

[N64]

the_white_bunny wrote:

right....
dark side of the moon is the most relevant piece of music in like 40 years. IMO

mushrooms + DSOTM = mind blowing journey.

+100

[MrSir4]

As a musician who makes his own music, I can say that Pink Floyd has a HUGE influence on the way I put my albums together. If I ever make it big and my record label sold single songs without my consent, I would do the same thing without a second thought. In a way, it is insulting to sell single songs for a band like Pink Floyd

[fuzzybanjo]

itunes killed the record store.
someone needs to write that parody.

[Santeria420]

Being a huge fan of Floyd and theme albums in general... I just don't see what the big deal is. I heard Time before I heard the rest of Dark Side of the Moon. The earth didn't open up to swallow me and no horsemen asked me for directions. This is all just marketing stuff, its not going to change how people appreciate music.

[AreWeNotMen?]

They won.

[UnaLaguna]

They have indeed won - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8561963.stm

The band - particularly Waters - emphasised that they released albums as a whole rather than as individual songs. Same as Led Zeppelin.

Apart from Steven Wilson/Porcupine Tree I can't think of many bands that take that approach these days.

[scottishmob]

N64 wrote:

the_white_bunny wrote:

right....
dark side of the moon is the most relevant piece of music in like 40 years. IMO

mushrooms + DSOTM = mind blowing journey.

+100

pshhh, f*** that man - DSOTM is a mindblowing journey without mushrooms!

[stevezy]

They want them to be downloaded as a whole because individual floyd songs suck.