Pink Floyd eyes catalog sale
- Tim Baysinger, author of Axios Pro: Media Deals
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Pink Floyd may be the latest older music artist to score a big deal for the rights to its hit songs, Bloomberg reports.
Why it matters: The market for older song catalogs doesn't appear to be drying up anytime soon.
Details: Pink Floyd has reached out to potential buyers for its recorded music catalog, including its album "Dark Side of the Moon," one of the most popular releases in music history.
- A potential deal could be worth in the "hundreds of millions," according to Bloomberg.
By the numbers: At least $5 billion was spent on catalog and music rights acquisitions in 2021, according to estimates by music trade publication Music Business Worldwide.
- Since 2020, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Sting and Bruce Springsteen have scored massive nine-figure deals.
- So far in 2022, we've seen Warner Chappell Music acquire the global publishing rights to Bowie's catalog for $250 million.
Between the lines: This is eerily reminiscent of when streaming video services were paying gigantic sums for reruns of classic sitcoms like "Friends" and "Seinfeld."
- In much the same way, this is all being driven by streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple and Amazon Music.
Yes, but: Investors may be overpaying. Older acts get fewer online streams compared to younger artists.