Pink Floyd Keep Control of Online Sales After Court Ruling

Pink Floyd have fought off EMI's appeal against a High Court judgement earlier this year that the group's individual songs must not be sold without its permission.

As Spinner mentioned in March, Floyd's surviving members took their label to court in a dispute over whether the troubled business could sell their back catalogue as separate tracks rather than complete albums.

Lawyers for the group, famously wary of releasing singles, again argued that a 1999 contract that insisted on album-only sales also covered digital content. EMI's appeal was dismissed on Tuesday, Dec. 14, Music Week reports. This is, though, only the latest stage in a dispute over an alleged £10m ($15.7m) unpaid royalties from sales between 2002 and 2007, something that could not come at a worse time for the beleaguered firm.


Reports have emerged this week that owner Guy Hands could lose his grip on EMI before Christmas, following his failed case against Citigroup. The US bank could write off the label's debts in exchange for operational control, allowing for a quick sale in the new year.

On the other hand, the ruling comes as a sliver of good news for Floyd's Dave Gilmour, who has seen his adopted son Charlie arrested following student protests on suspicion of violent disorder and attempted criminal damage.