Pink Floyd Settle Legal Dispute With EMI

Pink Floyd have ended a legal battle with EMI, their record company of over 40 years, reports BBC News.

A court recently ruled on a disagreement about whether the contract the band signed in a pre-digital age applied to downloads. The dispute centred on the unbundling of albums such as 'Dark Side of the Moon' in download stores. The band's contract stated that individual tracks could not be sold without their permission. They maintained that it still applied in the digital age and that their "seamless" albums should not be made available piecemeal. A judge agreed with Pink Floyd last March, and EMI's appeal was dismissed in December.

The prog rock veterans have now signed a new deal with the label. A spokesperson for EMI said, "All legal disputes between the band and the company have been settled as a result of this new deal," adding that it would "help the band reach new and existing fans through their incredible body of work." Surprisingly, given the basis of the legal tussle individual Pink Floyd tracks will remain available to download under the new deal.

Speaking to BBC News, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason said the affair wasn't "a big punch up" with the label, which he said he was "very fond" of. However, he did bemoan "the gang known as 'business affairs', [that] have taken over the running of the company," adding the he preferred "the days when it was the entrepreneurs and individuals who actually ran these companies and created something that was about the music."