Pink Floyd agree to sell music rights to Sony in deal worth 400 million dollars (Classic Rock magazine)

[highplainsdem]

https://www.loudersound.com/news/pink-floyd-sell-music-rights-400-million-dollars

Pink Floyd have struck a deal to sell the rights to their recorded music catalogue.

According to The Financial Times, who broke the news, the deal with Sony is worth 400 million dollars and includes Pink Floyd’s recorded music, the band name and the artists’ “likeness”, meaning that the label will have the rights to merchandise and spin-offs.

The FT points out: "Songs have two sets of copyrights: one for the songwriting and one for the recording, or master copy. Pink Floyd has agreed to sell their recorded rights, but not the songwriting, said people familiar with the matter."

Earlier this month, David Gilmour declared that it would be a "dream" of his to sell the band's catalogue.

-snip-

I wish I could say that this does NOT mean AI will be used to create "new" Pink Floyd music - which would be a truly grotesque and anti-art "welcome to the machine" - but I can't be sure of that.

Drummer Nick Mason said in July that he'd like AI to be used for new music with David Gilmour and Roger Waters collaborating again:

https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/pink-floyd-drummer-nick-mason-33340364

Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason says Welcome to the Machine in a bid to bring back feuding bandmate Roger Waters – using AI.

Nick, 80, believes there is no chance guitarist David Gilmour, 78, and bassist Roger will bury the hatchet after a decades-long row. But he does think artificial intelligence could create songs as if Roger, 80, had never left the band in 1985.

The bitter feud dates from then, when Waters unsuccessfully tried to stop the remaining members using the Pink Floyd name. Nick said: “It would be fascinating to see what AI could do with new music. If you tried to run it as a sort of ‘Where did Pink Floyd go after?’

“The thing to do would be to have an AI situation where David and Roger become friends again. We could be like ABBA by the time we’ve finished with it.” The group, whose albums include The Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here, are one of the best-selling groups of all time.

-snip-

I'm glad they were so successful. I love their old music. I absolutely hate the idea of using generative AI for new music, not just because it's mimicry by machine, but because the odds are the music generator that will be used, even if fine-tuned by training on Pink Floyd's music, will be initially trained on a vast amount of stolen music from other artists (as is done with text and art generators fine-tuned to copy a writer or visual artist's style). It will still rip off countless other artists. And even if they somehow have an AI music generator in the future that can produce music if trained only on Pink Floyd's music, it still won't be Pink Floyd.

Pink Floyd already got a lot of well-deserved criticism earlier this year for giving a prize to an AI-generated video:

https://guitar.com/news/pink-floyd-slated-after-ai-created-video-wins-dark-side-of-the-moon-animation-competition/

Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon turns 50 this year, and to celebrate the milestone the band held a competition to create new videos for each of the record’s tracks. However, the rock legends are now on the end of a backlash from fans and creatives across the globe because one of the winning videos was created using ‘AI’-created art.

Damián Gaume’s video for Any Colour You Like features all the telltale weirdness of Large Language Model-created art, including the over-saturated colouration and shaky, non-linear animation. Given that the issue of AI’s use as a creative tool – and the morality of using tools that are trained on human-created art without compensating said humans – is a hot-button issue right now, it’s no surprise that many fans were unhappy with the band’s decision.

“A spit in the face of actual artists who poured their heart and soul into each frame of work they made and submitted for this competition,” one fan commented on the YouTube page for the video. “I’m absolutely disgusted.”

“Given the band’s history of working with artists and animators… disappointing,” another notes. Countless commenters are disappointed; “A band with almost 60 years of history creating art and it all comes down to this? Fucking over actual artists and rewarding this slop?”

-snip-

[marble falls]

1. Hooooley moooohley. I've heard a bunch of sweet music from ProfGAC, how much do you think I can get for it? ...

... Don't mention it to him. It's a big surprise - he'll find out once I blow this popstand.

[ProfessorGAC]

4. Hey!

At least splutter it with me!

[marble falls]

5. I'll see what I can do, the check'll be in the mail.

[-misanthroptimist]

2. Floyd is about 80% of what I listen to these days

If Sony puts their music in movies...it'll probably be okay.

If Sony puts it in ads...I swear to the Flying Spaghetti Monster I will boycott the product advertised.

The idea of AI-generated PF music actually makes me nauseous.

True story: Saw some AI-generated ad the other day that said, "Remember dancing to your favorite PF songs?" I'm not sure the "I" in "AI" is all that "I".

[Deuxcents]

3. This is distressing even tho it was talked about for a while. I fall into the purist mindset about this.

There are two Pink Floyd discs in my Bose as I write this and I play their music often. I deliberately replay The Turning Away often as it touches my soul. Their music/craft has had a big influence on so many over these 50 some years n to think it will be sold n marketed for AI, profit and whatever comes next, is not what this old gal ever thought so I’ll listen now with the memories even sweeter.