Pink Floyd's post-"Dark Side" albums out of print -- for now
A common occurrence in the music business occurred over the last two weeks, but because it involves Pink Floyd it's big news: A portion of the band's catalog is no longer available for purchase because its licensing deal with EMI expiring on June 30.
Pink Floyd's albums from 1977's "Animals" through 1995's "Pulse," as well as the compilation "Echoes," have disappeared from online outlets such as Amazon and Apple's iTunes. CDs of those albums are no longer being pressed, either.
Many star artists are able to control their master recordings -- usually after they've struck it big. In Pink Floyd's case, the band controls the albums that came after "Dark Side Side of the Moon"; for the Rolling Stones, it's the post-1970 material; and for Ray Charles it's his post-Atlantic albums. The Stones' material, for example, most recently switched to Universal from EMI, and Charles' music is at Concord after residing at Warner Music for a decade.
Late last year, it was widely believed that Sony would be acquiring the masters for albums such as "The Wall," "Wish You Were Here" and "Animals," albums that were initially released by Sony's Columbia Records. Anticipating the end of the contract, Pink Floyd's management in early 2009 sought proposals from the majors on how they would treat the catalog, and started to entertain bids. The Sony deal was never consummated.
EMI will release a Syd Barrett compilation on Oct. 4 that David Gilmour is executive producing. Five of the tracks are being remixed for the album that will bring together Barrett's solo work and Pink Floyd material, plus a 20-minute instrumental titled "Rhamadan."
Roger Waters, who has used this Facebook page to issue statements on recent occurrences such as his reunion with David Gilmour and issues with the promotion of "The Wall" tour, had no posts on Wednesday. The Pink Floyd page, its wall packed packed with spam, continues to list EMI as the band's label.
Considering the fact that Waters will start his tour of "The Wall" on Sept. 15 (dates are at right), it would behoove the Floyd camp to sign a deal promptly. That audience will be captured in the States through Dec. 14, and in Europe from March 21 to June 18, 2011, making it the perfect time to deliver an expanded edition of "The Wall."
To not have the album available online or in stores during "The Wall" tour is a bit of retail suicide: It's the second most valuable album in the entire Pink Floyd collection, and the one item among the five studio albums that Floyd controls that's a potential home run at retail. Labels naturally love anniversaries, so don't be surprised if a 35th anniversary edition of "Animals" and a 25th anniversary version of "Momentary Lapse of Reason" are trotted out in 2012.
15, 16 - Toronto, Ontario - Air Canada Centre
18 - Toronto, Ontario - Air Canada Centre
20, 21 - Chicago, IL - United Center
23, 24 - Chicago, IL - United Center
26 - Pittsburgh, PA - Consol Energy Center
28 - Cleveland, OH - Quicken Loans Arena
30 - Boston, MA - TD Garden
October 2010
1, 3 - Boston, MA - TD Garden
5, 6 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
8 - Buffalo, NY - HSBC Arena
10 - Washington, DC - Verizon Center
12, 13 - Uniondale, NY - Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
15 - Hartford, CT - XL Center
17 - Ottawa, Ontario - Scotiabank Place
19, 20 - Montreal, Quebec - Bell Centre
22 - Columbus, OH - Schottenstein Center
24 - Auburn Hills, MI - The Palace of Auburn Hills
26 - Omaha, NE - Qwest Center Omaha
27 - Saint Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center
29 - St. Louis, MO - Scottrade Center
30 - Kansas City, MO - Sprint Center
November 2010
3, 4 - East Rutherford, NJ - Izod Center
8, 9, 11 - Philadelphia, PA - The Wachovia Center
13, 14 - Sunrise, FL - BankAtlantic Center
16 - Tampa, FL - St. Pete Times Forum
18 - Atlanta, GA - Phillips Arena
20 - Houston, TX - Toyota Center
21 - Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center
23 - Denver, CO - Pepsi Center
26 - Las Vegas, NV - MGM Grand Garden Arena
27 - Phoenix, AZ - US Airways Center
29, 30 - Los Angeles, CA - Staples Center
December 2010
3 - Oakland, CA - Oracle Arena
5 - Los Angeles, CA - Staples Center
6, 8 - San Jose, CA - HP Pavilion at San Jose
10 - Vancouver, British Columbia - General Motors Place
11 - Tacoma, WA - Tacoma Dome
13, 14 - Anaheim, CA - Honda Center
18 - Mexico City, Mexico - Palacio Deportes
March 2011
21 - Lisbon, Portugal - Pavihao Atlantico
25 - Madrid, Spain - Palacio de Deportes
29 - Barcelona, Spain - Palau Sant Jordi
April 2011
1, 2, 4 - Assago, Italy - Mediolanum Forum
8, 9 - Arnhem, Netherlands - Gelredome
12 - Budapest, Hungary - Budapest Sport Arena
15 - Prague, Czech Republic - O2 Arena
18 - Lodz, Poland - Atlas Arena
23 - Moscow, Russia - Olympiiski
25 - St. Petersburg, Russia - SKK Arena
27 - Helsinki, Finland - Hartwall Arena
30 - Fornebu, Norway - Telenor Arena
May 2011
4 - Stockholm, Sweden - Ericsson Globe
7 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Parken National Stadium Denmark
11, 12 - London, United Kingdom - O2 Arena
14, 15, 17 - London, United Kingdom - O2 Arena
20, 21 - Manchester, United Kingdom - Manchester Evening News Arena
23, 24 - Dublin, Ireland - The O2 Dublin
27, 28 - Merksem, Belgium - Sportspaleis Antwerpen
30 - Paris, France - Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy
June 2011
3 - Mannheim, Germany - SAP Arena
6, 7 - Zurich, Switzerland - Hallenstadion Zurich
10 - Hamburg, Germany - O2 World Hamburg
15 - Berlin, Germany - O2 World
18 - Dusseldorf, Germany - Espirit Arena
Never miss a story
Get the news as it happens via Facebook, Twitter or our old-fashioned RSS feed
