le vintage sells. You had to see, on Sunday, September 29, the lines full of eager young people in front of the 3 o’clock pop-up storemy neighborhood of Paris where Adidas had put old three-striped jogging pants from the 1970s or 1980s on the shelves. This passion did not escape Sony, which acquired the musical catalog of Pink Floyd, known for timeless hits like “Money” (1973 ) either. “Another brick in the wall” (1979).
The transaction was closed for about 400 million dollars (361 million euros), revealed on 1Ahem october in Financial timeswhich will end up in the pockets of Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Nick Mason as well as the heirs of Rick Wright (1943-2018). This transaction gives the record company the recording rights, but also the image rights, for a future biographical film? – from the British group.
Sony loves old rockers. The major has already acquired some rights to Queen in 2024 for a billion dollars, successes that add those of Bruce Springsteen or Bob Dylan to its bag. The company has the means. In July, it secured $700 million in capital support from the Apollo investment fund to finance its investments in the music industry.
First failed attempt
Obviously, there is a certain irony in seeing how the cream of financial capitalism plays an instrumental role for the benefit of the artists whose cult album animalsReleased in 1977, it was an adaptation of There animal farm (1945), by George Orwell, as an anti-capitalist pamphlet. Who has forgotten this legendary cover, of the pig, symbol of plutocracy, flying over the Battersea electrical factory in London, representing the working class?
The album bears the stamp of Roger Waters, one of the leaders of the British group before being excluded in 1985, whose dark side is by no means hidden. In October 2022, interview given by the bassist to the magazine rolling stonewhere he detailed his views on the Russian invasion of Ukraine (NATO’s fault, according to him) or on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict (for which American and British Jews bear part of the responsibility because “pay for everything”), had derailed a first transaction attempt. The wife of David Gilmour, the other key figure in the group, attacked Roger Waters on“anti-semitic even [s]has rotten marrow ».
Takeover candidates had cautiously withdrawn. A valuation of $500 million was mentioned at the time. So there is approximately $100 million missing from the appeal. The price of controversy?
