Pink Floyd’s planned £450m sale of back catalogue stalls amid ‘disagreement’ between band members

Pink Floyd is embroiled in a dispute that has delayed the sale of their back catalog by more than £450 million, according to reports.

The band are the latest rock legends looking to cash in on their history, and investors are ready to buy the rights to their songs for lucrative use in movies, advertising, and video games. Artists whose material has been picked up recently include Bob Dylan, the Beach Boys, David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen and – just last week – Genesis.

It’s clear that Pink Floyd – famous for the million-selling albums Dark Side Of The Moon and The Wall – has been eyeing an auction since May.

But disagreements among members of the group have put the hoped-for deal on hold, according to the Financial Times.

The controversial views of former bassist Roger Waters – who has had a tense relationship with his former bandmates for decades – are said to have played a role.

Reports say the auction process has been postponed for several months due to arguments over taxes, assets and Waters’ claims that he is on a murder list in Ukraine.

The 79-year-old, who has made statements he deemed sympathetic to both the Russian and Chinese regimes, claimed to be on a Ukrainian ‘death list’ last week.

His comments come after the Kiev-based website Myrotvorets accused Waters of spreading “anti-Ukrainian propaganda” and violating Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

Speaking to Rolling Stone magazine last week, Waters said, “I’m on the f****** list and they’ve been killing people recently.”

The Pink Floyd catalog has attracted interest from a wide range of investors and music companies, including Blackstone, Sony Music and Warner Music.

The band members would line up to earn over £450 million, making it one of the biggest music rights deals ever. But a bidder for the catalog said the fraught relations “made it impossible.”