Court ruling may spell end of Pink Floyd tracks on iTunes

Stephen Withers
Friday, 12 March 2010 17:10

IT Industry - Strategy

Pink Floyd has won a court ruling that could see the band's tracks being removed from individual sale by music retailers such as Apple's iTunes Store.

Pink Floyd, the band behind the classic albums 'Dark Side of the Moon' and 'The Wall', has won a significant court ruling in a contract dispute.

Pink Floyd has been asserting that its contract with EMI prohibits the sale of individual songs without the band's express permission.

The band's position - that the "artistic integrity" clause in the contract (which predates online distribution) prevents EMI from selling individual tracks or singles without consent - has been upheld by the UK High Court.

EMI held that the relevant part of the contract "plainly" applies to physical recordings, not online distribution.

But the court sided with Pink Floyd, and ordered EMI to pay £40,000 costs.

What's the motivation behind the case? Please read on.