Pink Floyd, EMI Agree to New Distribution Deal

EMI this week patched up their differences with venerable rock band Pink Floyd, announcing a new five-year distribution deal that will keep the group’s music on iTunes in album form and as individual tracks. The contract covers Pink Floyd’s 14 studio and three live albums, and it ends the legal acrimony that arose last year when the band sued EMI.

Last August, the band’s music began disappearing from iTunes and other digital distribution outlets as the previous deal with EMI expired amid a lawsuit filed earlier in the year. Allegations of unpaid royalties were central to the legal claim by Pink Floyd, which also objected to the sale of its songs as individual tracks, arguing that so many of them flow into each other that they shouldn’t be listened to out of context.

However, the band seems to have given in on that point, since consumers can once again purchase Pink Floyd tracks individually. As TIME’s Techland site noted: “Though Pink Floyd might be disappointed, the new agreement allows fans to continue to exercise their right to listen to ‘Money’ instead of having to go through the entire Dark Side of the Moon.”