"It would have been extraordinary if the judge had overturned pre-existing rights of artists to control their work," she said.
London music-industry analyst Claire Enders said the ruling was expected. Lawyers for the two sides refused to further clarify the matter. The label said it continued to sell Pink Floyd's music "digitally and in other formats."
"There are further arguments to be heard and the case will go on for some time," an EMI spokeswoman said, on condition of anonymity in line with corporate policy. They were still available individually from iTunes on Thursday. That section of the judgment was made in private after EMI argued the information was covered by commercial confidentiality.ĮMI said the ruling was not an end to the complex case, and that the judge's decision was not an order to stop selling single Pink Floyd tracks. The judge also ruled on a second issue, the level of royalties paid to the band. Thursday's judgment is not the end of the case - merely a a clarification on the part of the judge about what the band's contract with EMI means. He ruled that EMI is "not entitled to exploit recordings by online distribution or by any other means other than the complete original album without Pink Floyd's consent." But judge Andrew Morritt backed the band, saying the contract protected "the artistic integrity of the albums" in both physical and online form. The band's lawyer, Robert Howe, said the band was known for producing "seamless" pieces of music on albums like The Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall, and wanted to retain artistic control.ĮMI claimed the clause in the band's contract - negotiated more than a decade ago, before the advent of iTunes and other online retailers - did not apply to Internet sales. The ruling comes in a long-running legal case that saw Pink Floyd sue its record label, saying its contract prohibited selling songs "unbundled" from their original album setting.
can't sell Pink Floyd tracks individually without the band's permission.Ī judge said that the band's contract applied both to physical albums and Internet sales.Įxperts said the ruling offers another brick in the wall supporting artists' control of their own work - and a boost for music fans dismayed by the power of online music retailers to slice and dice albums into individual tracks. The High Court ruled on Thursday that record label EMI Group Ltd. A 2005 AP file photo of Pink Floyd's Dave Gilmore, left, Roger Waters, second left, Nick Mason, second right, and Rick Wright.Album lovers may rejoice a little at last: a British court says Pink Floyd, purveyor of iTunes-unfriendly concept records, cannot be unbundled.