KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 3 — British rock band Pink Floyd has agreed to sell their recorded-music and name-and-likeness rights to Sony Music for approximately US$400 million (RM1.682 billion).

The deal, one of the largest of many in recent years, has apparently finally concluded despite decades of ongoing infighting and bitter exchanges between band members, namely chief songwriters Roger Waters and David Gilmour; as well as drummer Nick Mason and the estates of keyboardist Richard Wright and founding singer-songwriter Roger "Syd” Barrett.

The deal comprises recorded-music rights but not songwriting, which is held by the individual writers, as well as name-and-likeness, which includes merchandise, theatrical and similar rights.

Most if not all of the iconic artwork on their albums, which was largely designed by the British firm Hipgnosis, is included, reported Variety, quoting sources.

Representatives for the band members and Sony declined or did not respond to requests for comment.

The deal over the Pink Floyd catalogue which was also reported by the Financial Times, is one of the most valuable in contemporary music, with classic albums like Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall, Wish You Were Here, Animals, Meddle, Piper at the Gates of Dawn, More and more.

Sony has spent more than a billion dollars on catalogues from Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and Queen’s non-North American rights in the past few years (with backing from investment firms like Eldridge Industries), and has never officially comment on deals.

The deal has been in the works for years, with an initial reported asking price of US$500 million (RM2.1 billion) — had been close to an agreement.

Infighting between the band’s members — primarily over main songwriter Waters’ controversial political statements against Israel and Ukraine, and in favor of Russia — complicated the deal and supposedly cost him his solo record deal, apart from devaluing the catalogue.

Waters has compared Israel to Nazi Germany and said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was "not unprovoked.”

Gilmour recently told Rolling Stone that he was interested in a sale less for financial reasons than "to be rid of the decision making and the arguments that are involved with keeping it going,” which he described as "my dream.”

The companies that were close to a deal with the group in 2022 — said to be Hipgnosis, Warner Music and BMG — have all had leadership changes since then.

Caught in the middle of the dispute is Mason, who said in 2018, "It’s really disappointing these rather elderly gentlemen are still at loggerheads.”