Since the band’s founder Roger Waters and is not in regular speaking terms with guitarist David Gilmore, I wonder who came up with this dispute. Representing Pink Floyd, attorney Robert Howe is alleging that record label EMI has violated the original contract, which stipulates that all albums sold must not be altered from their original forms. Since iTunes and other online music stores have allowed individual song downloads of Pink Floyd albums, Howe charges that this is a breach of contract.

As all Floyd lovers know, listening to the band is an experience to be enjoyed from start to finish. Pink Floyd seldom released singles, and LPs like Wish You Were Here, Dark Side of the Moon, and The Wall in particular are so thematic that one song always flows musically and intellectually into the next. Ever notice that few movies feature Pink Floyd songs? I can think of only a few in modern times.

Interestingly, Waters did not sue Andrew Lloyd Webber for his blatant “Phantom of the Opera” rip-off of Pink Floyd song “Echoes.”

EMI has responded by saying that when its contract was signed in 1999, iTunes did not exist, so there is no legal coverage preventing this form of distribution.

Source: Wired