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Pink Floyd have granted Spotify rights to their back catalogue after fans listened to classic track 'Wish You Were Here' a million times in just four days - a challenge they set users on Saturday.
The decision is a reversal of their previous stance, where they expressed skepticism about digital musical initiatives, although permitted iTunes to sell individual tracks from last year. Spotify are not the only streaming site with rights to Floyd's discography however; their tracks have been available on other streaming services such as Rhapsody, Rdio and Deezer for years – albeit only for paying subscribers.
"It's a great day for fans of prog rock, but it's also a great day for younger fans who have yet to be really turned on to the magic of Pink Floyd," said Spotify's chief content officer Ken Parks,
"That's a lot of what this is about: bringing a new generation of fans to one of the biggest and most iconic bands in the world.
Parks speaks of their decision to allow the predominantly advert funded streaming site rights;
"They decided, quite wisely I think, that this is the future of music consumption, that it helps them reach deep into a demographic that is not their core demographic, and that it's a place they need to be to secure their legacy,"
"With some of these bands, it does take a long time. But we spend a lot of time talking to bands and their management about how we can be good partners for them. They can take some convincing, but for us the effort to work with a band like Pink Floyd is certainly worth it."
Watch Pink Floyd perform Wish You Were Here below
The band has over 20 albums in it's impressive discography which spans nearly 50 years, including studio, live, and compilation albums. All are available on Spotify.
Below: Roger Waters, of Pink Floyd on tour.
