Pink Floyd - They Came In Peace, live, Leeds University 1970 Washington University 1971

Pink Floyd - They Came In Peace, live, Leeds University 1970 Washington University 1971 - 2021

Legendary rock band Pink Floyd has quietly released a treasure trove of 12 live albums on streaming services. The band hasn’t publicly commented on the recordings, all of which document its early ‘70s golden age period.

On Dec. 10, a commenter on a Pink Floyd fan site first posted about the recordings being dropped. All of the albums boast a copyright of Pink Floyd Music Ltd. It’s possible the British band is taking a similar strategy from artists like the Beach Boys, Beatles, and Bob Dylan - all of whom have issued collections as a form of copyright protection, adhering to a 2011 change in European law.

A rep for Sony told Rolling Stone back in 2013, “The copyright law in Europe was recently extended from 50 to 70 years for everything recorded in 1963 and beyond. With everything before that, there's a new 'Use It or Lose It' provision. It basically said, 'If you haven't used the recordings in the first 50 years, you aren't going to get any more.’”

To give an example of the provision: in 2012, Bob Dylan released a collection of limited-edition outtakes from 1962. If he had waited to release the collection, his recordings would have become public domain. Therefore, Dylan's label pressed roughly 100 copies and distributed them to stores in France, Germany, Sweden, and the U.K.

Pink Floyd likely released the EP 1965: Their First Recordings in 2015 because of the "Use It or Lose It" provision as well. The recordings later resurfaced in the band’s Early Years box set.

All of the concerts from Pink Floyd's new live albums occurred between 1970 and 1972. During that period, the band released: Atom Heart Mother (1970), Meddle (1971), and Obscured by Clouds (1972). Since the band began playing songs from Dark Side of the Moon prior to its release, one recording - a March 1972 Tokyo gig - features a near-complete performance of that LP in sequence.

01. The Embryo

02. Careful with That Axe, Eugene

03. Atom Heart Mother

04. Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun

05. Interstellar Overdrive

06. A Saucerful of Secrets

07. One of These Days

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