Hi-fidelity first class traveling set

When Pink Floyd signed with EMI Group, EMI agreed that it wouldn't sell their tracks as singles without permission from the band. A British court has ruled that this applies not only to physical albums, but Internet sales as well.

From The Daily Caller:

Experts 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 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.

Legally, the ruling makes sense. Pink Floyd entered into their agreement with the understanding that EMI wouldn't slice and dice their music. New technology or no, the spirit of the law is clearly on their side.

Furthermore, as the lawyer suggested, Pink Floyd songs don't lend themselves well to unbundling. Every song connects to every other song on the album. Except for the first track, there's no clear beginning. Except for the last track, there's no clear end. I generally believe that listeners should be able to choose how they experience music, but the decision makes a certain amount of artistic sense.

With that settled, only one question remains. Exactly how many Pink Floyd fans are going to want Pink Floyd's music in MP3 format?

Lossy compression, anyone?