Pink Floyd have begun legal action against cash-strapped record label EMI over contractual issues.

The band's lawyer Rupert Howe QC said they were concerned about the calculation of online royalty payments and marketing of their music.

Mr Howe said the group wanted record to know the label's “entitlement” to sell individual tracks, “otherwise than in the original configuration of the Pink Floyd albums''.

According to the Telegraph, Pink Floyd's lawyer claimed the band's contract “expressly prohibited” the “unbundling” of album tracks.

However, Mr Howe said EMI had argued that the restriction related only to physical products, which the band believes “makes no commercial sense”.

Pink Floyd signed with EMI in 1967 and are one of the record label's most profitable acts.

In February, it emerged that EMI reported a huge annual pre-tax loss of £1.5bn, casting doubt over its future.

(by Jason Gregory)