Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason Said This Beatles Album ‘Changed the Face of the Record Industry’

The Beatles are arguably the most influential music act ever. Not only were countless musicians inspired by their music, but their wild popularity changed how the industry distributed and marketed music. The Beatles had several impactful albums during their run, and Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason believed this one “changed the face of the record industry.”

Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason said The Beatles ‘Sgt. Pepper’s’ changed the record industry forever

The Beatles released Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The album was their most experimental, embracing the surreal and psychedelic imagery that defined the 1960s. While the album was a risky move for the band, it paid off in dividends as it remains their best-selling album, selling over 32 million copies worldwide. 

In an interview with BBC Radio 2, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason said The Beatles’ album was a landmark moment for the record industry. It changed how studios looked at how music was sold since the album outsold most singles. 

“Sgt. Pepper’s was the album that absolutely changed the face of the record industry,” Mason explained. “Up until then, it was all about singles. Sgt. Pepper’s was the first album that actually outsold singles, and that enabled bands like us to have more studio time and more freedom to do what we wanted.”

Mason also said Pink Floyd had the incredible opportunity to witness The Beatles recording the album. The band was working on their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, at Abbey Road Studios and were next door to The Beatles, who were recording Sgt. Pepper’s. Pink Floyd was invited to watch the Liverpool band in the studio, where they were recording “Lovely Rita”. 

“It was such a great moment for us,” Mason said. “We were recording our first album in Abbey Road – we were in studio three recording The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, and down the corridor, The Beatles were recording Sgt. Pepper’s.”

“And there was an invitation to go and visit the gods on Mount Olympus, and they were recording ‘Lovely Rita’ at the time,” he continued. “So it’s a sort of reminder of a really, sort of pivotal moment because actually, without the Beatles, we probably wouldn’t have existed.”

The Beatles influenced other members of Mason’s band

While Pink Floyd became influential with albums like The Dark Side of the Moon, they owe much to The Beatles. Mason isn’t the only member of the band who idolizes The Beatles. In an interview with radio station KLCS, singer and lyricist Roger Waters said The Beatles inspired him to be more reflective and honest with his songwriting. 

“I learned from John Lennon and Paul McCartney and George Harrison that it was okay for us to write about our lives and what we felt — and to express ourselves,” Waters shared. “That we could be free artists and that there was a value in that freedom. And there was.”

Guitarist and co-lead vocalist David Gilmour also said he learned to play guitar by listening to and watching Harrison and Lennon. 

“[The Beatles] taught me how to play guitar,” Gilmour told Mojo magazine. “I learnt everything. The bass parts, the lead, the rhythm, everything. They were fantastic.”