This could be the reason behind Pink Floyd album covers turning black on Spotify and Apple Music

Pink Floyd’s album covers have mysteriously turned black across major streaming platforms for the past few days. Fans scrolling through Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube have been met with stark black squares instead of the iconic artwork they’re used to seeing.

Here’s how users have been describing the issue across social media:

Many have taken to Reddit and X to report the sudden change. On r/pinkfloyd, one user posted: “What’s going on with Pink Floyd’s Spotify?”

Similar complaints flooded X, with fans sharing screenshots of the altered covers and asking “Why do all the Pink Floyd album covers look like this on Spotify?” Someone even called it “censoring”.

The issue isn’t limited to just one platform either. There are plenty of reports about the same black covers appearing on Apple Music, with users asking questions like “Do you also have that on Apple Music with the discography of Pink Floyd?” Even YouTube saw similar changes, though most of the chatter has focused on the major streaming services.

When I looked into this myself, the pattern became clear pretty quickly. This isn’t actually a bug or rights issue like many initially thought. Instead, it appears to be a deliberate marketing move tied to the 50th anniversary of Wish You Were Here, which hits on September 12, 2025.

Here’s the key detail that sharp-eyed fans picked up on: Pink Floyd’s 1975 album Wish You Were Here originally came wrapped in opaque black shrink wrap. Here’s an image posted on Reddit years ago for reference:

As one Reddit user in r/pinkfloyd explained: “The original vinyl release came in an opaque black wrap.” Sites like Brain Damage and Cult Following have noted that the band’s social media profiles also switched to “black bag” imagery around the same time, strengthening the anniversary theory.

The timing makes perfect sense too. With Sony Music having acquired Pink Floyd’s catalog last year, speculation is running wild about potential remastered releases, Dolby Atmos remixes, or deluxe editions to mark the milestone.

If you’re experiencing this change and want to see the original artwork, there’s not much you can do right now except wait. The black covers seem to be intentional and widespread across platforms.

Pink Floyd hasn’t officially acknowledged what’s happening yet, but if the anniversary theory is correct, we should know more within the next few days. Keep an eye on the band’s official channels – this digital “shrink wrap” will likely be peeled back soon to reveal whatever’s underneath.