Distinctive elements of the song include its unusual 74 time signature, and the tape loop of money-related sound effects (such as a ringing cash register and a jingle of coins).

[6][a] Waters wrote the central riff on an acoustic guitar, and chose the time signature as it fitted the "bluesy feel" of the song.

This was created by splicing together recordings Waters had made of clinking coins, a ringing cash register, tearing paper, a clicking counting machine and other items to construct a seven-beat effects loop.

[18] It was later adapted to four tracks in order to create a "walk around the room" effect in the quadraphonic mix of The Dark Side of the Moon.

[17] As recorded by the band, the song has a "bluesy, transatlantic feel", unlike Waters' original demo version, which he later described as "prissy and very English".

As the song progressed, the band gradually sped up, yet later, between the first and second verses, Parsons briefly raised up the volume of the effects loop, and just by coincidence, it turned out to fit the beat.

After the backing track was completed, Nick Mason overdubbed some drums, and Wright recorded a new electric piano part on 8 June.

[20] According to mix supervisor Chris Thomas, Gilmour wanted to record guitar tracks live, and not add effects later.

[20] Gilmour sang the lead vocal, which was also double tracked, including scat singing in response to some improvised guitar lines during the outro.

Roger Waters asked people who were present in the studio at the time random questions, and recorded their responses to add to the song.

That geezer was cruising for a bruising" and roadie Chris Adamson: "So after, I was yelling and screaming and telling him why it wasn't coming up on fader eleven.

[25][11] A special promotional single was released for radio stations containing a stereo and mono mix on, with the word "bullshit" intended to be censored.

[26] With the help of co-producer James Guthrie, David Gilmour re-recorded the song, providing the vocals and playing all the instruments except saxophone, where Parry reprised his role.

This release was intended to allow the listener to compare the same material as heard in 4 different quadraphonic encoding formats: SQ, QS Regular Matrix, CD-4 and UD-4.

[22] The first performance was at The Dome, Brighton on 20 January 1972 as part of the "Dark Side of the Moon" suite, but this was abandoned after a few bars due to problems with the taped sound effects.

[citation needed] When this song was performed in Montreal on 6 July 1977, a disruptive fan angered Waters by throwing a beer bottle onto the stage.

[32] Pink Floyd performed the song during the tours supporting A Momentary Lapse of Reason, and The Division Bell, after Waters had left the group.

[citation needed] "Money" was performed during Pink Floyd's reunion show, for which Waters rejoined the band (after more than two decades), at the Live 8 concert in London in 2005, along with "Breathe" (including the reprise that follows "Time"), "Wish You Were Here" and "Comfortably Numb".

[40] This song avoids more typical Pink Floyd themes such as paranoia, insanity, the meaning of life, and the passage of time.

[41] The commercial success of "Money" as a single changed Pink Floyd's career, moving them from a cult band to major stars.

This caused problems at gigs, as audiences wanted to hear the song and not lengthy instrumental passages that had been a key part of concerts to that point.