GOING FOR A SONG?
Marion McMullen looks at some memorable music deals
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BOB DYLAN’S entire back catalogue has been acquired by Universal Music Group in a deal reported to be worth more than £225 million. It covers the copyrights to some 600 of the US musician’s tracks spanning his six-decade career, including anthems like Blowin’ In The Wind and The Times They Are A-Changin. The 79-year-old has sold more than 125 million records and his songs have been recorded more than 6,000 times by other performers.
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MICHAEL JACKSON outbid Sir Paul McCartney in 1985 to win ownership of the £350 million publishing rights to the whole Lennon-McCartney songbook. It led to a rift between the former friends, right, who collaborated on early 80s hits The Girl is Mine and Say, Say, Say.
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MICHAEL JACKSON also became the co-owner of Eminem’s back catalogue in 2007 when his partnership company Sony/ ATV publishing acquired company Famous Music for $370 million. The deal included tracks like The Real Slim Shady and Without Me.
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THE Beatles, above, were signed by manager Brian Epstein in 1962. The contract said he was entitled to 10% of their earnings, rising to 15% if they earned more than £120 a week.
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ELVIS PRESLEY was paid $40,000 plus a $5,000 bonus for his first contract with RCA Records in 1955. The deal included his five Sun Records singles and unreleased Sun material.
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THE Sex Pistols were signed to A&M records for just six days in March 1977 before being dropped and the band was photographed signing the contract outside Buckingham Palace, pictured. They released God Save The Queen a few months later after signing a new deal with Virgin.
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BOY Band One Direction, below, signed a £1 million record deal with Simon Cowell’s Syco Music in 2010 after they came third on The
X Factor. They went on to sign a new deal with the company a few years later worth an
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SUPERSTAR Adele signed a new record deal with Sony in 2016 reportedly worth £90 million. The Someone Like You singer recently shed an incredible seven stone, but has reportedly turned down diet ad
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ROBBIE WILLIAMS, below landed an £80 million contract with EMI in 2002 which saw him produce four albums. He said he signed his first record contract with Take That in St Paul’s Cathedral.
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SINGER-songwriter Ed Sheeran was 19 when he chose to sign his new contract with Atlantic back home in Framlingham so that his mum, dad and brother could join him for a celebratory pint in his favourite local pub. The Sunday Times Rich List put the Shape of You singer’s net worth this year at more