■ Bob Dylan has sold his entire publishing catalogue in a deal likely worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Singer-songwriter to cash in on life’s work with sale to Universal
Bob Dylan is tangled up in green.
The 79-year old legendary pioneer of modern rock music, and the only songwriter to win a Nobel Prize for Literature, has sold his entire publishing catalogue — more than 600 copyrights spanning 60 years — to Universal Music Publishing Group, according to the company.
While terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, it is likely worth hundreds of millions of dollars — rivalled in value and influence only by the Beatles. The move helps Mr. Dylan set up his musical legacy and cash in on his life’s work.
Over the past five years, owning and selling the rights to music has become more valuable, as revenue from music streaming has grown. Songwriter catalogues have been commanding sale prices that amount to 10 to 18 times their annual royalties, compared with eight to 13 times in earlier years, according to people involved in the deals. Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks last month closed a deal to sell a majority stake in her publishing catalogue, valuing it at $100 million, according to people familiar with the matter.
“By bringing to UMG the vast and brilliant Dylan songwriting catalogue, in an instant, we have forever transformed the legacy of this company,” said Universal Chief Executive Lucian Grainge in an email to employees Monday. Universal Music Group is owned by Vivendi SA.
For Mr. Dylan, the deal means he will no longer financially benefit from the use of his publishing catalogue going forward.
In addition to myriad film and television placements, Mr. Dylan’s music has been featured prominently in commercial venues such as Super Bowl advertisements, including last year’s Budweiser spot, and a Victoria’s Secret TV ad in 2004.
His enduring hits include “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” “Like A Rolling Stone,” “Lay, Lady, Lay,” “Forever Young,” “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door,” “Tangled Up In Blue,” “Gotta Serve Somebody,” “Make You Feel My Love,” and “Things Have Changed.”
His songs have been recorded more than 6,000 times, including by Jimi Hendrix, Guns N’ Roses, Stevie Wonder, Adele and Garth Brooks.
Since breaking into New York’s Greenwich Village folk scene in the early 1960s and then transforming the genre by introducing electric guitar, Mr. Dylan has sold more than 125 million records globally.
Until the coronavirus pandemic wiped out large gatherings, he was regularly touring around the world, performing almost 100 shows annually. He was the first songwriter to be awarded the Nobel Prize in 2016 “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.”