‘Is your money that good?’ Bob Dylan sells back catalogue for estimated $300m

Bob Dylan's catalogue is one of the biggest prizes in the music industry

Credit: Los Angeles Times /Robert Gauthier 

It is one of the music world’s greatest jewels — a catalogue of songs that reshaped folk, rock and pop music in a body of work loved by millions.

But Bob Dylan has now decided to part with his trove of 600 songs, selling his entire back catalogue to Universal Music in what is thought to be one of the biggest music publishing deals in history.

The agreement covers the copyrights to some of the songwriters’ most cherished tracks, including "Blowin’ In The Wind," "The Times They Are a-Changin’," and "Like a Rolling Stone" as well as this year’s acclaimed "Murder Most Foul". The deal does not include any songs Dylan writes in the future.

While the terms of the sale were not disclosed, the enormous popularity of the 79-year-old’s work means it is thought to be one of the most lucrative in the music industry, with the New York Times reporting that it was worth more than $300m (£225m).

Universal, the world’s largest music label, said the "cultural importance" of Dylan’s work could not be overstated.

Joan Baez and Bob Dylan performing during a civil rights rally in Washington DC, 1963

Credit: National Archives 

"It’s no secret that the art of songwriting is the fundamental key to all great music, nor is it a secret that Bob is one of the very greatest practitioners of that art," said Sir Lucian Grainge, chairman and chief executive of Universal Music Group

"Brilliant and moving, inspiring and beautiful, insightful and provocative, his songs are timeless — whether they were written more than half a century ago or yesterday.

"It is no exaggeration to say that his vast body of work has captured the love and admiration of billions of people all around the world.

"I have no doubt that decades, even centuries from now, the words and music of Bob Dylan will continue to be sung and played- and cherished -everywhere."

It is understood that Dylan’s catalogue was acquired from the artist himself. It is unclear what prompted the singer-songwriter to sell his vast collection now, but industry experts suggest this year has seen the market for song catalogues grow ever more lucrative.

Last week, Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks sold a majority stake in her songwriting catalogue for a sum estimated between $80 and $100 million to the music publisher Primary Wave. In November, the publishing rights to Taylor Swift’s first six albums were sold to private equity group Shamrock for more than $300m.

"There’s been a huge movement of treating rights and compositions as an investable asset in the same way that gold currency is an asset. There’s a fairly predictable return and growth on good song catalogues," said Jules O’Riordan, a partner at music law firm Sound Advice.

"Most of the key publishing players and businesses have emerged in the past 18 months, buying the rights to songs because they’ve got the guaranteed return." he said, adding that the rise of streaming services had helped the market. 

Dylan's catalogue sale is thought to be one of the biggest in history

The British company Hipgnosis Songs Fund, which gives investors the chance to make money from royalties generated by songs, also recently disclosed that it had spent about $670 million from March to September acquiring song rights.

US tax experts have suggested there could also be a financial advantage for both Dylan and Universal to have closed the deal before the inauguration of Joe Biden, the US president-elect.

Mr Biden, a Democrat, has vowed to increase income tax on the wealthiest Americans and corporations as well as increasing capital gains tax.

"If Biden’s proposals came into effect, that could basically almost double the potential tax for a songwriter on the sale of their work from a present top rate of 20 per cent to a potential top tax rate of 39.6 per cent," explained Mark Luscombe, an analyst at accounting firm Wolters Kluwer.

Mr Luscombe suggested Dylan’s sale of his back catalogue could also make it easier for him to make philanthropic donations or to conduct estate planning for his children.

"If he wants to give to charity, it’s probably easier to do that through cash rather than transferring interests in his songs. It’s also probably easier to set up a trust for his kids if it’s divested from interests in songs."