Bob Dylan lands a sweet exchange with Sony Music: his entire recorded music catalog and recording rights for an over $200 million profit. According to Consequence Sound, the deal includes all Bob Dylan recordings—39 studio albums, 16 Bootleg Series compilations, and numerous singles and rarities—and even unreleased material for the future.
Previously, Dylan sold his catalog’s publishing rights to Universal Music in a deal estimated to be worth over $300 million. The difference here, according to Consequence Sound, is that recording rights pertain to the individual master recordings of songs, while publishing rights refer to the words and music that make up the music composition. In concept, publishing rights are more valuable.
Dylan released every single one of his albums through Columbia Records, which Sony purchased in 1988. In a statement, Dylan said, “Columbia Records and [Sony Music Group Chairman] Rob Stringer have been nothing but good to me for many, many years and a whole lot of records. I’m glad that all my recordings can stay where they belong.”
Even with a whopping $500 million in the bank, Dylan has no plans of slowing down. He’s announced a new leg of his “Never Ending Tour” for Spring 2022, according to mxdwn. Tickets will be available to purchase through Ticketmaster.