Classic Rock
Bob Dylan sold his entire songwriting catalog to Universal Music
Bob Dylan, one of the best songwriters and musicians of all time sold his entire songwriting catalog to Universal Music of more than 600 songs for an estimated price of around $300 million. The list includes more than 60 years of his compositions. Such as “Like a Rolling Stone,” “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “The Times They Are A-Changin’.”
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Announcing the deal, UMG boss Sir Lucian Grainge said it was with “enormous pride” that they welcomed Bob Dylan to the family:
“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. 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.”
He added that it was “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.”
Jody Gerson, the chief executive of Universal’s publishing division, chimed in:
“To represent the body of work of one of the greatest songwriters of all time – whose cultural importance can’t be overstated – is both a privilege and a responsibility.”
From now on, Universal Music will receive all future income for Dylan’s vast catalogue of songs. They’ll also get to decide which films or TV commercials can use Dylan’s songs in the future.
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan has 79 years old and was born at St. Mary’s Hospital in Duluth, Minnesota, on May 24, 1941. He grew up in Hibbing, Minnesota, on the Mesabi Iron Range west of Lake Superior. And he was the grandson of Russian Jewish immigrants. At the age of ten Dylan wrote his first poems and, as a teenager, taught himself piano and guitar.
He started singing in rock groups, imitating Little Richard and Buddy Holly. But when he went to the University of Minnesota in 1959, he turned to folk music, impressed by the musical work of the legendary folk singer Woody Guthrie, whom he visited in New York in 1961.
