Bob Dylan Sells Songwriting Catalog to Universal Music Publishing

Bob Dylan has sold the music publishing rights of his entire catalog to Universal Music Publishing in a landmark deal of reportedly more than $300 million, the New York Times reports. Dylan’s catalog includes over 600 songs, spanning 60 years. “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,” Lucian Grainge, Chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group, said in a statement. “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.”

In addition to Dylan’s original work ranging from his earliest compositions through this year’s Rough and Rowdy Ways, the deal also includes “The Weight,” the 1968 hit by the Band, written by Robbie Robertson, for which Dylan owns the copyright. The Universal deal accounts for Dylan’s entire catalog but does not include any songs he may write in the future.

Read about Bob Dylan’s “Murder Most Foul” on Pitchfork’s list “The 100 Best Songs of 2020.”