Bob Dylan Sells His Recorded Music Catalog To Sony
Bob Dylan has sold his catalog of recorded music to Sony Music Entertainment in a deal that BIllboard estimates is worth about $200 million. That includes all of his studio albums, all the entries in his Bootleg Series, and various singles and rarities. A press release also states that the deal encompasses “the rights to multiple future releases.”
Dylan has a long history with Sony Music Entertainment, which owns Columbia Records, the label he signed to in October 1961 and has been with ever since. “Columbia Records and Rob Stringer have been nothing but good to me for many, many years and a whole lot of records,” Dylan said in a statement. “I’m glad that all my recordings can stay where they belong.”
Stringer, the Chairman of Sony Music Group, added: “Columbia Records has had a special relationship with Bob Dylan from the beginning of his career and we are tremendously proud and excited to be continuing to grow and evolve our ongoing 60-year partnership.”
This deal with Sony Music Entertainment is separate from the one that Dylan made in 2020 with Universal Music Publishing Group in which he sold the publishing rights to his catalog for an estimated $400 million. SME now owns Dylan’s master recordings, which make revenue via streaming and sales, while UMPG owns his publishing rights, which generally earns money through film and television syncs and live performances.
Earlier today, Dylan announced spring 2022 tour dates.