Image Credit: Brett Jordan 

In what could be the biggest music publishing deal ever, legendary musician Bob Dylan has sold the rights to all his songs to Universal Music.

Apparently worth over $300 million, the sale of Bob Dylan’s music in December 2020 was described as the most important publishing deal in decades. The 79-year-old’s catalogue includes 600 songs released over a period of 60 years.

Universal Music Group will collect all future income from the tracks. The songs, which include “Mr. Tambourine Man” and “Blowin’ in the Wind,” were previously represented by Sony/ATV.

Sir Lucian Grainge, CEO and Chairman of Universal Music Group, said: “As someone who began his career in music publishing, it is with enormous pride that today we welcome Bob Dylan to the UMG 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. 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.”

The deal doesn’t cover any songs Dylan might release from now on. In 2020 Dylan’s “Murder Most Foul,” a 17-minute ballad telling the story of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, earned him his first-ever US number one.

UPDATE: In December 2021 Bruce Springsteen sold his song catalogue to Sony Music for a reported $500 million, beating Bob Dylan’s $300 million sale.

Music catalogue sales are still booming, a safe investment during the otherwise unstable market during the Covid-19 pandemic and a safe bet too for ageing musicians who decide they won’t be touring over the next decades and want to secure income and a legacy through sync licensing.

Fleetwood Mac members Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie both sold their rights to the Hipgnosis Songs Fund, and Red Hot Chilli Peppers earned $140 million for the sale of their catalogue. Countless other artists have followed suit.