Bob Dylan cashes in

Supposedly went for north of $300 million.



Rolling Stone notes that UMPG does not get recorded rights — the direct opposite of Big Machine selling off Taylor Swift’s catalog — or the rights to future Dylan songs:

The owner of publishing rights typically controls whether or not songs are cleared for inclusion in TV, film, and ads; so, in Swift’s case, that’s Swift, and in Dylan’s case, it’s now UMPG. Which means…

Dylan’s songs could start appearing in more movies, TV shows, and commercials.
Since Dylan has been more than willing to exploit his catalog this way in the past — memorably licensing his music to ads for Apple, Victoria’s Secret, Cadillac, Pepsi and more — this seems unlikely to lead to a major shift in how often you hear his music in contexts like those. There could be more to come, though; if you find yourself wondering why “Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands” is soundtracking a Peloton ad next year, you’ll know who to blame.

Dylan’s recorded output will stay the same.
This deal does not cover the master rights to Dylan’s recordings — that is, the rights and royalties associated with any of the albums and songs he’s released as a performer — so there’s no more likelihood of Blonde on Blonde: The EDM Remixes or Freewheelin’ 2 than there was last week. This also means that there should be no change to future installments of Dylan’s ongoing Bootleg Series of unreleased vault recordings, which continue to be controlled by Dylan, his management, and his record company.

Look for more catalog sales from major artists to come.
Dylan isn’t the only one with this idea: In 2020, a flurry of major artists are striking huge deals to sell their catalogs to investors and music companies. Stevie Nicks just did the same, as have Jack Antonoff, Tom DeLonge, Richie Sambora, Imagine Dragons, and dozens of other acts. That’s because these back-catalogs, in the evergreen era of streaming, have the potential to fetch their copyright owners a ton of money in the future. So artists and songwriters benefit by getting massive lump-sum payouts right now, in exchange for giving their revenue streams to new owners, who benefit by being able to scoop up whatever lucrative opportunities or streaming revivals are possible in the future.​

 

I heard David Crosby bitching about this on NPR today. Fuck David Crosby. Fat fucker spent his entire career reaping the rewards of his band members’ talent.

 

I really don't see where UPMG comes close to recouping their investment; tt's not like Dylan has a catalog full of sing-along tunes that are ready for commercials.

 

The answer is blowing in the windfall.

 

Good for Bob

 

He’s been performing for 60 years. Let him cash out.

I agree with what Charlie Pierce posted on Twitter, that maybe there’s a health issue out there that we don’t know about.

 

Health issue or not, he's pushing 80. If he wants to cash out and control where the money goes (and possibly prevent one of those awful wrangles over his estate), that's his right.

I suspect that there will be quite a few Universal films using his songs soon.

 

Now he can get a proper lap dance from that stripper.

 

I’m going to delete my post until I’ve rechecked my math.

Still, streaming royalties are a ridiculous pittance and a scam. Buy the full album instead.

 

WSJ looks at the tax advantages of Dylan cashing in now.



And as noted above, he’s 80. This probably cleans up estate planning. It may also fund a few dozen Wallflowers albums.

 

God bless Jason Isbell.