In what could possibly be the largest deal ever of it’s kind Bob Dylan has sold his entire music catalog to Universal Music Publishing Group. The catalog covers 60 years of music and over 600 songs. The New York Times has estimated that Bob Dylan’s music could be worth over $300 million but Universal Music Publishing Group did not release what they actually paid for the catalog. 

Bob Dylan has been extremely protective of his music catalog in the past so this signifies a change in attitude to the publishing of his music. 

CEO of Universal Music Group, Sir Lucian Grainge, “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. Sir Lucian Grainge then said, “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.”

CEO of Universal Music Publishing Group, Jody Gerson, said of the deal, “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.”

Last week Stevie Nicks sold a majority stake in her songwriting catalog that was valued around $100 million. In November, Hipgnosis Songs Fund Ltd. purchased the catalogs of multiple artists including 50 Cent and Lindsey Buckingham for $323 million. In the past month Scooter Braun sold the rights to Taylor Swift’s first 6 albums to Shamrock Holdings for $323 million. The deal (and the original deal that saw Scooter purchase the music) has angered Taylor and even prompted her to re-record her early albums so that she can have ownership of the new recordings.