[Source: BBC]
Bob Dylan has sold the master recordings to his entire back catalogue to Sony Music, in the industry’s latest blockbuster music acquisition.
The deal, completed last July, includes everything from classic 1960s albums like Blonde On Blonde, up to his latest release, 2020’s Rough And Rowdy Ways.
Billboard magazine says the catalogue is worth about $200m (£149m), based on annual revenues of roughly $16m (£12m).
Dylan previously sold his publishing to Universal Music for a reported $400m.
That deal covered the rights to Dylan’s lyrics and compositions, which Sony had previously administered outside the US.
But the label has fought to retain the rights to Dylan’s recordings, including 39 studio albums, 16 “bootleg” compilations of outtakes, and unreleased material which could be compiled and issued in the future.
The 80-year-old has also extended his recording contract with Sony’s Columbia Records imprint, promising “multiple future new releases”, the label said in a press release.
One of rock’s most influential and ground-breaking artists, Dylan’s body of work made him the first songwriter to be awarded the Nobel prize in literature in 2016, and he has sold more than 125m records worldwide.
Born Robert Zimmerman in Minnesota, the star emerged from New York City’s Greenwich Village folk scene in the early 1960s, with a blend of folk music, protest songs and psychedelic poetry that saw him become a counter-cultural icon around the world.
His self-titled debut album was released by Columbia in 1962, and his work went on to influence major artists including David Bowie and The Beatles.
