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Thread: Bob Dylan Tangled Up In Green

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    Forum Member OldStrummer's Avatar
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    Bob Dylan Tangled Up In Green

    Bob Dylan has sold his entire catalog to Universal Music Publishing. Multiple news sources are reporting. This, from MarketWatch:

    Bob Dylan is tangled up in green.

    The 79-year old legendary pioneer of modern rock music, and the only songwriter to win a Nobel Prize for Literature, has sold his entire publishing catalog--more than 600 copyrights spanning 60 years--to Universal Music Publishing Group, according to the company.

    While terms of the deal weren't disclosed, it is likely worth hundreds of millions of dollars--rivaled in value and influence only by the Beatles. The move helps Mr. Dylan set up his musical legacy and cash in on his life's work.

    Over the past five years, owning and selling the rights to music has become more valuable, as revenue from music streaming has grown. Songwriter catalogs have been commanding sale prices that amount to 10 to 18 times their annual royalties, compared with eight to 13 times in earlier years, according to people involved in the deals. Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks last month closed a deal to sell a majority stake in her publishing catalog, valuing it at $100 million, according to people familiar with the matter.

    "By bringing to UMG the vast and brilliant Dylan songwriting catalog, in an instant, we have forever transformed the legacy of this company," said Universal Chief Executive Lucian Grainge in an email to employees Monday. Universal Music Group is owned by Vivendi SA.

    For Mr. Dylan, the deal means he will no longer financially benefit from the use of his publishing catalog going forward. In addition to myriad film and television placements, Mr. Dylan's music has been featured prominently in commercial venues such as Super Bowl advertisements, including last year's Budweiser spot, and a Victoria's Secret TV ad in 2004.

    His enduring hits include "Blowin' in the Wind," "The Times They Are A-Changin'," "Like A Rolling Stone," "Lay, Lady, Lay," "Forever Young," "Knockin' On Heaven's Door," "Tangled Up In Blue," "Gotta Serve Somebody, " "Make You Feel My Love," and "Things Have Changed."

    His songs have been recorded more than 6,000 times, including by Jimi Hendrix, Guns N' Roses, Stevie Wonder, Adele and Garth Brooks.

    Since breaking into New York's Greenwich Village folk scene in the early 1960s and then transforming the genre by introducing electric guitar, Mr. Dylan has sold more than 125 million records globally.

    Until the coronavirus pandemic wiped out large gatherings, he was regularly touring around the world, performing almost 100 shows annually. He was the first songwriter to be awarded the Nobel Prize in 2016 "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition."
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    Forum Member S. Cane's Avatar
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    Re: Bob Dylan Tangled Up In Green

    Interestingly enough, I was talking to Willie about Bob Dylan this morning.

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    Forum Member dirtdog's Avatar
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    Re: Bob Dylan Tangled Up In Green

    I’m not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, this is the ultimate in selling out. On the other hand, he’s free to do with his art as he feels. God knows what’s in store for the music industry as we move forward from 2020. Probably the smartest move.

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    Forum Member OldStrummer's Avatar
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    Re: Bob Dylan Tangled Up In Green

    Dylan is 79 years old. It appears he's making this move to cement his legacy, and to provide a future for those he cares for.

    Don't forget: Paul McCartney sold the Beatles catalog to Michael Jackson.
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    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: Bob Dylan Tangled Up In Green

    No, McCartney didn't sell The Beatles catalogue to MJ. He told MJ that the controlling interest was for sale and that he was going to buy it. MJ went behind his back and bought it. McCartney is still sour about it.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

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    Forum Member OldStrummer's Avatar
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    Re: Bob Dylan Tangled Up In Green

    Quote Originally Posted by ch willie View Post
    No, McCartney didn't sell The Beatles catalogue to MJ. He told MJ that the controlling interest was for sale and that he was going to buy it. MJ went behind his back and bought it. McCartney is still sour about it.
    You are correct; I am in error. My overall point was that this isn't the first time an entire artist's catalog has been sold.
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    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: Bob Dylan Tangled Up In Green

    Quote Originally Posted by OldStrummer View Post
    You are correct; I am in error. My overall point was that this isn't the first time an entire artist's catalog has been sold.
    Well, no biggie about the Macca facts--I'm a freak and know this stuff.

    I've thought about this since I read the article this morning. My first reaction was a painful wince. How could anyone sell off their sacred art? I actually feel pained that MJ got The Northern Songs published Beatles songs. (Dick James fucked them good).

    In that case, it was against the artists' wishes. In the case of Dylan and others it's voluntary.

    How different is it, though, from Picasso selling his art? Or Gaugin or Rembrandt? Most artists made their living that way, some of them made fortunes--but at the cost of selling pieces, never seeing many of them again.

    Financially, Dylan is filthy rich. We're so used to hearing about big $ deals, that his $300 million for his song might not raise and eyebrow. But he can keep his kids and grandkids rich and their kids--especialy if the family makes their dough off of merchandise and films, etc.

    So why sell them? In his financial position, why not? Just one more bit of business he and his accountants and lawyers don't have to deal with.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

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    Forum Member Offshore Angler's Avatar
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    Re: Bob Dylan Tangled Up In Green

    Quote Originally Posted by ch willie View Post
    Well, no biggie about the Macca facts--I'm a freak and know this stuff.

    I've thought about this since I read the article this morning. My first reaction was a painful wince. How could anyone sell off their sacred art? I actually feel pained that MJ got The Northern Songs published Beatles songs. (Dick James fucked them good).

    In that case, it was against the artists' wishes. In the case of Dylan and others it's voluntary.

    How different is it, though, from Picasso selling his art? Or Gaugin or Rembrandt? Most artists made their living that way, some of them made fortunes--but at the cost of selling pieces, never seeing many of them again.

    Financially, Dylan is filthy rich. We're so used to hearing about big $ deals, that his $300 million for his song might not raise and eyebrow. But he can keep his kids and grandkids rich and their kids--especialy if the family makes their dough off of merchandise and films, etc.

    So why sell them? In his financial position, why not? Just one more bit of business he and his accountants and lawyers don't have to deal with.
    Either that or at some point they probably become excess baggage that cost almost as much to maintain. Dylan has never been very sentimental about his work. For lots of artists it's the creation of the art that floats their boat, not owning it.

    Chuck
    "No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim

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    Forum Member S. Cane's Avatar
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    Re: Bob Dylan Tangled Up In Green


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    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: Bob Dylan Tangled Up In Green

    yeah, I'd read that article. David Crosby my absolute fave of CSNY, and I love his last few albums. I know artists are getting scalped with streaming, but I think he's full of shit that he was forced to sell--unless he wanted to bread for another sprawling mansion in some place like the French Riviera. Or maybe his kids all want golden ass implants.

    Something does have to happen with streaming. I love it, and I'd gladly pay $20 more a month for the service if they suddenly lifted the price.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

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    Re: Bob Dylan Tangled Up In Green

    Quote Originally Posted by ch willie View Post
    yeah, I'd read that article. David Crosby my absolute fave of CSNY, and I love his last few albums. I know artists are getting scalped with streaming, but I think he's full of shit that he was forced to sell--unless he wanted to bread for another sprawling mansion in some place like the French Riviera. Or maybe his kids all want golden ass implants.

    Something does have to happen with streaming. I love it, and I'd gladly pay $20 more a month for the service if they suddenly lifted the price.
    David did not make great decisions in his life and does not have a ton of money curled up in a Swiss Bank Account. His ups and downs have been well documented. He does not have a ton of money and has long bemoaned the loss of income due to streaming. He has been on the road constantly for the last 5 years making a living and not keeping a secret how much of that was based on need - not making music (although he is writing some really good stuff and is performing like a twenty-year-old). I met him at a meet and greet a couple years ago and he talked about how touring was his way of making a living. Now that has pretty much dried up due to COVID. If selling the rights is the way to finally earn some decent money and they are in the twilight of their years, I say "cool"....

    On the other hand, I watched John Fogerty spend most of his adult life trying to wrest control of the rights to his music back from the record companies and felt really bad for him. The system has often been stacked agaisnt the artist and still is. The most money some of these guys make is in films and commercials.
    "We catched fish and talked, and we took a swim now and then to keep off sleepiness." Mark Twain

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    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: Bob Dylan Tangled Up In Green

    Hey, GJ--thanks for setting me right on David Crosby. I do really like him, and I guess I thought he'd wrecked himself and relationships more than bank account. He's my favorite of CSNY and The Byrds; just my tastes, but I don't like The Byrds after he left. I hate it that he's getting old and we'll only get a few more albums from him. Same with McCartney and Clapton. Well, I'm sorry he's in that financial shape. I hope things do. get better for him and for all struggling musicians, famous or not.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

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    Forum Member OldStrummer's Avatar
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    Re: Bob Dylan Tangled Up In Green

    I too, love David Crosby's music. However, I saw him in concert a couple of years ago, and nearly walked out when he started becoming political. I knew he had a tendency to be open about his beliefs, but as I've said time and again, I don't pay politicians to hear them play guitar, and I don't pay musicians to hear their politics. He struck me as an angry, bitter type, and while I still love his music, won't bother to see him in concert again.

    Now returning you to the thread, already in progress...
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