Almost 60 years ago, in 1962, a 21-year old Bob Dylan signed his first deal with a music company and he was paid $100 for it. From that era to now, he has come a long way that’s astonishing.
He became the first-ever singer to win a Pulitzer (2008) and a Nobel Prize in literature (2016) – that’s how brilliant his songwriting has been. And now he just sold his song catalog to Universal Music for a whopping $300 million.
This is the highest price ever paid to any musician ever
Bob Dylan wrote 600 songs including timeless classics such as “The Times They Are a-Changin'” and “Blowin’ In The Wind”, “Mr Tambourine Man”, and the song which is often hailed as the greatest song ever written – “Like A Rolling Stone.” He has sold 125 million records all over the world, and the company is going to claim it all from his earliest releases to the latest ones.
According to the New York Times, the amount of $300 million is the highest price ever paid to a musician or group for song rights.
How is the company going to make money off his songs?
The company plans to use the songs in commercials and movies, and earn via ad revenue on YouTube and Spotify streaming. They will also be able to sell CDs and digital formats of the songs. One unfortunate thing is that the company will charge any musician or group who wants to cover the songs of Bob Dylan.
This means that Universal Music also holds the right to Jimi Hendrix’s cover of “All Along The Watchtower” and Guns N’ Roses cover of “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door.”
Bob Dylan has been a leftist hero, is he being sold out now?
Bob Dylan has always been the trailblazer who wrote many anthems of anti-establishment, anti-war, and civil rights movements. He led the countercultural movement in the 1960s and inspired bands like The Beatles, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen to follow in his footsteps.
While his songs have inspired billions of people all over the world, it’s hard not to argue and wonder if Bob Dylan has sold out to the establishment by making this deal and selling his songs.
We can argue but this deal still means that his songs will be reaching a wider audience through films and TV shows and commercials, and even the people who haven’t heard of him will become familiar with his ideas. So there’s some silver lining.
When he won the Nobel Prize..
When he was awarded Nobel Prize in literature, he went off the radar and nobody could find him. He even skipped his meeting with Barack Obama who was very eager to meet Dylan.
The Nobel committee was able to find him only after a year, and eventually, he accepted his Nobel Prize.
Born Robert Allen Zimmerman in Duluth, Minnesota, Dylan grew up in the area’s Jewish community. In an interview later, he talked about why he decided to change his name.
“I mean, it wouldn’t’ve worked if I’d changed the name to Bob Levy. Or Bob Neuwirth. Or Bob Doughnut,” Dylan said.
Featured Image Courtesy: Rolling Stone