Universal Music has struck a deal to buy the rights to Bob Dylan’s entire catalogue of 600 songs, from Blowin’ in the Wind to Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, in the biggest music publishing deal in decades.
Dylan, whose body of work over six decades made him the first songwriter to be awarded the Nobel prize in literature, in 2016, has sold more than 125 million records worldwide. While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, the volume and popularity of his work is likely to mean it is the most lucrative to be struck at least this century, worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
“It is no exaggeration to say that his vast body of work has captured the love and admiration of billions of people all around the world,” Lucian Grainge, Chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group, said in the press release announcing the deal.
“I have no doubt that decades, even centuries from now, the words and music of Bob Dylan will continue to be sung and played—and cherished—everywhere,” Grainge added.