Changing Of The Guard: Bob Dylan Sells Music Library To Universal

Universal Music Group has bought Bob Dylan's music catalog, which includes more than 600 songs from a nearly six-decade-long career.

What Happened: Universal Music Group's music publishing arm acquired Bob Dylan's catalog of songs spanning his more than six-decade-long career, Universal said in a press release.

Dylan is "one of our culture's most influential and groundbreaking artists" and has sold more than 125 million records throughout his career, the entertainment company said. 

Universal Music Group is a subsidiary of Vivendi VIVEF and is among the big three music record labels, along with Sony's SNE Sony Music and AT&T's T Warner Music Group.

Dylan won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016 for "having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition."

Dylan continued to traverse the globe with his "Never Ending Tour" until the coronavirus pandemic struck, and a concert on April 19, 2019 in Austria marked his 3,000th performance since 1988. 

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Why It's Important: Universal's press release didn't include any financial details of the transaction.

"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," Sir Lucian Grainge, chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group, said in the press release.

"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."

What's Next: Universal said it will work with Dylan and his team to make sure his "artistry continues to reach and inspire generations of fans, recording artists and songwriters around the world," said Jody Gerson, UMPG chairman and CEO. 

Photo by Raph_PH via Wikimedia.