The Dylan deal left “Blood on the Tracks.”
When Bob Dylan sold off his hit catalog this week to Universal Music Publishing, it was a big miss for Sony, home of Dylan’s longtime label, Columbia, insiders told Page Six.
Sources exclusively told us that Sony was left in the dark over the blockbuster catalog sale — even though it releases Dylan’s music, and still controls his catalog internationally via its Sony/ATV publishing arm.
Dylan’s deal with Universal is thought to be the biggest of its kind, with reports estimating its value at up to $300 million.
A source told Page Six, “Sony had international publishing on Dylan for 20 years and they didn’t even know [the catalog] was up for sale.” The industry vet added: “And even with having his masters at Sony, he never even offered it to them.”
Sony/ATV has said that its international publishing deal with Dylan still will run for “several years.”
But music insiders also told Page Six that Dylan taking his catalog to Universal may be particularly painful for Sony, since Taylor Swift exited Sony/ATV earlier this year to sign a publishing deal with Universal after she’d been with Sony/ATV since she was 14. Unlike the Dylan sale, Swift’s move away from Sony/ATV had been expected, since she’d already signed a global contract with Universal in 2018.
Some insiders added that Dylan’s new Universal deal was a reflection that Sony/ATV brass didn’t make enough of an effort to cement a strong relationship with the folk-rock icon. But others insisted that wasn’t the case, and that Dylan has close ties to Sony across many divisions. Columbia just released Dylan’s most recent album, “Rough and Rowdy Ways,” in June.
Dylan’s catalog was previously controlled by the Bob Dylan Music Company, and the sale to Universal included over 600 copyrights spanning 60 years, and songs such as “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “The Times They Are A-Changin,'” “Like A Rolling Stone,” “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” and “Tangled Up in Blue.” Universal will now make money whenever a Dylan tune is streamed, played on radio, or used in an ad, film or TV show.
Reps for Dylan and Sony did not comment.