The Briefing Room
General Category => General Discussion => Music Threads => Topic started by: corbe on December 07, 2020, 10:53:33 pm
-
Universal paid a lot of money for Bob Dylan's song catalog. What's in it for them?
Daniel Arkin and Diana Dasrath 3 hrs ago
(https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB1bIiJK.img?h=890&w=1119&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=1028&y=551)
In almost 60 years, Bob Dylan has created a staggering body of work: wistful folk ballads, earnest anti-war anthems, fiery rock tracks, laid-back country tunes and even some gospel.
The artistic worth of his catalog — newly acquired by Universal Music Group in a blockbuster deal — is hard to overstate.
But the value of Dylan's songwriting oeuvre is not just a matter of his contributions to culture, according to music industry experts. Universal, a unit of the French media conglomerate Vivendi, stands to reap enormous rewards after it takes control of both the income Dylan receives as a songwriter, as well as more than 600 song copyrights.
Universal will collect royalties any time Dylan's music — from era-defining favorites like "Blowin' in the Wind" to this year's epic John F. Kennedy tribute "Murder Most Foul" — is sold, streamed, broadcast or featured in other media, such as a TV series.
"If you hear a song in a television commercial or you stream it on Spotify or you hear it in a movie, the publisher of that work is getting paid, no matter who is performing it," said Jeff Slate, a songwriter and music journalist who has written for The New Yorker, Esquire and other publications.
<..snip..>
https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/universal-paid-a-lot-of-money-for-bob-dylan-s-song-catalog-what-s-in-it-for-them/ar-BB1bI83F?ocid=msedgntp (https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/universal-paid-a-lot-of-money-for-bob-dylan-s-song-catalog-what-s-in-it-for-them/ar-BB1bI83F?ocid=msedgntp)
-
Somehow, I don't think that when the founders allowed creators to claim a copyright "for a limited time," it was ever intended to turn such rights into a saleable property.
-
Seems like the audience for this 'catalog' is soon to be gone.
-
rusty opined:
"Seems like the audience for this 'catalog' is soon to be gone."
If that's true, it could be a very shrewd business move for Mr. Dylan...
"All across the telegraph
His name it did resound
But no charge held against him
Could they prove
And there was no man around
Who could track or chain him down
He was never known
To make a foolish move"