Sixty years since his debut album, Bob Dylan remains as relevant as ever. In 2020, months after releasing his 39th studio album, Rough and Rowdy Ways, Dylan sold his songbook for a reported $500 million, setting a new industry standard for the acquisition of artists’ song catalogs. And now Dylan’s leading the charge on a unique physical music format. The …
Leonard Cohen Estate Sells Song Catalog
The sale includes the rights to all 278 songs and derivatives written by the legendary songwriter
The estate of Leonard Cohen has sold the publishing rights to the legendary songwriter’s entire catalog for an undisclosed sum, according to Reuters. In a press release, the buyer, Hipgnosis Songs Fund, said the sale includes the rights to “all 278 songs and derivatives” written by Cohen, including “Hallelujah” and “First We Take Manhattan.” Cohen died in 2016. Hipgnosis, a …
When ‘The Boss’ is worth $500 million, it’s time for stars to sell their back catalogs
"It's scorching hot... Hot, hot, hot!"
Bruce Springsteen’s entire back catalog – including songwriting and recordings – reportedly cost Sony Music Group north of $500 million. Even before the official announcement of the purchase in May, Sony Music Group’s chairman, Rob Stringer, told investors he’s spent about $1.5 billion just on music acquisitions since the beginning of the year. “Including rights to some of the most …
JME’s Most-Read Music Stories of 2021
Viral Limp Bizkit, Beatle-mania, Jazz Jams and new local music
We launched the Jacksonville Music Experience website in the summer of 2021––as interesting a year for music as any. In music news: vinyl records were in short supply due to high demand; Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen sold the rights to their music, while Taylor Swift sought to reclaim hers; Lil Nas X broke the internet and broke down barriers; …
Buckets of (Making it) Rain
What Bob Dylan's $300 million catalog sale means for the recording industry.
A three month span in late-2020-early-2021 saw two monumental art sales. While the $69 million earned by digital-artist Beeple’s Non-Fungible Token (NFT) mosaic (in JPG format no less) at a Christie’s auction in March threatened to turn the visual arts world on its head, the music world was seemingly turned on its ear by another sale in December. No stranger …
