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Bob Dylan Sold Entire Recording Catalog to Sony

Bob Dylan performs at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles in February 2002 HECTOR MATA AFP/File
Bob Dylan performs at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles in February 2002 HECTOR MATA AFP/File
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Bob Dylan Sold Entire Recording Catalog to Sony

Bob Dylan performs at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles in February 2002 HECTOR MATA AFP/File
Bob Dylan performs at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles in February 2002 HECTOR MATA AFP/File

Bob Dylan sold his entire back catalog of recorded music along with "the rights to multiple future new releases" to Sony Music Entertainment, the company announced Monday, the latest high-profile deal of the recent music rights purchasing rush.

Sony did not disclose the financial terms of the deal. In late 2020 the iconic American artist had already sold his songwriting rights -- separate from recording rights, which govern reproduction and distribution -- to Universal, in a deal estimated to be worth more than $300 million.

According to industry reports including from Billboard and Variety, the latest Dylan deal was worth some $200 million, AFP said.

Sony said it closed the recording rights transaction in July 2021, a tightening of Dylan's six-decade relationship with the company.

The author of folk rock classics including "Like a Rolling Stone" and "Tangled Up in Blue" was signed to Sony's Columbia Records in 1961, and recorded his debut album the same year.

Hailing the singer-songwriter's "unrivaled genius," Rob Stringer, Sony Music Group's chairman, said "Columbia Records has had a special relationship with Bob Dylan from the beginning of his career and we are tremendously proud and excited to be continuing to grow and evolve our ongoing 60-year partnership."

Dylan also lauded the agreement in a statement: "Columbia Records and Rob Stringer have been nothing but good to me for many, many years and a whole lot of records. I'm glad that all my recordings can stay where they belong."

Sony said it planned to collaborate with Dylan on "a range of future catalog reissues in the artist's renowned and top-selling Bootleg Series," a project that began in 1991 and has seen the artist make public more rare, previously unreleased studio and live material.

The terms also allow Sony to partner with Dylan "on additional projects."

In 2020 Dylan released his 39th studio album -- "Rough and Rowdy Ways" -- to critical acclaim.

At 80 years old he continues to tour extensively, just Monday announcing a string of new dates in the US South, part of a worldwide run slated to continue into 2024.

Streaming stability
Dylan's deal with Sony is separate from his blockbuster publishing sale to Universal.

The holders of master recording rights can dictate future reissues, while publishing rights owners receive a cut in a number of scenarios, including radio play and streaming, album sales, and use in advertising and movies.

The prolific Dylan has been covered countless times, making his songwriting catalog particularly valuable.

His publishing deal with Universal was one of the highest profile sales that preceded a flurry of music catalog transactions over the past year or so, as financial markets are increasingly drawn to music portfolios as an asset class.

The trend is driven in large part by the anticipated stability of streaming growth combined with low interest rates and dependable earning projections for time-tested hits.

It's also useful for artists focused on estate planning.

Companies have acquired a number of major catalogs including from David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Nicks, Paul Simon, Motley Crue, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Shakira.

Springsteen sold both his publishing and recorded music rights to Sony for a staggering $500 million.

And earlier this month Bowie's estate sold the late singer's publishing rights to Warner Chappell Music.

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Entertainment

Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’ Tanks, Leaving Studio with $250 Mn Hole

Cast member Tom Cruise attends the “Digger” world premiere in London, Britain, September 22, 2026. (Reuters)
Cast member Tom Cruise attends the “Digger” world premiere in London, Britain, September 22, 2026. (Reuters)
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Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’ Tanks, Leaving Studio with $250 Mn Hole

Cast member Tom Cruise attends the “Digger” world premiere in London, Britain, September 22, 2026. (Reuters)
Cast member Tom Cruise attends the “Digger” world premiere in London, Britain, September 22, 2026. (Reuters)

The Tom Cruise eco-satire "Digger," a movie that was supposed to herald the action hero's return to serious acting, has bombed at the box office, with industry insiders predicting it could lose a quarter of a billion dollars.

The Alejandro Inarritu comedy, featuring Cruise as an eccentric oil baron who must fix the problem he has helped create, was panned by critics and has left audiences cold, leaving studio Warner Bros. with a big balance sheet hole just as a merger with Paramount Skydance closes.

After two weeks in theaters, the film has grossed just $14.4 million in North America and $35.3 million globally -- tiny numbers for a big-budget movie that points to cumulative losses in the region of $245 million.

"Financially it has to be considered a disaster," Christopher Rosen of Hollywood trade publication The Ankler told AFP.

"It cost anywhere from $160 million to $180 million -- that's even before marketing -- and it's made relatively nothing at the box office."

Marketing for a movie like "Digger" can cost up to $100 million.

Daniel Loria of Boxoffice Pro noted that the film was greenlit under the tenure of outgoing Warner Bros. executives Pam Abdy and Michael De Luca, who made a name for themselves by giving filmmakers the resources and studio budgets to create original, innovative movies.

"Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't," he said.

As an art-house film that satirizes American culture through the lens of a non-American like Inarritu, "Digger" was perhaps destined to be a heavy lift.

"This movie was never going to get a general audience to get behind it, right? I don't think it was ever designed like that," said Loria.

"The film takes every opportunity to push the audience in uncomfortable directions.

"American audiences don't have the easiest time accepting films that criticize American culture, especially when they're made by foreigners."

- A potential mismatch -

The presence of Cruise -- a man sometimes credited with rescuing the box office after its pandemic slump with "Top Gun: Maverick" -- was always going to make the film stand out.

"You've got arguably the biggest movie star in the world (who) was literally everywhere for this movie," said Paul Dergarabedian, a market analyst at Rentrak.

"He was so excited about this movie and working with Alejandro Inarritu.

"By virtue of Tom Cruise's star power, there was a spotlight on this movie. Anything he does is going to be under a microscope."

The size of Cruise's star in the movie firmament makes the comparison even less flattering: "Digger" was never going to be in the same ballpark as the multi-billion dollar "Mission: Impossible" franchise.

But the film's box office does align with the kind of film that Inarritu makes, said Loria.

His movies "aren't really too worried about their box office total; they're worried about having an artistic endeavor behind" them.

That makes "Digger" something of a mismatch, said Loria.

"Unfortunately, I think this was marketed as a general audience movie, when at heart, this is an art-house film."

Entertainment

Selma Blair Arrested in New York After an Alleged Assault on a Delta Flight

Selma Blair. (Reuters)
Selma Blair. (Reuters)
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Selma Blair Arrested in New York After an Alleged Assault on a Delta Flight

Selma Blair. (Reuters)
Selma Blair. (Reuters)

Actor Selma Blair was arrested and taken to a hospital late Sunday night after she was accused of injuring two flight attendants on a plane from Los Angeles to New York.

Blair, 54, was detained by police at around 11 p.m. after the Delta Air Lines jet parked at the gate at John F. Kennedy International Airport, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said in a statement.

Blair and one of the flight attendants were taken to a hospital for evaluation, the Port Authority said.

Details of what happened aboard the aircraft weren’t immediately disclosed by the airline, police or the FBI, which was investigating, but Delta said in a statement it “has zero tolerance for unruly or unlawful behavior, as the safety of our customers and crew always comes first.”

A Blair representative told The Associated Press that the actor had a medical emergency that led to the alleged conduct.

The FBI later issued Blair a notice charging her with assault, according to a federal law enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

The matter will be handled through the petty violations court in federal court in Brooklyn. No date has been set for Blair’s appearance.

It's not the first time Blair has had issues aboard a plane. In 2016, Blair apologized for making statements she later regretted during a flight from Cancun to Los Angeles. She said she had mixed alcohol with medication, causing her to black out.

Blair had major roles in films including 1999's “Cruel Intentions,” 2001's “Legally Blonde” and 2004's “Hellboy.”

In recent years, she has advocated for disability rights. She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2018. In 2023, she joined President Joe Biden at the White House to celebrate the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Entertainment

RJ Mitte, 'Breaking Bad' Actor and Disability Rights Champion, Dies at 34

US actor RJ Mitte arrives at the launch of the Fashion For Relief Pop-Up at Westfield in London on November 27, 2014. (AFP)
US actor RJ Mitte arrives at the launch of the Fashion For Relief Pop-Up at Westfield in London on November 27, 2014. (AFP)
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RJ Mitte, 'Breaking Bad' Actor and Disability Rights Champion, Dies at 34

US actor RJ Mitte arrives at the launch of the Fashion For Relief Pop-Up at Westfield in London on November 27, 2014. (AFP)
US actor RJ Mitte arrives at the launch of the Fashion For Relief Pop-Up at Westfield in London on November 27, 2014. (AFP)

“Breaking Bad” actor and disability rights advocate RJ Mitte died Monday at age 34, authorities and his representatives said.

Cameron County Justice of the Peace Cyndi Hinojosa told The Associated Press she declared Mitte dead at about 1:30 p.m. at what she believed was his home in Brownsville, Texas. She said she was unable to provide a cause, but an autopsy will be performed.

Mitte played Walter White Jr., the son of Bryan Cranston's chemistry teacher-turned-meth dealer Walter White on nearly every episode of the five seasons of the AMC show, which recently ranked as the best of the 21st century in a New York Times poll.

“Drawing from his own experience living with cerebral palsy, Mitte brought authenticity to the role and built a platform on disability awareness and inclusion,” Mitte's representatives said in a statement announcing his death.

The statement said he used “his platform to challenge stereotypes and promote greater representation for people with disabilities.”