(NewsNation Now) — Sony Music Entertainment announced on Monday that they have acquired Bob Dylan’s catalog of music, the latest deal in the music company’s six-decade relationship with him.
This deal covers Dylan’s body of work since 1962, including his performances of popular songs such as “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” and the rights to future releases, according to a news release put out by Sony Music Entertainment.
A report in Variety cited sources who valued the deal at $150 million to $200 million.
“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,” Dylan said.
Dylan and Sony will continue to collaborate on a range of future catalog reissues from the singer and songwriter’s “Bootleg Series,” with the agreement providing the company the ability to partner with him on additional projects.
Stringer, chairman for Sony Music Group, said in a statement that Columbia Records has had a special relationship with Dylan since the beginning of the folk-rock icon’s career.
“The essential impact he and his recordings continue to have on popular culture is second to none and we’re thrilled he will now be a permanent member of the Sony Music family,” Stringer said. “We are excited to work with Bob and his team to find new ways to make his music available to his many fans today and to future generations.”
Since he came on the music scene in New York City’s Greenwich Village in the early 1960s, the “Mr. Tambourine Man” singer has sold more than 125 million records around the world. In 2016, Dylan was the first songwriter to be given the Nobel Prize for Literature. When giving him the award, the Swedish Academy cited Dylan “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.”
Other artists who have had their music catalogs sold recently include the late David Bowie, whose catalog was acquired by Warner Chappell Music, and Bruce Springsteen. Like Dylan, Springsteen also sold his catalog to Sony Music, albeit for more money, per reports. Springsteen’s deal went for a reported $500 million.
Next up for Dylan is the next leg of his “Rough and Rowdy Ways” worldwide tour, which is scheduled to run through 2024. Tickets for his spring concerts go on sale this Friday.
Reuters contributed to this story.