Bob Dylan, 79 years old, just sold his catalog of 600 songs to Universal Music for a reported $300 million. Last week, Stevie Nicks sold her song catalog for $100 million to Primary Wave. What’s going on? Well, some artists have died without a Will and left their work in the hands of the Courts. Most of James Brown’s millions have been eaten up by legal fees as family and “friends” sue for a piece of his estate. The same situation occurs for Prince’s estate and Michael Jackson’s, too. Walter Becker, half of STEELY DAN, died without a Will and his partner, Donald Fagan, complained bitterly at the last STEELY DAN concert we attended, that the business problems and cash flow interruptions resulting from the lack of a Will and Partnership Agreement forced him to tour to pay his bills.
It’s smart to cash in your chips before disaster strikes. Here is one of my favorite Dylan collections (3 CDs) from Columbia which came out in 1985. Are you a Dylan fan? Do you have a favorite song? GRADE: A
Tracklist:
| 1-1 | Lay Lady Lay | 3:17 |
| 1-2 | Baby, Let Me Follow You DownWritten-By – R. Von Schmidt* | 2:33 |
| 1-3 | If Not For You | 2:41 |
| 1-4 | I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight | 2:40 |
| 1-5 | I’ll Keep It With Mine | 3:45 |
| 1-6 | The Times They Are A-Changin’ | 3:13 |
| 1-7 | Blowin’ In The Wind | 2:47 |
| 1-8 | Masters Of War | 4:31 |
| 1-9 | Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll | 5:46 |
| 1-10 | Percy’s Song | 7:41 |
| 1-11 | Mixed-Up Confusion | 2:22 |
| 1-12 | Tombstone Blues | 5:57 |
| 1-13 | Groom’s Still Waiting At The Altar | 4:04 |
| 1-14 | Most Likely You Go Your Way | 3:27 |
| 1-15 | Like A Rolling Stone | 6:09 |
| 1-16 | Lay Down Your Weary Tune | 4:35 |
| 1-17 | Subterranean Homesick Blues | 2:18 |
| 1-18 | I Don’t Believe You (She Acts Like We Have Never Met) | 5:19 |
| 2-1 | Visions Of Johanna | 7:31 |
| 2-2 | Every Grain Of Sand | 6:12 |
| 2-3 | Quinn The Eskimo | 2:17 |
| 2-4 | Mr. Tambourine Man | 5:28 |
| 2-5 | Dear Landlord | 3:15 |
| 2-6 | It Ain’t Me Babe | 3:33 |
| 2-7 | You Angel You | 2:52 |
| 2-8 | Million Dollar Bash | 2:32 |
| 2-9 | To Ramona | 3:52 |
| 2-10 | You’re A Big Girl Now | 4:22 |
| 2-11 | Abandoned Love | 4:28 |
| 2-12 | Tangled Up In Blue | 5:42 |
| 2-13 | It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue | 5:41 |
| 2-14 | Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window? | 3:32 |
| 2-15 | Positively 4th Street | 3:53 |
| 2-16 | IsisWritten-By – B. Dylan*, J. Levy* | 5:18 |
| 2-17 | Jet Pilot | 0:50 |
| 3-1 | Caribbean Wind | 5:52 |
| 3-2 | Up To Me | 6:17 |
| 3-3 | Baby, I’m In The Mood For You | 2:55 |
| 3-4 | I Wanna Be Your Lover | 3:26 |
| 3-5 | I Want You | 3:05 |
| 3-6 | Heart Of Mine | 3:42 |
| 3-7 | On A Night Like This | 2:55 |
| 3-8 | Just Like A Woman | 4:54 |
| 3-9 | Romance In DurangoWritten-By – B. Dylan*, J. Levy* | 4:37 |
| 3-10 | Señor (Tales Of Yankee Power) | 5:43 |
| 3-11 | Gotta Serve Somebody | 5:25 |
| 3-12 | I Believe In You | 5:10 |
| 3-13 | Time Passes Slowly | 2:36 |
| 3-14 | I Shall Be Released | 3:03 |
| 3-15 | Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door | 2:30 |
| 3-16 | All Along The Watchtower | 3:03 |
| 3-17 | Solid Rock | 3:55 |
| 3-18 | Forever Young | 2:02 |
I have a will but no money! Dylan is good!
Bob, money is overrated. Didn’t the Beetles say: “All you need is Love.”
Overrated until you have none. Then…
Yes indeed—and this is a great collection of some of his best stuff. I have to say, though, that if Stevie Nicks (whom I like) could get $100 million for her catalog, I’m surprised Dylan couldn’t get more than $300 million. I mean, the Powerball jackpot is $277 million right now…surely Bob deserves more than that for 60 years worth of music.
I’m always beating the drum for my family, friends, and coworkers to have wills. No matter how much (or how little) you think you have, someone will want it or need it…make sure it goes to the people you want it to and not the people the state wants it to go to. How people like Prince and Aretha Franklin could die intestate is baffling to me. As I always say, you may only have ten dollars, but that looks good to someone who only has nine.
Deb, I always advise my family and friends to keep their Wills updated. Diane and I had an appointment–canceled because of the pandemic forcing our area into the Orange Zone–with our attorney to change our Will. We want to include some charities. Also, Financial Power of Attorney and Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare are important, too.
I have so many Dylan favorites I wouldn’t know where to start, but lots of them are on this collection. Dylan is probably doing a wise thing here, and it might be an even better deal for Universal Music.
Michael, I agree with you. This deal benefits both Dylan and Universal Music.
I don’t have one favorite, but most come from the first five years or so of the ‘sixties. I have been thinking of “Masters of War” a lot in the last four years.
I can’t believe someone paid Stevie Nicks that kind of money either. And while I can believe people like James Brown and Aretha had such messy lives that they ended them the same way, it is absolutely true these people should have had an updated will. I can guarantee that people like Jimmy Buffett (who is probably worth more than either of them) has every penny accounted for. It’s one thing when you start out and are young and stupid, but for people that successful to be so dumb is just astounding (if not totally surprising).
Don’t forget Sting’s financial manager was able to embezzle a huge amount from him before it came to light. No matter how much (or how little) money you have, you owe it to yourself to know how it’s being managed.
I also forgot to mention my favorite “died without a will” novel: BLEAK HOUSE by Charles Dickens in which the case of Jarndyce versus Jarndyce has been going on for three generations and all the estate’s money has been swallowed up in legal fees, which the grandchildren keep paying, assuming one day the case will be settled in their favor—not realizing all the money is gone!
Deb, Jarndyce and Jarndyce is exactly what’s happening to James Brown’s estate. The lawyers are gobbling it up! And, don’t forget that Leonard Cohn’s manager stole all his money and forced Leonard–in his 70s–to go out on the road to tour in order to pay his bills.
Buffett is worth about $550 million . I find that very hard to understand. Saw him in concert once and found him pretty dull. His songs all sound alike.
Steve, Jeff Myers can tell you more about Buffett than I can, but I know he made millions tour and pumping out CDs to his loyal fans on a regular basis. And then, Buffett made it to Broadway. Big Bucks there, too!
Jeff, I’ve heard Stevie Nicks/Fleetwood Mac music in dozens of commercials. You’re right about Jimmy Buffett. His catalog of songs, should he choose to sell it, would go for Big Bucks!
He’s got books, he has restaurants, he sells beer and food, he has stores selling tons of merchandise, he has hotels (in partnership), resorts in the Bahamas, and now he has started with 55+ retirement resorts for Parrotheads! The man is minting money.
Jeff, for Jimmy Buffett music is just a side-line that fuels his Empire. Plus, Buffett is a hard-working guy who deserves all the success he’s earned over the years.
I hope they are doing something good with all that money. It’s too much to just pass on to your kids.
Patti, you’re right about Change Your Life money. When you’re in the 9-figure Club, with Great Wealth comes Great Responsibility.
My Will stipulates that I be buried with all my paperbacks and any surviving wives.
Dan, and in a Pyramid?
Huge Dylan fan. So many favorites. Like A Rolling Stone, Positively 4th Street, I Shall Be Released, Just Like a Woman are all among my favorites.
Steve, same here. Dylan’s concert in Buffalo in 1965 was the first rock concert I ever attended.
This got me to thinking about whose music I hear most in tv shows, movies, and maybe most importantly, commercials. This is just a SWAG (scientific wild ass guess), but I’d say the Rolling Stones and Elton John.
Michael, the song that has made multi-millions from being played in commercials over the past 30 years is “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina and the Waves. For more details: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walking_on_Sunshine_(Katrina_and_the_Waves_song)
That’s a great collection, with many favorites of mine. I may think about adding it.
We have family trust/living wills, have for decades. Everything is spelled out clearly, in all contingencies, the who, what when, how. It’s essential.
Rick, many of these musical geniuses are NOT business geniuses. No Will, no Trusts, no nothing. That all leads to Disaster!
I think some people (rich & famous or otherwise) simply do not want to accept the fact that they’re going to die and, through some sort of “magical thinking,” decide that if they just don’t make a will or complete any of the other end-of-life paperwork, the grim reaper won’t come for them. I think it actually makes you feel better about the future when you have your affairs in order and have determined how your assets will be distributed.
Deb, I totally agree with you on the fact that Wills and Healthcare Proxies and Powers of Attorney give you and your family control over your assets. Without them, the Courts decide.
I’ve also been a fan of Bob since I heard his first songs as a student. The protest movement in Germany in 60s of which I was a part often played Blowin’ in the Wind and other s of his songs.
Those were the days!
I almost heard and saw him live a few years ago in my German hometown – but we were in Hungary at the time.
Dylan is a very mixed bag for me…interesting that “Just Like a Woman” is cited above as a favorite, when it’s damned near fingernails on a chalkboard for me (that sound actually is less annoying; ‘Lay, Lady, Lay” also though only marginally less annoying–early love songs of his don’t work for me at all, clearly). While “Like a Rolling Stone” and “Maggie’s Farm” and “Subterranean Homesick Blues” among the early hits are solid by me. Much as, like many, I often like the covers by the likes of the Byrds, Hendrix, the Band and Fairport Convention better than his recordings, particularly as Fairport particularly enjoyed taking the piss, as some Brits probably still say, with some of their versions. “Gotta Serve Somebody” indicative of his professional nadir.
Todd, a recent article in the Wall Street Journal cited tax experts who said that Dylan and Stevie Nicks and probably other music artists sold the rights to their songs because they’re afraid of what the tax implications will be under a Biden Administration.
That socialist, as such keen-eyed sages as those at the WSJ know. Somehow, a nine-digit windfall wouldn’t strike me as a hedge agains IRS attention, even under a neoliberal administration which is already whining about police criticism and dismissing socialized medicine out of hand as people line up for food aid, have their domiciles taken away, and have dim job prospects–Biden as Hoover won’t surprise me. Or even Trump’s, as he would resent one for having made that kind of money more or less legitimately.
Todd, the Wall Street Journal seems to think the Biden tax plan may take a bite out of large incomes. So Dylan and Stevie Nicks and others have made a pre-emptive strike and locked in their profits until the Trump tax structure.
Ah…hoping to have the windfall not too directly taxed.
Todd, in the world of Taxes, there are wheels within wheels.