“For years Bob Dylan and Albert Grossman had grappled over ownership of his earliest and most valuable copyrights. Their lawsuit generated so much paper that some said it took dubious title of most voluminous in the annals of New York jurisprudence. Ultimately, Dylan lost more than he gained. Without specifying whether his ex–manager or his ex–wife were the biggest siphons on his income, Dylan did reveal to Rolling Stone that he owned none of his songs prior to ‘Blood on the Tracks.’ As to his recordings, Columbia held the purse strings. In 1978, Congress enacted a new copyright statute that required labels to turn recording rights over to an artist after 35 years, but that meant Dylan would be 71 before Columbia was legally required to begin dribbling out everything the label released after ‘Desire.” Technology diluted his revenue stream further. Tape cassettes supplanted vinyl and 1980s as medium of choice; a third option, the compact disc, was just being introduced. Every new innovation called for royalty renegotiation. Dylan had lawyers and accountants to keep up, but so did Columbia, and with each iteration, Bob’s clout slipped a little more...” - “Dylan, The Biography” by Dennis McDougal - 2014
Posted on: Wed, 02 Jul 2014 23:15:56 +0000
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