Bob Dylan sued by the wife of a former collaborator over the sale of a catalog of songs

In December 2020, Bob Dylan sold the music publishing rights to his entire songwriting catalog to Universal Music Publishing – a deal valued at over $ 300 million. A new lawsuit was filed today by the wife and publishing house of Dylan collaborator Jacques Levy, who co-wrote songs for the 1976 album. Desire (including “Hurricane” and “Isis”). The lawsuit demands $ 7.25 million, The New York Post the reports and documents consulted by Pitchfork confirm this.

The lawsuit claims that Dylan’s team owes Levy’s family 35% of the income generated from the songs Levy co-wrote. He further notes that Dylan’s team “refused to hand over to [Levy’s family] their fair share of revenues and / or revenues from catalog sales compared to compositions. “

“This lawsuit is a sad attempt to take unfair advantage of the recent catalog sale,” Dylan’s attorney, Orin Snyder, said in a statement to Pitchfork. “The plaintiffs were paid everything they were owed. We are confident that we will succeed. And when we do, we will hold the plaintiffs and their lawyers accountable for this baseless case. “

Pitchfork has contacted Universal Music Group, which appears alongside Dylan as a defendant in the lawsuit.