Bob Dylan performs as part of a double bill with Neil Young at Hyde Park on July 12, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Dave J Hogan/Getty Images for ABA)
Dec 14, 2020
I've never been a Bob Dylan fan, and the Nobel Prize winner's sale of his archive to Universal Music changed nothing about that. In fact, sing as he might about how The Times They are a-Changing, Dylan's deal, worth an estimated $300 million to him, changed nothing about anything.
But it could have been different.
Dylan, pre-sale, had assets worth an estimated $200 million. Post-sale, he'll have half-a billion. If he lives to 100, he'll have to spend $25 million a year for the rest of his life to spend it down. More, if he invests.
Donated to a movement organization, Dylan's publishing rights could have fueled change-makers in perpetuity.
Come the holidays, Dylan may write some checks to charity. That's nice. People who have money and give some away can help those in immediate need. But they're not changing the times.
The times, and the tax code, mean that those with capital assets are taxed more leniently than those who live off wages. Dylan will pay a maximum of 20 percent on the gains from the sale of his music. The wage-earner doing well will max out at 37%. The tax code rewards charitable donations, but every deduction claimed shrinks what's available to pay for public services like schools and hospitals and libraries--all things that just might help those without wealth get a leg up.
Charity doesn't change the times. Redistributing assets does. As Marjorie Kelly of the Democracy Collaborative says, "Every economy is defined by who owns and controls assets."
What else could Dylan have done? Since 1966, the commercial rights to the song "We Shall Overcome" have been held by a fund at the Highlander movement training school in Tennessee. Highlander has played a role in every times-changing movement from Rosa Parks to Stacy Abrams.
Anyone can sing the song, but the song's commercial use is overseen by a community board, and whatever you think about private copyrights, the royalties have funded decades of grants to Black artists/activists selected democratically.
"It's not complicated to replicate what we've done," says Ashlee Woodard Henderson of Highlander.
But it is game-changing. Donated to a movement organization, Dylan's publishing rights could have fueled change-makers in perpetuity. Now, how about even one song?
I nominate The Times They Are a-Changing. What assets are you shifting this season?
You can watch the Laura Flanders Show and see our recent coverage of food justice at lauraflanders.org. And we're in fundraising mode. If you feel like shifting some assets our way, you can at www.lauraflanders.org/donate.
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. Join with us today! |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Laura Flanders
Laura Flanders interviews forward-thinking people about the key questions of our time on The Laura Flanders Show, a nationally syndicated radio and television program also available as a podcast. A contributing writer to The Nation, Flanders is also the author of six books, including "Bushwomen: How They Won the White House for Their Man" (2005). She is the recipient of a 2019 Izzy Award for excellence in independent journalism, the Pat Mitchell Lifetime Achievement Award for advancing women's and girls' visibility in media, and a 2020 Lannan Cultural Freedom Fellowship for her reporting and advocacy for public media. lauraflanders.org
I've never been a Bob Dylan fan, and the Nobel Prize winner's sale of his archive to Universal Music changed nothing about that. In fact, sing as he might about how The Times They are a-Changing, Dylan's deal, worth an estimated $300 million to him, changed nothing about anything.
But it could have been different.
Dylan, pre-sale, had assets worth an estimated $200 million. Post-sale, he'll have half-a billion. If he lives to 100, he'll have to spend $25 million a year for the rest of his life to spend it down. More, if he invests.
Donated to a movement organization, Dylan's publishing rights could have fueled change-makers in perpetuity.
Come the holidays, Dylan may write some checks to charity. That's nice. People who have money and give some away can help those in immediate need. But they're not changing the times.
The times, and the tax code, mean that those with capital assets are taxed more leniently than those who live off wages. Dylan will pay a maximum of 20 percent on the gains from the sale of his music. The wage-earner doing well will max out at 37%. The tax code rewards charitable donations, but every deduction claimed shrinks what's available to pay for public services like schools and hospitals and libraries--all things that just might help those without wealth get a leg up.
Charity doesn't change the times. Redistributing assets does. As Marjorie Kelly of the Democracy Collaborative says, "Every economy is defined by who owns and controls assets."
What else could Dylan have done? Since 1966, the commercial rights to the song "We Shall Overcome" have been held by a fund at the Highlander movement training school in Tennessee. Highlander has played a role in every times-changing movement from Rosa Parks to Stacy Abrams.
Anyone can sing the song, but the song's commercial use is overseen by a community board, and whatever you think about private copyrights, the royalties have funded decades of grants to Black artists/activists selected democratically.
"It's not complicated to replicate what we've done," says Ashlee Woodard Henderson of Highlander.
But it is game-changing. Donated to a movement organization, Dylan's publishing rights could have fueled change-makers in perpetuity. Now, how about even one song?
I nominate The Times They Are a-Changing. What assets are you shifting this season?
You can watch the Laura Flanders Show and see our recent coverage of food justice at lauraflanders.org. And we're in fundraising mode. If you feel like shifting some assets our way, you can at www.lauraflanders.org/donate.
Laura Flanders
Laura Flanders interviews forward-thinking people about the key questions of our time on The Laura Flanders Show, a nationally syndicated radio and television program also available as a podcast. A contributing writer to The Nation, Flanders is also the author of six books, including "Bushwomen: How They Won the White House for Their Man" (2005). She is the recipient of a 2019 Izzy Award for excellence in independent journalism, the Pat Mitchell Lifetime Achievement Award for advancing women's and girls' visibility in media, and a 2020 Lannan Cultural Freedom Fellowship for her reporting and advocacy for public media. lauraflanders.org
I've never been a Bob Dylan fan, and the Nobel Prize winner's sale of his archive to Universal Music changed nothing about that. In fact, sing as he might about how The Times They are a-Changing, Dylan's deal, worth an estimated $300 million to him, changed nothing about anything.
But it could have been different.
Dylan, pre-sale, had assets worth an estimated $200 million. Post-sale, he'll have half-a billion. If he lives to 100, he'll have to spend $25 million a year for the rest of his life to spend it down. More, if he invests.
Donated to a movement organization, Dylan's publishing rights could have fueled change-makers in perpetuity.
Come the holidays, Dylan may write some checks to charity. That's nice. People who have money and give some away can help those in immediate need. But they're not changing the times.
The times, and the tax code, mean that those with capital assets are taxed more leniently than those who live off wages. Dylan will pay a maximum of 20 percent on the gains from the sale of his music. The wage-earner doing well will max out at 37%. The tax code rewards charitable donations, but every deduction claimed shrinks what's available to pay for public services like schools and hospitals and libraries--all things that just might help those without wealth get a leg up.
Charity doesn't change the times. Redistributing assets does. As Marjorie Kelly of the Democracy Collaborative says, "Every economy is defined by who owns and controls assets."
What else could Dylan have done? Since 1966, the commercial rights to the song "We Shall Overcome" have been held by a fund at the Highlander movement training school in Tennessee. Highlander has played a role in every times-changing movement from Rosa Parks to Stacy Abrams.
Anyone can sing the song, but the song's commercial use is overseen by a community board, and whatever you think about private copyrights, the royalties have funded decades of grants to Black artists/activists selected democratically.
"It's not complicated to replicate what we've done," says Ashlee Woodard Henderson of Highlander.
But it is game-changing. Donated to a movement organization, Dylan's publishing rights could have fueled change-makers in perpetuity. Now, how about even one song?
I nominate The Times They Are a-Changing. What assets are you shifting this season?
You can watch the Laura Flanders Show and see our recent coverage of food justice at lauraflanders.org. And we're in fundraising mode. If you feel like shifting some assets our way, you can at www.lauraflanders.org/donate.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.