The times may be a changin’ for published music and licensing.

The value of published music is in the spotlight, yesterday’s announcement that Bob Dylan is selling his songwriting catalog to Universal Music Group followed closely on the heels of last week’s disclosure that Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks sold a big stake in her catalog.   And from the other side of the rights divide, UK licensee Poetic Brands announced an agreement with the agency Sunny Side Up for a “Let’s Get Lyrical” collection of lyrics-based nightwear, swimwear and beach towels.

Wringing value
To be sure, applying licensed lyrics to consumer products isn’t new. But with the global pandemic shutting down the touring business this year, many songwriters are trying to wring value from their catalogs, leaving an opening for products such as licensed kids merchandise, collectibles, apparel, home goods and other items.

Messy marketplace
And it’s a very messy marketplace, to say the least. A Google search for “Dylan lyrics merchandise” yesterday as the Dylan deal was being disclosed yielded a host of listings. Nine of the first ten (including paid ads) linked to Etsy, Redbubble and Café Press; the seventh was to bobdylan.com.

For example, on Redbubble there’s a t-shirt emblazoned with “Your Sons and Your Daughters Are Beyond Your Control” as well as a face mask featuring “The Answer is Blowing in the Wind.”

And on Etsy, Michael Jackson’s “Just Beat It” is featured in kitchen wall decor and “Billie Jean Is Not My Lover” is on a t-shirt. There was nary a copyright or trademark symbol in sight.

And an Amazon seller offers five-packs of kids’ and infants’ shirts emblazoned with Beatles song titles, all carrying the notation “Lyrics by Lennon and McCartney.”

The surge of interest in catalogs is also being firms seeking to fund what they are increasingly seeing as a stable investment in trying times. There have been more than 20 such deals struck that included artists ranging from Blondie’s Debbie Harry and Bon Jovi’s Richie Sambora to The Killers pre-2020 and  Ray Charles’ pre-1964 song catalogs.

While for the rights buyers, revenue related to streaming and performance far outdistances merchandise licensing, the latter also is clearly part of the equation. For example, Nicks’ far-reaching partnership with Primary Wave Music Publishing includes both a joint venture and a majority stake in her copyrights and rights to her name and likeness. Primary also will represent Nicks for brand alliances and marketing and co-administer the song catalog. That includes Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 hit “Dreams,” which recently enjoyed a TikTok-fueled resurgence that also surfaced on YouTube, a video that’s gained 1.5 million views since debuting Oct. 4.

“Thunder only happens when it’s raining.” Sounds pretty good for a wall mounted weather station, or perhaps an umbrella, no?