David Crosby to sell back catalogue, says "streaming stole my record money"

Earlier this week Bob Dylan sold his entire songwriting catalogue to Universal in a reported nine-figure deal, and shortly after Crosby, Stills & Nash musician David Crosby shared his intentions around the sale of his own back catalogue.

One fan asked Crosby on Twitter if he "would ever sell", leading the 79-year-old musician to respond, "I am selling mine also ...I can’t work ...and streaming stole my record money ...I have a family and a mortgage and I have to take care of them so it’s my only option ..I’m sure the others feel the same."

I am selling mine also ...I can’t work ...and streaming stole my record money ...I have a family and a mortgage and I have to take care of them so it’s my only option ..I’m sure the others feel the same https://t.co/EXWHR2v6iq

— David Crosby (@thedavidcrosby) December 7, 2020

Dylan's catalogue sale saw Universal acquire around 600 tracks from across six decades of Dylan's career, from 1962's "Blowin' In The Wind" to this year's "Murder Most Foul".

Last week Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks sold a majority stake in her publishing catalogue for $100m to Primary Wave Music Publishing.

As Billboard reports, musicians are likelyselling their publishing rights in response to Joe Biden winning the US election. He has proposed an increase on the top federal tax rate on capital gains to 40% (from 20%), which would increase tax bills songwriters/musicians selling their catalogues. Another factor impacting the sale of back catalogues is the coronavirus pandemic, which has left musicians without their largest source of income as live shows have been put on hold for much of 2020.