Dolly Parton says she’s considering selling her entire songwriting catalogue

Parton has over 3,000 songwriting credits

Dolly Parton has said that she’s considering selling the rights to her entire back catalogue of songs, in what would be a hugely lucrative deal.

Earlier this week, Bob Dylan struck a historic deal with Universal Music, selling his back catalogue for an eye-watering $300 million (£225 million), giving Universal the ownership of over 600 songs spanning a period of almost six decades.

Parton has over 3,000 song credits, including ‘9 To 5’, ‘Jolene’ and ‘I Will Always Love You’, the latter of which has seen enormous popularity thanks to Whitney Houston‘s 1992 cover. The publishing rights are currently licensed to Sony/ATV.

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In an interview with Music Week, Parton said she’s considering selling the rights to her back catalogue in order to get her estate in order.

Dolly Parton's Christmas on the Square
Credit: Netflix

“I’ve owned my own publishing company for years and years,” Parton said. “It’s very possible that, for business reasons, estate planning, and family things, I might sell the catalogue I have now. I’ve often thought about it and I’m sure that I could get a lot of money for it.”

Nevertheless, Parton said that whatever the deal, “I would still have some control, no matter who I sold to, and my credit for the songs.

“As a songwriter, I never cared about the money. I did make money, but I always just wanted my name on my songs.”

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Yesterday, meanwhile, it was revealed that Parton saved the life of a child actor on the set of her new festive film, Christmas On The Square.

The movie, which landed on Netflix last month (November 22), stars Parton and contains 14 new original songs from the country icon.

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