‘Sweet Caroline,’ sweet deal: Neil Diamond sells song rights to Universal Music

Singer, songwriter Neil Diamond is the latest artist to sell his entire music library for a hefty sum.

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Diamond has agreed to sell his entire catalog and recordings to Universal Music Group, multiple news outlets are reporting.

The value of the deal has not been released, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

But it includes the masters and rights for all of his hits, such as “Sweet Caroline,” “Cracklin’ Rosie” and “Song Sung Blue,” as well as 110 unreleased tracks, an unrelated album, and archival long-form videos, according to THR.

The deal doesn’t just cover songs he sang, but also ones some people may not realize were his, such as, “Red Red Wine,” which was made famous by UB40 and “I’m a Believer” made famous by “The Monkees.”

Universal Music Group also now owns the rights to any music Diamond releases in the future, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Diamond had worked with Universal, as he published with UMG’s MCA Records during the height of his fame. Universal has been the singer’s publishing administrator since 2014, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The 81-year-old songwriter is the latest in the string of big-name performers to sell their catalogs over the past year, including Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Neil Young and Stevie Nicks, The New York Times reported.

Diamond’s agreement is similar to the one that Springsteen signed with Sony that will bring all of the artist’s work under a single company, instead of the more traditional deal that has recordings and songwriting as separate agreements, and sometimes managed by separate companies, the Times reported.

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Through the years American singer-songwriter Neil Diamond concentrates during a chess game, 1972. (Photo by Jack Kay/Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) (Jack Kay/Getty Images)

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