Sony Music

The deal, completed last July, includes everything from classic 1960s albums like Blonde On Blonde, up to his latest release, 2020's Rough And Rowdy Ways.

Billboard magazine says the catalogue is worth about $200m (£149m), based on annual revenues of roughly $16m (£12m).

Dylan previously sold his publishing to Universal Music for a reported $400m.

That deal covered the rights to Dylan's lyrics and compositions, which Sony had previously administered outside the US.

It means that many will now, for the first time, earn money when their songs are streamed on services like Spotify and Amazon Music.

Sony said it could not name the eligible acts due to confidentiality agreements, but a source said it would "include household names".

It said some artists stood to receive "many thousands of dollars per year".

Messy's relatives claim the opening sample, and another during the track, were taken from his videos.

They are said to be seeking $20m (£16m) in damages from Beyonce, Jay Z and Sony Music, according to US reports.

Messy, from New Orleans, was shot dead in 2010 and had spoken about young men being killed because of gang violence in his videos.