Elvis' Catalog to be released on MP3
Yahoo, 2000-02-28

 

Monday February 28, 7:00 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: EMusic.com Inc.

Elvis Costello to Offer His Music Catalog in MP3 Through EMusic.com

Twelve Complete Albums Available for Download

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Feb. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- EMusic.com Inc. (Nasdaq: EMUS - news), the Internet's leading seller of downloadable music, today announced a landmark exclusive digital distribution agreement with British New Wave and Punk pioneer Elvis Costello. Starting today, online music fans can sample, purchase and download 12 of Costello's hit albums in the MP3 format from http://www.EMusic.com for $8.99 each.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990602/LAW064)

``This is a huge endorsement for downloadable music -- to have a major artist like Elvis Costello choose to release such a large, quality catalog for sale in MP3,'' said Gene Hoffman, EMusic.com president and CEO. ``It is a significant step forward for the millions of music fans that want the convenience of managing and listening to their music digitally.''

``If only I had been paying attention back in the 70s, I could be writing this greeting in FORTRAN,'' said Costello. ``As it is, mere words cannot express ... so see you in cyberspace. The future lies ahead.''

Elvis Costello (nee Declan MacManus) is globally recognized as one of the most influential British musicians to emerge from the post-Punk 1970s. In a prolific 20+ year career as a songwriter, composer and performer, he has released more than 300 original songs, including such popular rock radio standards as ``Watching the Detectives,'' ``Alison,'' ``Pump it Up,'' ``Radio Radio,'' ``Oliver's Army'' and ``Everyday I Write the Book.''

Elvis Costello Albums Now Available in MP3 Exclusively from www.EMusic.com:

  • My Aim Is True (1977)
  • This Year's Model (1978)
  • Armed Forces (1979)
  • Get Happy!! (1980)
  • Trust (1981)
  • Almost Blue (1981)
  • Imperial Bedroom (1982)
  • Punch The Clock (1983)
  • Goodbye Cruel World (1984)
  • The Very Best Of Elvis Costello & The Attractions (1985)
  • King of America (1986)
  • Blood & Chocolate (1986)

``Elvis Costello's smart, cross-genre musical style has appealed to and influenced successive generations of artists and fans,'' said Gian Caterine, director of business development for EMusic.com. ``We are proud to make these popular, seminal Elvis recordings more accessible through digital download.''

``Elvis Costello Radio Radio'' on WiredPlanet.com & RollingStone.com

RollingStone.com has also launched a special Elvis Costello fan Web site at http://www.rollingstone.com/sections/special/elviscostello/ -- featuring exclusive news, photos, trivia and a WiredPlanet streaming audio channel called ``Elvis Costello Radio Radio.'' Like all WiredPlanet stations, ``Elvis Costello Radio Radio'' is interactive and customizable: each listener can control how often they hear each song and add favorite songs to their personal WiredPlanet stations. Much of the music is available for instant purchase as downloadable MP3s from EMusic.com.

About EMusic.com

www.EMusic.com is a Web site for sampling and purchasing music in the MP3 format, which has become the standard in the digital distribution of music. Through direct relationships with leading artists and exclusive licensing agreements with over 600 independent record labels, EMusic.com offers an expanding collection of over 75,000 tracks for purchase -- individual tracks for 99 cents each or entire downloadable albums for $8.99.

EMusic.com features top artists in all musical genres, such as Alternative (Bush, Kid Rock, They Might Be Giants, Frank Black), Punk (Blink-182, The Offspring, Pennywise), Jazz (Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Concord Records), Blues (John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, Buddy Guy), Hip Hop (Kool Keith, The Coup), Country (Merle Haggard, Patsy Cline), Rock (Phish, Elvis Costello, Goo Goo Dolls, David Crosby), World (Nusrat Fateh Ali Kahn, Lee ``Scratch'' Perry) and Vintage Pop (Liza Minnelli, Eartha Kitt, Judy Garland).

Since it was founded in January 1998, EMusic has established itself at the forefront of how music will be discovered, delivered and enjoyed in the next decade. In addition to having the Internet's largest catalog of downloadable MP3 music available for purchase, EMusic operates one of the most popular families of music-oriented Web sites -- including RollingStone.com, EMusic.com, DownBeatJazz.com and IUMA. The company is based in Redwood City, California, with regional offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Nashville.

NOTE: EMUSIC is a registered trademark and EMUSIC.COM is a trademark of EMusic.com Inc.

Any forward-looking statements contained in this release involve a number of uncertainties, risks and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements to materially differ. Factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially include, among others, those set forth in the Company's S.E.C. reports.

SOURCE: EMusic.com Inc.