More than 30
albums from Elton John will be made available for digital
download later this month, the singer said on Wednesday,
marking the first time his whole catalog of more than
400 tracks will go online.
The 59-year-old,
who has sold more than 200 million hard copies of
records in a career spanning more than 40 years, has already
released some of his more recent work online in the
United States.
John said he had
wanted all his music to be online for some while, but it
took time to prepare the entire catalog.
"I knew that the
entire catalog--not just the hits--needed care
and attention to be released in this way," he said in
a statement. "Now that it's happening, I'm pleased for
the fans' sake."
The catalog will
be available exclusively from Apple Inc.'s iTunes
service from March 26 until April 30 before being made
available on other legal download services.
It will include
his debut album, 1969's Empty Sky, as well as
later albums such as Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
and famous tracks like "Tiny Dancer," "Your Song," and
"Candle in the Wind."
The move will
coincide with the singer and songwriter's 60th birthday and
the global release in physical and digital formats of a new,
18-track compilation of his work, Rocket Man: The
Definitive Hits, from Universal Music Group's
Mercury Records.
John will also
release some of his biggest hits as mobile phone realtones
and a selection of video clips through digital music
services including the duet "Don't Go Breaking My
Heart" with Kiki Dee.
In January new
chart rules came into force in the United
Kingdom that made any song eligible for chart entry
regardless of its age or whether a physical copy was
also available in shops.
That means John
could have hits with his old songs if he sells enough
downloads.
"The world has
certainly changed since Philips Records issued my
first single on seven-inch vinyl--39 years ago this
month," he said.
John's back
catalog is owned by Universal Music Group, a unit of
France's Vivendi. (Reuters)