Paul McCartney’s entire solo catalog will appear online for the first time as part of a “comprehensive re-launch” of the Beatles legend’s repertoire, his record company EMI Music said today.
EMI Music also confirmed its Parlophone label has retained the McCartney catalog, terms for which were not disclosed.
Through the planned re-issues campaign, McCartney and albums from his Wings group will be made available across all digital platforms and in physical formats.
The project will cover the singer/songwriter’s post-Beatles legacy, from his first album “McCartney” (1970), to his most recent studio album “Chaos and Creation in the Backyard”, from 2005, which earned three Grammy Award nominations and worldwide sales in excess of 1 million copies.
“Our digital campaign will be DRM-free,” explains an EMI spokesperson, adding that more details will follow shortly.
“Paul McCartney’s post-Beatles catalog, spanning four decades, is one of the great treasures of popular music,” comments Tony Wadsworth, chairman and CEO, EMI Music U.K. “EMI is proud to be introducing Paul’s music to the digital marketplace.”
The news follows McCartney’s recent revelation to Billboard that a deal to finally make the Beatles catalog available for sale online is “virtually settled.”
McCartney, who recently won the album of the year category at the Classical Brit Awards for his classical album “Ecce Cor Meum” (EMI Classics), will release his next studio album “Memory Almost Full” on June 4 internationally (one day later in North America) as part of a new deal with Hear Music, the label formed by Starbucks Entertainment and Concord Music Group.
“Ecce Cor Meum” will not be included in the first push because the company will be looking at a campaign devoted to McCartney’s classical catalog later in the year, an EMI spokesperson says.
