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- EMUSIC OFFERS TWO NEW FRANK BLACK ALBUMS IN MP3
Former Pixies Leader was the First Artist to Partner with Pioneer
Downloadable Music Service
SAN DIEGO, August 20, 2002 — EMusic.com, the Internet’s most popular
MP3 subscription service, today announced the availability of two new
albums from Frank Black & The Catholics. EMusic members can now
download and enjoy “Black Letter Days” and “Devil’s Workshop”, both
released today by spinART Records. In addition, EMusic is featuring a
downloadable album of nine rare Pixies recordings, known collectively
among fans as “The Purple Tape”.
“Frank Black was the first artist to take a chance on EMusic in 1998,
way before MP3s and downloadable music became a part of popular
culture,” remembers Steve Grady, EMusic’s general manager. “EMusic
launched with two Frank Black songs. And now — four years, 230,000
songs, and over 50,000 members later — we celebrate his ground-breaking
spirit with two new studio albums, a rare Pixies collection, exclusive
streaming video performances and special interview clips.”
Designed for the avid music fan, EMusic allows its 50,000+ members to
download as much music as they desire for one low monthly price. Because
EMusic uses the popular MP3 format, members can easily burn their music
to CDs and transfer it to portable MP3 audio players. EMusic offers a
free two-week trial to its service at
https://www.emusic.com/subscription/
Frank Black, nee Black Francis, has spent the last 15 years making 13
studio albums. These, along with a plethora of post-mortem Pixies’
releases, constitute the nearly 20 albums containing the songs and voice
of Frank Black. As Black Francis, he led the Pixies during five
intense, tumultuous years producing five albums that met with wild
critical acclaim and resonated throughout the world of what was once
called alternative music. From Bowie to Bono to the band in the local
garage, the Pixies have been lauded as creating music that influenced so
many bands in the early and mid-90s, it’s been said that nearly everyone
who bought a Pixies’ record started a band on borrowed ideas from the
Pixies. Bands as widely diverse as Nirvana and Radiohead have cited the
sound of the Pixies and the songwriting of Black Francis as not just an
influence, but an inspiration.
As a solo artist, and now the creative force behind Frank Black and The
Catholics, Frank Black extends and expands on his already formidable
reputation by producing albums that at once re-define “alternative”
while confounding critics’ expectations. From his first solo pop tour
de force, the eponymous Frank Black, to the latest torrent of songs
contained on the simultaneously released Black Letter Days and Devil’s
Workshop, Frank Black continues to defy conventional wisdom. With the
Catholics, he has embarked on a series of recordings which might best be
described as the road to retro; albums recorded live, albums recorded
sans overdubs, sans mixing and editing; in other words, forsaking the
advantage of technical studio manipulation for the true sound of a band
— a live band. As it was in the studio is as it is on your stereo —
or personal computer.
About EMusic.com, Inc.
EMusic.com is a revolutionary new music discovery service that allows fans to download as much MP3 music as they desire for as little as $9.99 a month. Through direct relationships with well-known artists and exclusive licensing agreements with over 900 independent record labels, EMusic offers an expanding collection of over 230,000 MP3s for download. Along with MP3.com, RollingStone.com, and MP4.com, EMusic is part of the music and media group of Vivendi Universal Net USA Group, Inc. — the U.S. arm of VUNet, Vivendi Universal’s (Paris Bourse: EX FP; NYSE: V) Paris-based Internet and technology unit.
