MUMBAI: Universal Music Publishing Group has signed Elvis Costello to a new, long-term, exclusive, worldwide music publishing agreement that covers his entire back catalogue as well his future output.
This new agreement will see Universal Music Publishing Group administering all 27 albums Elvis Costello has released to date alongside any new recordings.
Universal Music Publishing Group president of Europe and UK Paul Connolly said, "Elvis Costello is one of the greatest songwriters this country has ever produced and it is quite simply an honour to be working with him. The range and quality of his output over the last 30 years is truly astonishing and I am thrilled that we will be representing both his classic material and his new work."
Costello is one of the most revered songwriters and performers of his generation and has built an acclaimed canon of work over the 30 years or so since he released his first album My Aim is True as Elvis Costello and The Attractions on the legendary Stiff Records in 1977.
From those early new wave roots through experiments in such diverse genres as country, classical and jazz Elvis Costello has established himself, through his various incarnations as a solo artist and band leader, as a constantly evolving and consistently brilliant songsmith.
His songs have also been recorded by many artists and the list of performers who have interpreted his work illustrates his ongoing interest in a wide range of musical styles. Dave Edmunds reached No. 4 in the UK chart with the Costello penned "Girls Talk" in 1979, Paul McCartney had a top 20 single with "My Brave Face", Johnny Cash covered "Hidden Shame", Roy Orbison recorded "The Comedians" and Robert Wyatt released an acclaimed version of "Shipbuilding". Others who have recorded versions of Elvis Costello songs include George Jones, Chet Baker, Dusty Springfield and Diana Krall.
Among the many awards presented to Elvis Costello throughout his career are two Ivor Novello Awards for songwriting and a Grammy for "I Still Have That Other Girl" from his 1998 collaboration with Burt Bacharach, Painted from Memory. He was also Oscar nominated for co-writing "The Scarlet Tide", sung by Alison Krauss in the motion picture, Cold Mountain.
Elvis Costello and The Attractions were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2003 and during the same year he was awarded ASCAP’s prestigious Founder’s Award. There have also been a number of Grammy nominations for his recent albums When I Was Cruel and The Delivery Man.
Earlier this year Elvis played a triumphant homecoming gig at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall and also received a honorary degree from the University of Liverpool. In November he will interpret the role of Chief of Police in Welcome to the Voice on stage in Paris and in December he hosts his own US TV series Spectacle in which he will talk and perform with stars from various fields.
