Good Morning Silicon Valley

On the list of major artists whose catalogs are still missing from the digital ranks, the Beatles remain No. 1, but close behind in some minds is Led Zeppelin, whose output of the ’60’s and ’70’s sold an estimated 300 million albums worldwide. That will change in November, when Jimmy Page and the boys turn loose their collected works in all the digital music stores and sign a download and ringtone deal with Verizon Wireless. Not coincidentally, the digital tracks will be released just ahead of the band’s one-off reunion concert in London on Nov. 26 and the release of a 2-CD retrospective set called “Mothership.”

According to the New York Times, part of the delay in getting the Zep tunes online was a fierce bidding war for the rights to administer the band’s catalog. In the end, the group remained with its longtime publisher Warner/Chappell Music, the Times said, getting $60 million to stay aboard for at least 10 years. “The great thing about this band, unlike almost any other band that you could think of, is that every single day there is a new 13-year-old kid who’s just starting to get into music” and will discover the group, said David Dorn, senior vice president of e-commerce at Rhino Entertainment, which is marketing the band’s catalog. “That’s a customer that’s coming along for the future.”