Led Zeppelin to sell music online

LONDON, Oct 15 (Reuters) British rockers Led Zeppelin will offer their music online for the first time next month, they said today.

The band, whose reunion gig in London in November prompted more than a million fans to apply for 10,000 available tickets, is one of the last major pop music acts to offer their catalogue digitally.

From Nov. 13, Led Zeppelin, which disbanded in 1980 following the death of drummer John Bonham, will make its albums available for download from all online music retailers.

The group behind such hits as ''Stairway to Heaven'' and ''Communication Breakdown'', which has sold an estimated 300 million albums worldwide, joins the digital revolution sweeping the music industry as physical CD sales continue to fall.

''We are pleased that the complete Led Zeppelin catalogue will now be available digitally,'' said guitarist Jimmy Page.

''The addition of the digital option will better enable fans to obtain their music in whichever manner they prefer,'' he said in a statement.

As well as downloads, Led Zeppelin is teaming up with mobile provider Verizon Wireless to provide ring tones and full song downloads. Verizon Wireless is owned by Verizon Communications Inc and Vodafone Group Plc.

The band hit the headlines in September with the announcement of a one-off reunion gig on Nov. 26 as a tribute to the late founder of Atlantic Records, Ahmet Ertegun, who signed Led Zeppelin in 1968.

The group will also release ''Mothership'', a two-CD collection spanning the group's 12-year career and a remixed version of ''The Song Remains the Same'' soundtrack from the band's three-night stint at Madison Square Garden in 1973.

REUTERS SKB PM1800