Young will keep rockin’ in a Blu-ray world

SAN FRANCISCO – Rocker Neil Young plans to release his entire music archive on Blu-ray discs, a sign that the discs’ capabilities are building appeal among musicians as well as movie studios.

Blu-ray discs hold much more data than DVDs, offer better picture and sound quality, and can be made to give users access to additional information over the Internet.

Young revealed his plans Tuesday at a Sun Microsystems Inc. conference in San Francisco. Santa Clara-based Sun makes the Java technology that gives Blu-ray discs their interactive menus and ability to accept updates over an Internet connection. Fans can download more content like songs, photos and tour information.

The first installment of Young’s archive will cover 1963 to 1972 and will be released as a 10-disc set this fall on Reprise/Warner Bros. Records.

Young said the archives will be released chronologically and include some previously unreleased songs, videos, handwritten manuscripts and other memorabilia, in addition to the high-resolution audio that Blu-ray technology is known for.

Most Blu-ray discs manufactured so far have been used for high-definition movies.

Artists such as AC/DC, Bruce Springsteen and Destiny’s Child have released concert videos on Blu-ray discs, but Young’s support of the budding technology for his ambitious archive project demonstrates more fully the capabilities of Blu-ray as a music medium. Earlier technology didn’t offer the ability to browse archive material while listening to songs in high-resolution audio, Young noted. “I am glad we waited and got it right,” he said in a statement.