Elton John announces The Cut - A global music video competition

In celebration of Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s 50th anniversary of their songwriting
partnership, Elton John, supported by YouTube, is giving undiscovered creative talent from all
over the world the chance to create official music videos for three iconic songs: ‘Rocket Man’,
‘Tiny Dancer,’ and ‘Bennie and the Jets.’ As these songs were released before the rise of the
music video, this competition gives aspiring creators the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to
showcase these best-loved hits like never before.

Elton John: The Cut has now officially launched, with entries opening to the public
on January 9, 2017. Applicants can find contest details and advice on how to enter the competition at www.eltonjohn.com/thecut. Music video entries for each of the songs will feature different artistic elements - submissions for ‘Rocket Man’ will feature animation, ‘Tiny Dancer’ will be liveaction, and ‘Bennie and the Jets’ will feature choreography. Together with a panel of YouTube creators and celebrated music and industry judges, Elton John and his writing partner Bernie Taupin will select three winners, and those winning entries will premiere on YouTube in the summer of 2017.

YouTube’s support provides the applicants of the three winning submissions with the resources
necessary to realize their vision, from funding production to use of the YouTube Space facilities.

The production of the final music videos will be supported by Pulse Films - a world-class
production studio and the talent behind Beyonce’s Emmy nominated ‘Lemonade’ film. YouTube
will also award the prize fund of ten thousand U.S. dollars to the winning creators to support
future video-based creative projects.

Elton John comments, “We’re excited to partner with YouTube to bring together generations of
artists and music lovers around a shared passion for storytelling. YouTube is a rich tapestry of
creativity, and I can’t wait to see how the breadth of talent from the dance, live-action and
animation communities apply their vision to these cherished songs.”

Vivien Lewit, YouTube’s Global Head Artist Content & Services says: “This is a dream project
that puts iconic music from a legendary artist in the hands of new creative talent, to reinvent
these classic hits. We’re beyond thrilled to partner with Elton John and Universal to enable this
program and bring to life a new way for the passionate fan community on YouTube to
experience these songs that have inspired generations.”

Three YouTube creators, each with experience in animation, choreography, and live-action, will
be responsible for shortlisting a set amount of entries and presenting their choices to a panel of final judges, who will be revealed on January 9, 2017.

Parris Goebel, the director and choreographer behind Justin Bieber’s ‘Sorry’ (PURPOSE : The
Movement) dance video, with over 2B views on YouTube, says, “I can’t wait to see how
dancers from all over -- whether they are fans of hip-hop, ballet, pop, or any other genre --
choose to visually express themselves in ‘Bennie and the Jets.’”

The competition closes on January 23rd and is open to anyone over 16, subject to local terms
and conditions. To find out more about Elton John: The Cut, supported by YouTube, and how
to enter, please visit www.eltonjohn.com/thecut.