The singer finally puts his music for sale online – but does it his way

Saying he wanted to create a more direct path between artists and fans, Garth Brooks announced Thursday that he has created his own digital music store that offers his own music as well as that of other artists.

Called GhostTunes, the online music store will compete with iTunes and other digital sites, where Brooks has never allowed his music to be sold.

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“We watched the digital revolution move in and we were on the sidelines,” he said during a press conference at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois.

But Brooks also wanted to do it his way. “I wanted a place that just sold entertainment and to sell it any way the artist wanted it sold,” he said. Brooks said that at GhostTunes, artists will be able to offer music however they wish: as singles only, as full albums, for downloading or streaming.

The announcement comes ahead of the kickoff show for his first world tour in 13 years, opening outside Chicago Thursday night and one day after the release of his new single, "People Loving People".

Prices will be kept as low as possible for millions of offerings of music, videos and other products from artists across all genres, he said.

His own initial offering, a “mega bundle” that includes all eight of his studio albums, a new double live 25th anniversary edition featuring 30 songs and 30 videos, his new single, “People Loving People,” and a bonus track, “Send ‘Em on Down the Road” – as well as an album scheduled to come out in November, and another planned for 2015 – is priced at $29.99. And even that, he said, “is probably too high.”

Brooks said in his particular case, he prefers to offer albums in contrast to singles. “I believe albums change lives,” he said. His music will also be available on his website.

And he insists that artists, labels and songwriters will all still be able to profit from the music because they are eliminating the costs of shipping, manufacturing and producing CDs.

Music from GhostTunes will be able to be played on any device – computer, tablet, smartphone – or listened to immediately from the site.