Sell Out Or Buy In
Print Normal font Large font Coffee, tea or CD? Veterans and rebels sign up to Starbucks record label.
James Taylor is the third musical performer to sign to Hear Music the Starbucks record label, perhaps appropriate given that many listeners may need a hit of caffeine to stop them nodding off half way through his disc of live versions of songs from his 40 year recorded history. He will join Joni Mitchell who has already had a compilation of her favourite tracks and a selection of her own catalogue as chosen by her musical peers like Bob Dylan (he chose Free Man in Paris) released on the coffee chain's Opus Label, also releasing her forthcoming new album, her first for ten years, through it. They follow the fledging label's first signing coup Paul McCartney who severed a 40 year relationship with Capitol Records to release his latest album Memory Almost Full which has sold 500,000 copies in the past three months.
A couple of years ago Bob Dylan set off a brewhaha when he followed up a deal with Victoria's Secret for his Love Sick album by getting Starbucks to exclusively distribute his Live At The Gaslight archival album through the chain, as did Alannis Morissette when she released an acoustic version of her Jagged Little Pill disc, leading to a retaliatory boycott by record retailers in her home country Canada.
Given that they have over 9000 outlets in 40 countries and that their 33 million regular customers pay an average of 200 visits per year, Starbucks is the new goliath in record retail which elsewhere has been down 14% in the past year.
But perhaps a more surprising signing is The Grateful Dead who have put together an exclusive compilation album for the beanery, makes you wonder what else they put in their coffee. And even more perplexing underground heroes Sonic Youth are soon to release their compilation album track selected by their peers through the corporate café. A teenage riot in a coffee shop anyone?
It's not just established acts that Starbucks is signing, they helped break New York folk-rock band Antigone Rising to a national audience by selling 35,000 copies of its acoustic debut album, From The Ground Up in just three weeks.
But is the chin-stroking brow-furrowing controversy just a storm in a coffee cup? Does it really matter where you buy your music as long as you do buy it? Do we really expect our musical heroes to be above commerce , perhaps if they don't care where and who sells their music why should we ? It probably says as much about music consumers as Starbucks customers that the two are seemingly synonymous these days even if it does leave a bitter taste in the ear.
Posted by Stephen Walker
August 22, 2007 10:35 PM
LATEST COMMENTSIt doesn't matter where you buy your music - at least star bucks aren't going to fold over night, and have a public face/image to maintain (other that the other labels you only hear of and can never put a face/brand/name to)
Posted by: Raymo on August 23, 2007 5:15 PM
Music distribution is about monsters with reach. Do you chose one of the big 5 (or is it 4?). Why not try Murdoch's myspace? Or apparently you can now go with Starbucks?
There might be alternative more "underground" networks, but the bigger they get the more like the monsters they will be.
It's good to see another monster appearing anyway, the more there are the less they can rip us all of and feed us junk.
Posted by: Arbert Nixain on August 23, 2007 4:41 PM
You know a band's career is over when they have to resort to selling at a second rate coffeehouse like Starbucks
Posted by: Mary Jo Minogue on August 23, 2007 4:34 PM
Calling them the Grateful Dead isn't right anyway, out of respect for Jerry its just "The Dead" these days. While Lesh, Kreutzmann and Hart still accept awards for the band that once was..
Its a joke. A total money making excercise but as you said music consumers and Starbucks customers are synonymous these days. The airheaded pusruit of anything they see as fashionable is proven once again here.
But if it was a proper coffee shop, Dead records would fit right in.
Posted by: TNC on August 23, 2007 2:05 PM
Print Normal font Large font Coffee, tea or CD? Veterans and rebels sign up to Starbucks record label.
James Taylor is the third musical performer to sign to Hear Music the Starbucks record label, perhaps appropriate given that many listeners may need a hit of caffeine to stop them nodding off half way through his disc of live versions of songs from his 40 year recorded history. He will join Joni Mitchell who has already had a compilation of her favourite tracks and a selection of her own catalogue as chosen by her musical peers like Bob Dylan (he chose Free Man in Paris) released on the coffee chain's Opus Label, also releasing her forthcoming new album, her first for ten years, through it. They follow the fledging label's first signing coup Paul McCartney who severed a 40 year relationship with Capitol Records to release his latest album Memory Almost Full which has sold 500,000 copies in the past three months.
A couple of years ago Bob Dylan set off a brewhaha when he followed up a deal with Victoria's Secret for his Love Sick album by getting Starbucks to exclusively distribute his Live At The Gaslight archival album through the chain, as did Alannis Morissette when she released an acoustic version of her Jagged Little Pill disc, leading to a retaliatory boycott by record retailers in her home country Canada.
Given that they have over 9000 outlets in 40 countries and that their 33 million regular customers pay an average of 200 visits per year, Starbucks is the new goliath in record retail which elsewhere has been down 14% in the past year.
But perhaps a more surprising signing is The Grateful Dead who have put together an exclusive compilation album for the beanery, makes you wonder what else they put in their coffee. And even more perplexing underground heroes Sonic Youth are soon to release their compilation album track selected by their peers through the corporate café. A teenage riot in a coffee shop anyone?
It's not just established acts that Starbucks is signing, they helped break New York folk-rock band Antigone Rising to a national audience by selling 35,000 copies of its acoustic debut album, From The Ground Up in just three weeks.
But is the chin-stroking brow-furrowing controversy just a storm in a coffee cup? Does it really matter where you buy your music as long as you do buy it? Do we really expect our musical heroes to be above commerce , perhaps if they don't care where and who sells their music why should we ? It probably says as much about music consumers as Starbucks customers that the two are seemingly synonymous these days even if it does leave a bitter taste in the ear.
Posted by Stephen Walker
August 22, 2007 10:35 PM
LATEST COMMENTSIt doesn't matter where you buy your music - at least star bucks aren't going to fold over night, and have a public face/image to maintain (other that the other labels you only hear of and can never put a face/brand/name to)
Posted by: Raymo on August 23, 2007 5:15 PM
Music distribution is about monsters with reach. Do you chose one of the big 5 (or is it 4?). Why not try Murdoch's myspace? Or apparently you can now go with Starbucks?
There might be alternative more "underground" networks, but the bigger they get the more like the monsters they will be.
It's good to see another monster appearing anyway, the more there are the less they can rip us all of and feed us junk.
Posted by: Arbert Nixain on August 23, 2007 4:41 PM
You know a band's career is over when they have to resort to selling at a second rate coffeehouse like Starbucks
Posted by: Mary Jo Minogue on August 23, 2007 4:34 PM
Calling them the Grateful Dead isn't right anyway, out of respect for Jerry its just "The Dead" these days. While Lesh, Kreutzmann and Hart still accept awards for the band that once was..
Its a joke. A total money making excercise but as you said music consumers and Starbucks customers are synonymous these days. The airheaded pusruit of anything they see as fashionable is proven once again here.
But if it was a proper coffee shop, Dead records would fit right in.
Posted by: TNC on August 23, 2007 2:05 PM
