OMEN
03-22-2007, 10:47 AM
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41263000/jpg/_41263444_sir_paul_pa203.jpg
Sir Paul is one of popular music's biggest names
Sir Paul McCartney has been named as the first signing to the music label of coffee house chain Starbucks.
The company announced plans last week to sign established and new acts to Hear Music, which has previously released albums of licensed songs.
Its biggest success to date has been the Grammy-winning Genius Loves Company album of Ray Charles duets.
Sir Paul is now in the fifth decade of a successful music career, which began with The Beatles in the 1960s.
Then and now
Sir Paul said that he expected the new album to be in the shops in early June.
Speaking to Starbucks' annual meeting on Wednesday, Sir Paul said that the album was something he had been working on for a little while.
He said the music was very personal and would look to the past and the now.
This is a pretty powerful new platform, when you can reach 44 million customers per week through Starbucks stores
Glen Barros, Concord Music
Sir Paul adding that he was looking forward to reaching his audience in a new way.
Starbucks' 13,000 stores worldwide including four hybrid Hear Music coffeehouses where customers can purchase music and burn it to CDs, and the chain has a branded page at Apple's online iTunes store.
Glen Barros, president of Concord Music Group, which will partner Hear Music, said recording artists should be attracted by the idea of a built-in audience in Starbucks.
Particularly at a time when digital downloading has created "a stressful time for the music industry", he added.
"This is a pretty powerful new platform, when you can reach 44 million customers per week through Starbucks stores," Mr Barros said last week
BBC
Sir Paul is one of popular music's biggest names
Sir Paul McCartney has been named as the first signing to the music label of coffee house chain Starbucks.
The company announced plans last week to sign established and new acts to Hear Music, which has previously released albums of licensed songs.
Its biggest success to date has been the Grammy-winning Genius Loves Company album of Ray Charles duets.
Sir Paul is now in the fifth decade of a successful music career, which began with The Beatles in the 1960s.
Then and now
Sir Paul said that he expected the new album to be in the shops in early June.
Speaking to Starbucks' annual meeting on Wednesday, Sir Paul said that the album was something he had been working on for a little while.
He said the music was very personal and would look to the past and the now.
This is a pretty powerful new platform, when you can reach 44 million customers per week through Starbucks stores
Glen Barros, Concord Music
Sir Paul adding that he was looking forward to reaching his audience in a new way.
Starbucks' 13,000 stores worldwide including four hybrid Hear Music coffeehouses where customers can purchase music and burn it to CDs, and the chain has a branded page at Apple's online iTunes store.
Glen Barros, president of Concord Music Group, which will partner Hear Music, said recording artists should be attracted by the idea of a built-in audience in Starbucks.
Particularly at a time when digital downloading has created "a stressful time for the music industry", he added.
"This is a pretty powerful new platform, when you can reach 44 million customers per week through Starbucks stores," Mr Barros said last week
BBC