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Ken Lombard and Hear Music Say Goodbye to Starbucks
24-Apr-2008
Written by: Hillary Frazier
After a drop in customer sales, Starbucks makes the decision to cut back on their music and book business.
According to Reuters, Ken Lombard, head of Starbucks’ music unit, has announced his, and Hear Music’s (Starbucks Entertainment) departure from the coffee shop. Starbucks Corp. has decided to cut back on the music and book business of the stores, and concentrate on the rejuvenation of the coffee shops themselves.
After the label’s growth in the year of its life, Starbucks began to see a drop in consumer sales, and thus decided to ditch the excess business and focus on their main goal: the coffee. Artists such as Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell, and James Taylor were among the first to release their albums under Hear Music, as Starbucks’ music influence grew in the retail chain.
There is still hope for Starbucks Entertainment in the future. Reuters said, “Most recently, Starbucks reached a deal with Apple Inc. (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) to allow customers to buy songs wirelessly from the Apple iTunes music store, without paying WiFi connection fees when they are in Starbucks stores. Starbucks said on Thursday that it will maintain its relationship with Apple.”
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