Headlines

March 17, 2008

NYT: Turmoil at Starbucks as music selections leave a bad aftertaste...

New York Times | Read Full Story >

Along the way, Starbucks has alienated business partners who contend that it has demanded too big a cut of music revenue. The company’s shift in direction has also prompted upheaval within — including the departures of half a dozen senior executives from its entertainment unit.

Starbucks, of Seattle, said its music sales are healthy: it reports selling 4.4 million CDs in North America last year, up some 22 percent from the year before. Still, it opened hundreds of shops in the same period, increasing stores in the United States by 18 percent.

Despite adopting a broader musical approach, Starbucks on average sells only two CDs a store each day at company-owned shops, according to people briefed on its business. Starbucks disputed that figure but declined to provide a different one.

Its sliding reputation in the music business represents a setback in its efforts to build cultural credibility, which have also included promotion of a handful of films like “Akeelah and the Bee,” books like Mitch Albom’s “For One More Day” and an in-house magazine called Joe.


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