All You Need Is Starbucks

Early last month, we posted a blog about Paul McCartney's new relationship with Starbucks.  Here's follow-up.

On June 5th, watch out for this music stunt:  All McCartney All The Time.

If this sounds like something you'd hear on a Classic Rock radio station, think again.  It will be the sound inside every Starbucks - all over the world.  (Too bad Starbucks isn't encoding for PPM in Philly, right?)  It's all about promoting Sir Paul's new album, "Memory Almost Full," and once again, the coffee magnates are taking a lead role in connecting their stores to music.

If you think about it, this project is missing two traditional partners - traditional record labels and terrestrial radio - both of which are being worked around.

For the labels, this continues to underscore their decreasing importance.  As the RIAA continues to prosecute (and percecute) illegal downloaders on college campuses, a major release from a former Beatle goes to a coffee chain.  And for radio, its diminishing impact on breaking new music - even a "current classic" like this one - continues to be felt.

Our recent Tech Poll continues to show that while radio is still the primary source for new music for more than half of our respondents, there are many other outlets that are playing a role in exposure:

And a word to Classic Rock stations - as painful as it may be, purchasing this CD and providing some FYI spins is still good business for a Mt. Rushmore artist like McCartney.  And you might pick up a grande frap at the same time.