SEATTLE (Hypebot) – Starbucks who recently turned its record label over to partner Concord, is about to scale back its music ambitions further. According to Silicon Alley Insider, by September the chain will cut virtually all of its music retail offerings. Gone will be racks of CD's, gift cards and promotional giveaways for iTunes. Only four retail CD slots…
per store will remain, but Starbucks will continue to offer free Wi-fi access to iTunes and and may sell online.
COMMENTARY:
This is sad news since Starbucks accounted for a huge percentage of sales on some adult titles from Ray Charles to Paul McCartney. If, however, a digital presence is maintained perhaps the damage to sales can be lessened as we near the digital sales tipping point.
