AfterDawn: News

Starbucks teams up with HP to offer custom CDs

Coffee giant Starbucks is planning to enter the music business very soon. Apparently the company has teamed up with HP to offer its customers a change to make their own customized CDs while drinking their latte.

Company will offer a music catalog of 250,000 songs that customers can choose tracks from using HP's tablet PCs and when they've made their selection, the CD burning process will be done behind the service desk and the ready-made CD with custom covers will be given to the customer. Tracks will cost $6.99 for five songs and $12.95 for full album.



The first "music-enhanced" Starbucks will be launched in Santa Monica, California and the company plans to roll out the service to its 2,500 stores across the world within next two years.

Source: BusinessWeek.com

Written by: Petteri Pyyny @ 12 Mar 2004 14:44

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• 13 comments

• Toiletman

  Yes I am sure it will fail horribly and StarBucks will lose lots of money over it.

  12.3.2004 19:21 #1

• loginasme

  I don't know what to think really, i suppose it could work, but why would people who go for a quick coffee in the morning want to burn a cd to listen to???. Another attempt to jump on the already crowded, legal music wagon!

  12.3.2004 21:28 #2

• Ghostdog

  I wonder how they´re defining a "full album". If I want a full compilation album with say 20 tracks would that be possible?

  13.3.2004 02:23 #3

• DMW

  I guess that they see 110 tracks as a full album. Only a guess, but looking at there pricing structure, you would save a couple of quid on the second option. Custom covers, downloads from covers.cc i bet!! I'll stick to CD-WOW, they got stung by the BPI, but managed to get their prices back to £8.99, with real covers and inlays inc delivery.
  These legal music systems are going down, they just dont realise it yet.
  Later

  13.3.2004 04:47 #4

• DMW

  oops I meant to say 10 tracks, not 110!! 110 would be good value i guess :))

  13.3.2004 04:51 #5

• Ne007

  I hope HP dies a horrible death....they are the enemy.

  13.3.2004 07:40 #6

• Ghostdog

  No.

  13.3.2004 09:22 #7

• gotisos

  this could work, but most people that go to starbucks already know how to burn a cd DUH!!! They should put this idea to test in a toy store, little kids would eat this stuff up. On the other hand, any person that pays five dollars for a cup of coffee must be out of there mind, so maybe they would pay to have starbucks burn there cd for them, lol!!!
  

  screw milk, give me some iso's

  13.3.2004 16:02 #8

• realfacts

  Why don't they learn how to make decent coffee first?

  14.3.2004 07:33 #9

• pcshateme

  i hope starbucks goes broke. i mean starbucks wants $6 for a small cappucino in my town- across the street the mobile station wants $1.50 for a large and it tastes better.
  
  the only reson starbucks is there is because trendy colledge students think its cool.
  
  wasting money on chaulky coffee is not cool.
  
  my god there are WAY too many legal music companies. And they have no selection- i wonder what would happen if i gave them the money and asked for some rare songs like from the cowboy bebop soundtrack or something- theyd say- im sorry sir, we dont have that- then id say- screw you- im going on kazaa.

  14.3.2004 12:05 #10

• Ghostdog

  But that´s how every business works. If there is almost no demand for a particular product the shop isn´t likely to carry it. That´s why you often have to aquire rarities using other means. I don´t really see anything wrong with that, except that rare recordings (for example) aren´t as rare anymore if anyone can get them off filesharing networks.

  15.3.2004 09:20 #11

• GrayArea

  I say bring on as many "legit" music retailers and especially "e-tailers" all competing fiercely (to the death!) for the same buck. The more players there are the more pressure they will put on the content "owners" to lower the stupidly high prices they are now charging vendors. Put all the gladiators in the ring at once! I want to see a blood bath!! When they are done we can let the P2P lions into the arena to finish off what's left. Just my bit o' the old ultraviolent Greco-Roman day dream...

  15.3.2004 09:48 #12

• foneman

  i agree with grayarea
  
  why should we complain about something none of us are ever gonna use anyways, the last time i was in a starbucks it was cause i was wasted and couldn't find anywhere to pee...i think it's great that the people at starbucks are (obviously) going to lose big on this one.

  26.3.2004 09:41 #13