Starbucks to Further Decaffeinate Their Music Presence

Once viewed as a potential heavyweight in the industry, Starbucks continues to scale back on their music presence, this time ridding most stores of their music retail offerings. Instead of those spinner racks that can house a dozen or so CDs, the coffee chain will now only offer four CD "slots" per store, which will likely be devoted to albums released on their label. Additionally, those iridescent iTunes album cards will also be driven out. Starbucks made a splash last year with the creation of Hear Music, the chain's label that partnered with big names like Paul McCartney, Carly Simon and Joni Mitchell, but Starbucks handed the reigns over to the Concord Music Group. Upcoming high-profile releases from the label include albums from John Mellencamp and James Taylor.

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES 'Star Trek' Is Crazy Good
• 
  TV 10 Shows to Watch This Summer
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“Too Close”

Next | 1998

Next was formed in Minneapolis when the uncle of Terry "T-Low" and Raphael "Tweety" Brown, who was a gospel choir director, introduced the brothers to Robert Lavelle "R.L." Huggar. Sounds of Blackness singer Ann Nesby groomed the R&B group before handing them over to Naughty by Nature's KayGee, who wrote and produced "Too Close." The idea for the song was sparked "from a conversation we had with several girls at a nightclub," explained T-Low. "It's talking about the club scene, with guys getting out of hand and the female telling him to back up, asking, 'What are you doing?'" 

More Song Stories entries »

Twitter