Starbucks has seemingly stepped up its efforts to compete in the entertainments space by opening new offices in LA. The company's music man Ken Lombard told the Hollywood Reporter that the new office would "bring a portion of the Starbucks Entertainment content team closer to the music labels and movie studios with whom they are in constant communication".
Starbucks also seem ready to expand the number of HearMusic Coffeehouse stores, which enable coffee drinkers to sample music while they drink, and to then buy the tracks and have them burned to CD before they leave. Starbucks have opened a HearMusic store in Santa Monica, conveniently close to several major label West Coast HQs, while additional stores will follow in Miami and San Antonio.
Elsewhere in Starbucks news, and the coffee seller has announced details of some of its upcoming artist partnerships. In particular, it will be offering two Tony Bennett CDs later this year, timed to celebrate the legendary crooner's eightieth birthday. One is a duets album due out in Sep featuring collaborations with a stack of music stars - said to include Paul McCartney, Elton John, Bono, George Michael, Sting, Mary J Blige, Barbra Streisand and John Legend. It's not clear if these albums will be sold exclusively through Starbucks for a time, or whether they will be available from more conventional music stores too. Either way, it seems pretty likely we can expect a conventional release via SonyBMG over here.