Starbucks Seeks to Appeal to Tech Consumers

Starbucks is a non-technology company that is seeking to transform technology habits of consumers.

"The overall strategy is to build Starbucks into a destination," said Kenneth Lombard, president of Starbucks Entertainment, a division of Seattle-based Starbucks Corp.

They have experimented with the opening of "media bars" in various locations including Santa Monica, CA, Seattle and Austin, TX.  These cafes, offer customers computer screens where they can sample and burn CD's. 

Starbucks has considered music an important companion to its coffee since the opening of their first store in 1971. While music industry sales are slumping due to the rise in online downloading of music, Starbucks has been selling CD's to customers at full retail price, seemingly with ease.  The company has sold about 775,000 copies of Ray Charles duets in "Genius Loves Company," 115,000 units of Coldplay's "X&Y" and 107,000 of Dave Matthews Band's "Stand Up."

Lombard says, "It's not about driving coffee sales, It's about providing the music consumer new ways to acquire and discover music. This is a transformational opportunity."