Starbucks to Give Away Free ITunes Songs

[Analogman]

Starbucks to Give Away Free ITunes Songs

ELIZABETH M. GILLESPIE

AP Business Writer

 

SEATTLE

[bjorn_skurj]

I bought a really smashing reggae mix CD at Starbucks on Saturday.

[Analogman]

Since the bakery closed, I now get coffee every morning at a new coffee shop affiliated with a methodist church. They use beans from this place. It may be the most satisfying coffee I have ever had. Sometimes, the beans are still warm when the dude gets the packages via UPS. They have not tried to sell me salvation yet. If they did, I would rather have the whole robe, instead of a piece of one. I actually refuse to pay money for Mp3 files - so maybe Starbu$cks is on to something after all.

[Analogman]

source

If you're into DRM-free music, you have a reason to get pretty excited today. As speculated, Amazon has launched the public beta of its new digital music portal called Amazon MP3, which will feature two million songs from 180,000 artists and 20,000 labels, all without the painful and annoying restrictions of DRM. The press release claims that the site, which will include EMI and Universal tracks (take that, Jobs), will make separate songs available for $.89 or $.99, and boasts that all of the "top 100" tracks will be priced at the former, lower amount. Albums will range in cost from $5.99 to $9.99, with the best selling albums coming in at $8.99. Of course, since there's no DRM, users are free to throw the 256Kbps MP3s on any player they like, as well as burn CDs, copy to MiniDisc, and dump to 8-track.

[W(TF)]

I actually refuse to pay money for Mp3 files

 

+1 to me it's akin to paying for songs broadcast on terrestrial radio airwaves.

 

It's all about the power of suggestion, innit? See the green queen icon light up on my iPod....need a latte frappe mochazombie.

[bjorn_skurj]

I don't need an icon to tell me to go to Starbucks, but I also don't think going to Starbucks in an inherently immoral act.

[Analogman]

Just like Walmart, that may be all there is in some places. I just don't care for their coffee.

[bjorn_skurj]

I rate it a bit higher than Dunkin' Donuts. Going to a coffee place that is neither is generally inconvenient for me.

[Analogman]

The deal with all that coffee is that it may be months old. After drinking coffee from freshly roasted beans, that is all I will drink - if I can get it.

[Shakey]

People still go to Starbucks?

[Three dollars and 63 cents]

The college where I started teaching this month has a place on campus that sells Starbucks coffee. I was horrified at first, but then I realized it's the freshest coffee on the entire campus because of the quick turnover. It's also the only place that has strong enough coffee for me. I've spent more on Starbucks coffee in the last few weeks than I probably have in my whole life.

 

I order my beans from this place, near where I grew up. I like that I can even order how darkly I want my coffee roasted. Those candy bars they sell with the coffee beans in them are about the best things in the universe, too.

[W(TF)]

I order my beans from this place, near where I grew up.

 

Hey, thanks, I just copped some free samples from them.

 

Starbucks is fine if you don't mind paying for espresso or latte. Their regular coffee is just as bad as anywhere else. There's no surer way to suck all the flavor out of a coffee bean than to filter it through paper.