Starbucks' Music Plans Seem To Be Drinking Decaf
from the would-you-like-coffee-with-that-digital-download? dept
Back in March, we wrote about Starbucks’ latest idea to build brick and mortar digital music stores that also served Starbucks’ coffee. The idea was kind of like the Starbucks kiosks found in various bookstores and supermarkets, but where Starbucks actually owned the music store as well. Instead of being a regular music store, however, the store would just have a bunch of Tablet PC kiosks where shoppers could listen to songs and burn CDs. Still, at some point, they planned to also move some of those kiosks into their regular coffee shops, despite a phenomenally long history of similar kiosks (for burnable music and software) failing on a regular basis. Now, Xueilonox writes in with a link to an MSNBC update saying that Starbucks keeps delaying the rollout, and more questions are being raised about whether or not it makes any sense (how many Starbucks’ employees do you think can fix a busted CD burner?). Meanwhile, Xueilonox also submits a first-hand account of the first HearNow music store testing this offering out, noting the big complaint everyone has pointed out from the very beginning of this concept: the prices suck. They’re more expensive than buying a typical CD or downloading and burning the music yourself at home using any one of the (way too) many digital download stores available. Obviously, Starbucks’ has done a fantastic job charging a lot more than others for many coffee drinkers’ daily caffeine fix, but does that mean they can do the same for music?
Comments on “Starbucks' Music Plans Seem To Be Drinking Decaf”
Hey Now, Mike!
On the other hand, how many Starbucks employees can fix a coffee brewer, or really ANY of the technology in their stores?
With the amount of Starbucks out there, they will simply do the thing most chains do: have an outside firm (or a department within the firm) who are on a hotline (1-866-ITS-BROK) who will drive in and fix what’s not working at the chain.
Re: Hey Now, Mike!
The difference in the coffee brewer and the kiosk is that only employees use the coffee brewer, and are trained to use it.
Kiosks, on the other hand, are open to anyone without any kind of training. My experience (and, yes, I was somewhat involved with a business in this space) with kiosks in music and software stores shows that the public bangs the crap out of these things and they break fantastically quickly.
Poison Poisson Process
What is the probability that anarchists will put poison in their creamer jugs if they get into the music business? Haven’t heard of any major poisoning attempts since 1997 or so.
No Subject Given
If this doesn’t pan out, then they can always use old AOL discs as coffee coasters
Fluffy, sweet and impossible not to love!
That night, we got as gussied up as our limited backpack rations would allow and headed east of Auckland proper to attend a dinner party hosted by one of Greg and Wendy’s good scaffolding friends.
There were four married couples in attendance, several children, three lost girls–and one seriously gorgeous single guy named Cam. When we China printing weren’t sipping glasses of Sauvignon Blanc and taking turns gawking at the hottie across the table, the three of us did our best to make intelligent conversation.