Another veteran artist joins Starbucks' Hear Music

Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX)'s Hear Music has signed another veteran artist into its ranks, reports Billboard today. Carly Simon is joining the label to release new album This Kind of Love, her first of original material in eight years. Preceding artists to sign the label have been Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell, and James Taylor, and Billboard notes that McCartney and Mitchell both scored hits with Hear Music in 2007.

The trade newspaper also notes that Hear Music "seems to be a natural fit for Simon, who has bounced around labels throughout her nearly 40-year career." What kind of longevity with the label that leaves for Simon is questionable, but as Billboard noted, Hear Music fits for these artists and makes the new albums hits via in-store promotions and massive marketing platforms.

That being said, virtually nothing has been revealed about Starbucks' plans for any new artists that have not seen long careers or recorded for other labels in the past. There was some talk of an artist named Hillary McRae, but no update has been announced since Starbucks gave away free songs for Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) 's iTunes last fall. In any case, news that another veteran artist has joined with Hear Music is in no way unsatisfactory. It's clear that the label is marketing these artists in ways that attract new listeners where traditional labels failed. This Kind of Love is released April 29.