Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) was reported last week to be "pulling back" from the company's one year old record label, Hear Music. The label, which released high profile and chart successes from Paul McCartney and Joni Mitchell, will be turned over to independent label Concord Music Group. Concord will also assume management and promotion for those artists that signed with Hear Music, including McCartney and Mitchell, as well as James Taylor and newcomer Hilary McRae.

In the meantime, Ken Lombard has left the music label and coffee giant "to pursue other business interests" according to MSN. Chris Bruzzo, who had been the chief technology officer, has been promoted to the leadership role in the Entertainment division at Starbucks. According to Billboard, Lombard's exit and the reorganization of Hear Music "are part of a strategic overhaul to examine all aspects of its business that are not directly related to its core."

Over a year ago, when the announcement was first made that Starbucks would be starting a music label and had successfully signed one of The Beatles as its first artist, it made headline news. Given the success that McCartney has seen with his only album for Starbucks and the way the marketing for the album was handled, the news that the label is essentially moving back into the industry is shocking. Even though Concord is an independent label, the exciting thing about Starbucks' music label was that it was so different.

It may not have been any cheaper to buy the album from a Starbucks store, but it was the method with which it had approached selling music that was special. It was inventive and really showcased the full extent of each product. Fortunately, it is doubtful that Starbucks will stop stocking CDs or even Hear Music albums. Perhaps it was just too late for a physical album label to be set up successfully due to the success and promotion that digital music has started to enjoy within the same time period.

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.

Billboard reported yesterday that Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX)'s Hear Music will re-release Paul McCartney's Memory Almost Full album next month, with "new" tracks and a live DVD. The album was originally released in early June and debuted in the Billboard 200 at number 3, before going gold in the United States and achieving similar status around the world. For Starbucks, the album signaled a promising start for the coffee chain's music label, which enjoyed another high chart placement last week with Joni Mitchell's Shine debuting at #14 (Mitchell was the second artist to sign up with the label).

This second release of the McCartney album features three so-called "unreleased" tracks, but careful fans and listeners should note that "In Private," "Why So Blue" and "222" were originally released as a limited edition bonus disc upon the original June release. For the new release, these tracks are added to the original 13 and bundled with a live DVD that features the performance from a June concert at London's Electric Ballroom. It also comes at a time when McCartney is only performing at limited venues and is not embarking on the same kind of stadium world tour that followed the release of his two previous albums in 2002 and 2005.

Though the album signaled success for Hear Music and gave McCartney his highest charting album in ten years, it is all too clear that the coffee chain is hoping to gain more from this second release of Hear Music's initial success. The live DVD is a nice addition, but forcing fans and listeners to buy another copy of the album is far too reminiscent of what music lovers have been subjected to in the music industry. And it seemed like Hear Music was going to break that mold and be more in tune with listeners.

Beginning next month Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) is planning to distribute 50 million free digital songs from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)'s iTunes Store in promotion of the new iTunes wireless service that will be debuting in select markets, reported Billboard.biz this afternoon. Some may say that this is not a good sign, but it is certainly a logical one, at least in terms of Starbucks' move into the music business full time this year.

The step had to be expected, given the huge success Starbucks has had with its initial forays into the music business. Consider the windfall the company enjoyed with Paul McCartney, who put out his latest album on Starbucks' own Hear Music label. Hopes are high that the new Joni Mitchell album from Hear Music will enjoy similar success after it is released tomorrow.

Then the promotion begins in the wake of the recent Starbucks-Apple deal to allow "iPhone and new iPod Touch users the ability to download songs playing in a Starbucks shop directly to their portable devices." Patrons will be able to download that hot tune directly onto their laptops.

Although the service might appear to be a ploy to bring in consumers and drive coffee sales, it should also be noted for what it is: promotion of new Apple products, its iTunes Store, and Starbucks' own Hear Music. CD sales are never going to come back, and Starbucks, in all its coffee-fueled expansion, apparently can see the future of music. It's all so synergistic. Credit Starbucks with doing it right.

Following two secret shows in London and New York, Paul McCartney is planning to stage another impromptu show tonight in Los Angeles. Fans from across the nation have reportedly rushed to Los Angeles with hopes of seeing the former Beatle in concert, as rumors that McCartney will tour are quietly dismissed. McCartney has repeatedly admitted that any tour in support of his first album for Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX)'s music label Hear Music, Memory Almost Full, is postponed until his divorce from Heather Mills is final.

According to McCartney's spokesman, around 300 people will be the final tally of fans to see the show at Sunset Boulevard's Amoeba Music tonight. The same article does not quote the number of fans waiting to get a wristband for the show, but it does imply that hundred waited outside the record store. While a tour of grand scale would normally accompany a McCartney album, Memory Almost Full was released during a difficult time for McCartney. The album however, is a beacon of hope for McCartney in its musical and lyrical content and due to the success he has enjoyed after the album peaked at #3 in Billboard's album chart.

Starbucks staged a day long celebration of the album, repeatedly playing it all day when it was released on June 5th. The coffee-company secured McCartney from his 45-year relationship with EMI Group PLC (OTC EMI) in March and rumors are circulating that McCartney aims to secure a long-term deal with Hear Music because the success he has enjoyed with Starbucks.

In Fox News' review of the new Paul McCartney album, Memory Almost Full, the writer comments that "McCartney, the most successful pop performer/singer/writer in history, has left the mainstream music business." Although his reference is in regard to the degree of support the former Beatle had received from Capitol Records, an imprint of EMI, for his 2005 Grammy-nominated album Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, it made me wonder how big a role markets that are not music are beginning to play in the sale of music, both physically and digitally.

Memory Almost Full will be the first Beatle-related album available for sale digitally, a shift that McCartney's solo catalog may echo soon, but it's also notable because it's being released by Starbucks' (NASDAQ: SBUX) new independently owned label, Hear Music. This isn't the first time that the role of independent or small labels has been brought up in reference to the digital stores, but a name like McCartney's switching is big news indeed. His back catalog may not bring in as much as a digital Beatles catalog would, and understandably so. Still, the Beatles catalog will be available from EMI, a major music label, and it has been the most accommodating to digital sales thus far.

The point is that the "mainstream music business" was not able to keep an artist like McCartney satisfied. I realize that I am biased with regard to McCartney, but the relevance of this change cannot be overlooked for the music market. Hear Music probably should not even be linked with the music market because of its connection with Starbucks. If another industry, in this case a service industry, is able to better accommodate artists and ultimately fans, then the music industry needs to wake up. Sales are slow anyway.

I blogged last week about Paul McCartney signing with Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) music label Hear Music and now it seems that the impact of that move by the major musician has led to rumors of other artists signing with the coffee maker's label. The biggest and most recent has been Radiohead, who have denied the rumor altogether, primarily because they are still recording their new album, their first since 2003's Hail to the Thief.

I'm intrigued by these latest rumors about Radiohead and Hear Music. Radiohead has traditionally been very anti-capitalist, and if Starbucks is not a prime example of capitalism, then I missed something along the way. Of course, I don't find it at all impossible that the coffee giant's new label would be seeking out such big and profitable artists. Another point of interest is that Radiohead will have finished their record deal with Capitol Records after Hail to the Thief, so if the rumor is true, the move would make them the second artist to leave Capitol for Hear Music.

These intriguing and interesting facts are merely the attempts for me to make sense of what Starbucks creating a music label in the first place means for the record industry as it goes through a transitional period, with sales of CDs declining and digital music downloads encroaching on music sales. I'm still not sure what it all means (a recurring phenomenon with me within all of my posts regarding Starbucks and Hear Music), but I'd like to think that I am getting closer to an answer.

Yesterday Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) announced that it has landed its first artist for its new Hear Music label. The company definitely decided not to mess around with its first signing and managed to pull in one of the all time greats, Paul McCartney.

All of you McCartney fans will be ale to get your first serving of the artist after nearly a two year wait this June. The McCartney deal is only for one album at this time, but I guess we will just have to see how well Starbucks can market the new release before we hear if there are any plans for future deals.

I must say that I am very impressed with Starbucks landing such a prominent artist for its first signing. McCartney is considered in many circles the most successful musician in popular music history, as he is listed in Guinness World Records. The credibility that this signing brings to Starbucks' new label is tremendous and should help give the label some pretty nice leverage in signing future artists. After all, Sir Paul has sold over 100 million singles and the most covered song ever in "Yesterday."

Who would have thought that the rock icon would be signing with America's biggest coffee chain at the age of 64 back in 1967 when the song "When I'm Sixty-Four" was released on the revolutionary rock album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Starbucks expects to announce deals with two more artists by the year-end and eight more next year.

Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last two years working as an analyst for the online investment advisory service Investor's Observer.