Starbucks Eliminating CDs and iTunes Gift Cards From Its Shops
by Tim Stevens, posted Jun 26th 2008 at 11:48AM
With file sharing, the death of independent radio, and out of touch record labels, the music industry hasn't exactly been flourishing lately. CD sales are way down, and while online music sales are way up, they're not exactly filling the gap. Unsurprising, then, that coffee uber-franchise Starbucks is scrapping its foray into the music distribution business, focusing instead on what it does best: coffee. Starbucks had aspirations of turning into not just a cool place to get hot Venti Lattes in the morning, but also a place to check out new artists and buy a CD or three while you sipped and chatted. Those plans started with a rack of CDs at stores, along with iTunes gift cards, and a new music label. But when it was revealed that each store was selling only two discs per day, it was clear that people were coming for the caffeine kick and little else.
The chain will still continue to sell a few CDs here and there, but its upstart music label has been sold off, leaving fledgling bands with one fewer venue to get their music out there. And thus the cycle continues. [Source: Silicon Alley Insider]
Paper shredders are standard home office equipment these days, since making sure that all those credit card offers and bank statements are safe from trash-stalkers is always a good idea. But what about all your electronic data on CDs and DVDs from backups? Sure, you can try to crack or scratch the CDs, but a little peace of mind isn't such a bad thing when you have five years of tax records on there. 
