Friday, October 16, 2009

Carly Simon Sues Starbucks over her 2008 Album


"Starbucks did more than its fair share to help the album," said Chris Bruzzo, Starbucks' vice president of Carly Simon's 2008 album.  Carly Simon is suing Starbucks anyway, saying the coffee company's now ended music venture didn't do a good job promotng her 2008 album, making her album dead on arrival.

But let's face it Carly your career was only alive during the 1970s and '80s with hits like "You're So Vain" and "Anticipation," and, we can't think of any others. 
But she can't be bothered with those small details, and is seeking "unspecified damages" (money) connected to the release of the 14-track "This Kind of Love" (cover seen below) in April 2008.
In the lawsuit filed  Simon and her attorneys said the album wasn't available in "a substantial number" of Starbucks stores during the key early months following its release. Later, when the disc was stocked in Starbucks locations, the Seattle-based company slashed the price.
"By doing so, Starbucks stigmatized Ms. Simon's album as an album that could not be sold at full price," according to the claim.
In a statement issued Monday, Starbucks said it met all its contractual obligations and even extended the amount of time it promoted the album in New York and Boston.
"Unfortunately, sales continued to lag as the title received tepid response from music consumers," Starbucks said. "Other retailers faced the same fate with this CD."
Simon blamed the lack of interest in the album - which has sold only 124,000 copies, on a decision by Starbucks days before the album's release to end its involvement in Hear Music, a joint venture with Concord Music.



As for the unhappiness with how those albums sold, Bruzzo said, "Every artist brings a different level of expectation about how well something is going to sell in our stores. We humbly offer it to our customers, and our customers either buy it or they don't."