Starbucks is planning to launch its own record label as soon as this week. Starbucks is also close to a deal for the next album from former Beatle Paul McCartney to be its first release, according to sources familiar with the plans. Paul McCartney is a free agent not signed to any label, sources said.

Starbucks Records is expected sign, record and produce its own artists rather than licensing songs from other labels.

Up until now, Starbucks has only distributed music though its retail coffee shops. But it is believed that Starbucks Records will seek to secure distribution for its releases in other retail outlets.

Also, Starbucks has enough licensing deals in place with major and independent record labels to build its own digital-music store a la Apple’s iTunes, or it could bring in a partner to help build the digital infrastructure.

There have been talks about putting kiosks in its shops so that customers can shop for music and create their own compilations while waiting for their $5 cup of joe.

Who would ever thought 10 YEARS AGO that a coffee franchise would be signing a BEATLE? Lets look at the starbucks facts. The caffein pusher has built coffeehouses all over the world, 7,102 company-operated outlets worldwide: 5,668 of them in the United States. Now that is a RETAIL outlet. It beats FYE. Starbucks has the demographic and the presence. Now thats a solution.

• Music labels and Universal Music Group have filed suit against Yahoo China over illegal downloading.

• Publishing Vice Chairman has exited the struggling EMI.

• Many students don’t get why the recording industry is after them. As the music biz targets students at Ohio University as well as other college students for illegally sharing and downloading music, many students still don’t see anything wrong with sharing copyrighted music files.

and………

record companies are offering to settle with college students accused of illegally downloading songs, asking for payments of as much as $5,000 to avoid court.

The Recording Industry Association of America sent 400 “pre-litigation letters” this week to 13 U.S. universities, asking them to inform copyright violators they have 20 days to settle with music companies or meet them in court.

• Los Angeles based Latin/Ska/Reggae band Upground have signed to Peer MusicPublishing; Legal rep is Ben McLane and Mgmt is Stephanie Mercada.

• Check out pop act Holiday Parade who hails from Atlanta Georgia

• Straylight Run who ended their contractual obligations to Victory Records has now signed to Universal Republic Records. They released their self titled debut album in 2004 which sold over 11,000 copies in the first week, and made the Billboard Top 100 Albums list.

• Courtney Love sued over unpaid $180,000 drug rehab bill. Kurt Cobain had a better taste in music than he did in love. Love spent all his money.

Hype Alert…………………………………………………..

Indie media darlings the Gossip have signed to Columbia’s music imprint Music with a Twist. The buzz of the day spreads fast across the internet. Are they going to Hollywood? or does the Gossip stay in indie land? Something doesn’t add up. KOAR says no Hollywood but possibly Disney Land.

SXSW – 2007

It’s another go around for KOAR at SXSW. Finding ‘New’ potential great artists can be challenging during this 5 day fiasco, but KOAR does its best. SXSW seems to be more popular than ever in the dying daze of the music business. I guess this means people who are inside the music biz or outside like to party, network and schmooze.

Meet some of the faces behind KOAR:
KOAR will be attending SXSW and will be talking on the Demo Listening Panel (4 Room 19A) Thursday, March 15th. 2:45 pm – 4:00 pm.

Program The Dead will be playing March 15th at Guero’s 5 pm.

Another panel to check out is ‘Making Hit Records‘ (March 17th) that includes A&R guys and producers including producer/mixer David Bendeth (Breaking Benjamin, Hawthorne Heights, Red Jump Suit), Brian Howes (Hinder), A&R Craig Aaronson (My Chemical Romance, HIM) among others.

Check out the BMI Showcase March 15th at Club Deville. Artists include Miracle Druge, The Envy Corps, among others.

In other news…

Metal Maniacs OTEP were handed the axe and apparently were the first victims of the Capitol and Virgin Merger. Check out the alternative act 650 North who hails from Indiana. Former Cold front man Scooter Ward has inked a deal with I Am: Wolfpack Records which is owned by producer Ross Robinson. Lastly, KOAR recently posted emerging artist Coleen Mcmahon, if you haven’t noticed this Oregonian has a legion of cultish fans. You will hear a lot about Coleen within the next year.

KOAR has talked about alternative rock act God or Julie in Higher Learning. They are currently finishing up their new CD “This Road Before”. They just got off the Van Wilder Tour playing with Everclear. The bands new guitarist Matt Hogan replaced Aaron Johnson who co-produced The Fray CD. Check out the new track Being Human.

Check out the video “Say Your Last GoodBye” on YouTube and the new tracks

For more information contact Bill McGathy or Michael Iurato.

Performing tonight at Arlene’s Grocery in NYC show on Wed March 7th 10PM.

The U.S. Copyright Royalty Board known as the CRB has endorsed a plan by SoundExchange, the royalty-collections division of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), to raise the fees Internet radio broadcasters must pay to broadcast their music.

The royalty increases are high enough (.0008 per performance) to put Web-based radio stations out of business. They can’t afford to pay those royalty fees.

Lets look at it this way:

For a station with 2,000 listeners playing 15 songs per hour, the math looks like this:

15 x $.0007 = $.0105 per listener/hour
$.0105 x 2000 = $21 for 2000 listeners in an hour
$21 x 24 = $504 per day
$504 x 365.25 = $184,086 per year

This exceeds the gross revenues of most internet radio station today. (LinuxJournal)

“It’s the end of Internet radio as we know it,” one broadcaster fumed. “The RIAA wants to put us all out of business.”

In all honesty, I don’t listen to Internet Radio. I can’t find an internet radio station that suits my personal taste. It’s very fragmented. For those who do, start getting aquainted with FM again.

.–.