Starbucks Continues Successful Expansion of Music Experience

    Business Editors/Entertainment Editors

    SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 9, 2005--

    Amid Strong CD Sales, Company Announces Plans to Co-Release, Market
    and Distribute New Herbie Hancock Collaborative Project; Unveils
    Plans for New Starbucks Hear Music Coffeehouse in South Beach

    Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) today underscored its commitment to the Company's entertainment strategy by announcing two new music projects at its Annual Meeting of Shareholders. Starbucks Hear Music detailed plans to co-release, market and distribute nine-time Grammy and Academy Award-winning music legend Herbie Hancock's new album in collaboration with Hancock Music and Vector executives Ken Levitan and Jack Rovner. Slated for release in Fall 2005, the album will feature Hancock performing with musical luminaries such as Sting, Carlos Santana, Annie Lennox, John Mayer and Damien Rice. During the Company's Annual Meeting, Hancock performed for the audience of more than 5,200. The Company also unveiled plans for the next Starbucks Hear Music(TM) Coffeehouse in South Beach (Miami), Florida.
    "Providing our customers with innovative and unique ways to discover and acquire all genres of great music is another way we are enhancing the Starbucks Experience," said Howard Schultz, Starbucks chairman. "We are pleased to share some of the new ways we will be creating compelling music experiences for our customers. We are committed to continuing this tradition for years to come while maintaining our place as a trusted, familiar and convenient destination brand."
    "Starbucks continues to be thoughtful and strategic as we extend our reach into music," said Ken Lombard, president, Starbucks Entertainment. "We are thrilled to announce another significant project, which will be guided by the creative genius of Herbie Hancock, a truly legendary artist. The Herbie Hancock album reflects our ongoing commitment to partnering with innovative artists and labels to create unique projects that will surprise and delight our customers."
    "With the Herbie Hancock project and the announcement of our next Starbucks Hear Music(TM) Coffeehouse in Miami, we are delivering on our promise to extend the full potential of the Starbucks music experience," continued Lombard.

    Herbie Hancock Project

    Starbucks Hear Music, Hancock Music, and Vector will co-release, market and distribute Herbie Hancock's landmark new recording. Hancock, who has remained seminal and innovative through four decades of music-making, collaborates on the new album with a diverse line-up of other notable artists including Sting, John Mayer, Damien Rice, Carlos Santana and Annie Lennox, among others.
    Hancock describes the project this way: "This is real collaboration that we're doing here. It's all been decided at the session," and calls the album, "a record without borders, woven like a tapestry with many colors." About the relationship with Starbucks, he says, "From the outset of this project, I knew I wanted innovation and collaboration to define not only the music, but also the way we would bring the music to its audience. Because of their commitment to helping people discover great music, and the enormous awareness they create for the music they love, Starbucks emerged as the ideal collaborator."
    As with the development of the highly successful Ray Charles' Genius Loves Company, Starbucks will participate in all facets of the album's lifecycle -- from production to distribution and marketing. The album will be sold in traditional retail outlets as well as at Starbucks locations. The album is currently scheduled for release in Fall 2005.

    Genius Loves Company

    The Hancock project follows the highly successful, triple-platinum Ray Charles album, Genius Loves Company, which was co-produced by Concord Records and Starbucks Hear Music. Genius Loves Company was released in August 2004, and was recently nominated for 10 GRAMMY(R) Awards, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year. Starbucks has sold more than 580,000 units of Genius Loves Company, which includes sales of a special holiday box set.

    Strong Starbucks Hear Music CD Sales

    Today's announcements come on the heels of strong growth for in-store CD sales at Starbucks. In addition to the continued success of Genius Loves Company and the strong showing of BeBe Winans' holiday release, My Christmas Prayer, a Starbucks exclusive, the company has experienced an impressive response to both the seasonal release Sweetheart, a unique compilation comprised of progressive musicians selecting and recording their favorite love songs specifically for Starbucks, and the Starbucks Hear Music exclusive Frank Sinatra compilation, Fly Me To The Moon.
    Sweetheart is an exclusive, limited-time release and extends the Company's leadership in developing and distributing quality music selections exclusively for its valued customers. As part of Starbucks Hear Music's ongoing Opus(TM) series, the exclusive Frank Sinatra CD, Fly Me to the Moon, invites listeners to explore the recordings of Frank Sinatra in his later years. Featured tracks were released on Sinatra's label, Reprise, which he launched in 1961. Both CDs are available exclusively at Starbucks retail locations throughout North America.
    "The curatorial voice of Starbucks Hear Music provides customers with the assurance that the music they purchase at Starbucks will be of the highest quality," said Lombard. "We take great care in hand selecting the songs we choose to include on our compilations and the artists we work with for Artist's Choice(TM) collections. The sales we've achieved demonstrate this approach is resonating with our customers and they are increasingly turning to Starbucks as an option of first resort when they want to discover and acquire any genre of music as part of their daily routine."

    The Starbucks Hear Music(TM) Coffeehouse Miami

    Miami has been selected as the location for the second Starbucks Hear Music(TM) Coffeehouse. Incorporating key learnings from the customer patterns, usage and feedback from the original Santa Monica Hear Music(TM) Coffeehouse that opened in March 2004, the Miami location will fully realize the blending of music and coffee to create a unique entertainment experience. Slated to open in the Fall of 2005, the store will be located in South Beach.

    Annual Meeting B-Roll Footage

    Starbucks Corporation's Annual Meeting b-roll footage will be available for download at IA-5, Transponder 05 (C-Band), Downlink Frequency: 3800MHz Vertical, Audio: 6.20/6.80 on Wednesday, February 9 from 9:30 - 9:45 p.m. EST and Thursday, February 10 from 11:00 - 11:15 a.m. EST.

    About Starbucks Hear Music

    Founded in 1990, and acquired by Starbucks Coffee Company in 1999, Starbucks Hear Music is the voice of music at Starbucks. Starbucks Hear Music is dedicated to creating a new and convenient way for consumers to discover, experience and acquire all genres of great music through its unique editorial voice, CD compilations, and music programming for Starbucks coffeehouses worldwide, as well as its innovative partnerships with other music labels to produce, market and distribute both exclusive and non-exclusive music. In 2004, Starbucks Hear Music launched a 24-hour digital music channel with XM Satellite Radio (XM Channel 75), the Starbucks Hear Music(TM) Coffeehouse in Santa Monica where customers can select from over 15,000 CDs or burn their own custom mixes, and the Starbucks Hear Music(TM) media bars, a service that offers custom CD burning at select Starbucks retail locations in Seattle and Austin. Starbucks Hear Music(TM) CDs are featured at Hear Music and Starbucks retail locations, as well as www.starbucks.com and www.hearmusic.com.

    About Starbucks Coffee Company

    Starbucks Corporation is the leading retailer, roaster and brand of specialty coffee in the world, with approximately 9,000 retail locations in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific Rim. The Company is committed to offering the highest quality coffee and the Starbucks Experience while conducting its business in ways that produce social, environmental and economic benefits for communities in which it does business. In addition to its retail operations, the Company produces and sells bottled Frappuccino(R) coffee drinks, Starbucks DoubleShot(TM) coffee drink, and a line of superpremium ice creams through its joint venture partnerships. The Company's brand portfolio provides a wide variety of consumer products. Tazo Tea's line of innovative premium teas and Hear Music's exceptional compact discs enhance the Starbucks Experience through best-of-class products. The Seattle's Best Coffee(R) and Torrefazione Italia(R) Coffee brands enable Starbucks to appeal to a broader consumer base by offering an alternative variety of coffee flavor profiles.

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CONTACT: Starbucks Coffee Company Emily Glassman, 206-318-7933 Emily.glassman@starbucks.com or Edelman Public Relations Elisa Wiefel, 323-202-1069 elisa.wiefel@edelman.com

KEYWORD: WASHINGTON FLORIDA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: ADVERTISING/MARKETING MUSIC RESTAURANTS FOODS/BEVERAGES RETAIL PRODUCT SOURCE: Starbucks Coffee Company

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