Great googly moogly, when Lefsetz gets it right, he gets it RIGHT.

Regarding Starbucks’ decision to milk McCartney fans who bought his latest album the first week it came out by staging another greedy cash grab, a la the Music Industry we all know and love :

This is the kind of shenanigan that got this industry in the pickle it finds itself today. Sell the DVD as a standalone item. Give an EP with the bonus tracks free to everybody who shows up at Starbucks with the original album. (People probably buying a latte in the process.) Allow them to log on to iTunes and get this bonus material free. The technology’s there, customers were allowed to upgrade their EMI tracks to iTunes Plus.

That would be a story. How Starbucks broke the mold, respected the customer. But no, the company treats coffee with more respect than music. Everybody disrespects music. And you wonder why the consumer wants it for free.

I’ve been trying to wrap my head around why I feel so sad by the lame-ass free iTunes songs that Starbucks is offering this month… maybe it’s all part of the same dynamic. Music is regarded as worthless and people will line up out the door to drop $4 for some coffee, milk and caramel that they’ll just piss out in a few hours.

I can’t believe I’m even typing those words.

It’s a strange time to be making a living in the music biz.