Posted on 05/06/2005 10:22:41 AM PDT by Ramonan
The Boss is paying the cost for some racy lyrics and anti-corporate politics.
Starbucks says it will not stock Bruce Springsteen's just-released Devils & Dust, in part because of one track's graphic imagery.
The song in question, "Reno," depicts an encounter at a Nevada brothel, including a reference to oral sex and the line: "Two hundred dollars straight in, two-fifty in the a--."
But that alone didn't trigger the barrista's Boss ban.
"There were a number of factors involved...[Lyrics] was one of the factors, but not the only reason," Ken Lombard, president of Starbucks Entertainment, tells Reuters.
According to Newsweek, Starbucks decided to dust Devils after a deal fell through for a cobranded disc and promotional deal that prominently featured the Starbucks name. Springsteen's label, Columbia Records, balked when the idea was floated, citing the blue-collar champion's well-known opposition to merchandising his music.
Although Springsteen is doing just fine without Starbucks' help--Dust debuted atop Billboard's Hot 200 last week, selling more than 222,000 copies--the loss of a vital retail outlet could dent long-term sales.
The latte-slinging megachain has become an increasingly important part of the music business in the past two years. Caffeine junkies can now by a variety of adult-alternative CDs--from Norah Jones to Elvis Costello to Joni Mitchell to Michael Bublé--and even make customized discs at some outlets. It was Starbucks that was credited with the massive success of Ray Charles' Genius Loves Company, accounting for a full 25 percent of the Grammy-winning disc's nearly 4 million copies.
Starbucks even bought music chain Hear Music, which now produces its own line of CDs for the
(Excerpt) Read more at story.news.yahoo.com ...
Quite surprising, Starbucks is one of the more liberal companies. Fairly left wing, but even SOME of those folks have scruples.
That would get him into an Ann Coulter lecture.
Since when has BS been a blue-collar champion?
I have to admit that Starbucks did turn me on to Pink Martini and Pepe and the Bottle Blondes - good retro lounge stuff.
Ummmm - I don't think that is about oral sex...
seems like his bruceness is desperately seeking relevancy. he was mediocre at best when he was good, now that he's a has-been he just can't stand being ignored.
he'd do better as am employee.
Yeah right. I recall a few years ago when he help up the release of an Album until the Christmas holiday and the price could be even He's an over-rated hack.
Bruce who?
The guy's a real poet, huh?
He sure as hell doesn't speak for me.
Methinks Starbucks is a tad full of itself.
I wonder what percentage of anybody's record sales come from Starbucks. God knows they overcharge for a cup of joe, I can only imagine what they sell CD's for.
They're not exactly hitmakers. Somehow, Bruce will do just fine without them.
And people freak out over horse-milking jokes......
I can proudly say I've never set foot in a starbucks.
"Since when has BS been a blue-collar champion?"
Just what I need, another multi-millionaire, blue-collar champion trying to pick my pocket with their socialist positions. These people in their limos and private jets want capitalism for themselves and socialist poverty for everyone else. Maybe he should worry about his own business and stop minding the business of us working folk. When BS starts living off 30,000 to 40,000 dollars a year and giving the rest to poor folks (or the socialist programs he advocates), maybe I will give a thought to him being a working-class champion.
my point. i listened to some of his stuff a while back and was struck by the amount of whining in it. you can tell he's a dem.
A guy called into Drudge last week stating that he went to the BS concert in Phoenix, which is a tune up for the tour. Apparently some of the crowd heckled him back when he made anti Bush remarks.
Springsteen's "music" was only relevent to me when i was in my hippie days in college. I've since outgrown both.
I read a story in the Wall Street Journal recently that discussed Starbucks and politics and the link below, from a Fort Wayne, IN newspaper, is the same. Here is an excerpt:
"The price of access to meet lawmakers is often campaign contributions. Schultz (Starbucks' Chairman) has given money almost exclusively to Democrats, a big disadvantage in a city now run by Republicans. Starbucks had just hired its first lobbying firm, Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds LLP, which was founded by Bill Gates Sr., father of the Microsoft chairman. One of the firm’s principals, former Sen. Slade Gorton, a Republican, made some calls to old friends on Capitol Hill. That paved the way for meetings with Bill Frist, the Senate majority leader, Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and Rick Santorum, chairman of the Republican conference.
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/business/11423849.htm
In a November 2004 "Boston Globe" article (it is the Globe, after all so fabricated info is always a possibility), in a political donations story, Starbucks was listed as a company that gives between 51%-54% of its contributions to GOP causes (Krispy Kreme was listed as giving 98% to the GOP by comparison).
However, on the Dems' web site, BuyBlue.Org, they list Starbucks as donating 100% to Dems causes.
http://www.BuyBlue.org/detail.php?corpId=1
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