Starbucks To Give Away 50 Million Songs

The Associated Press is reporting that Starbucks plans to give away 50 million free digital songs to customers in all of its domestic coffee houses to promote a new wireless iTunes music service that’s about to debut in select markets.

Here’s how it works: from Oct. 2 to Nov. 7, baristas in the company’s more than 10,000 U.S. stores will hand out about 1.5 million “Song of the Day” cards each day. The cards can be redeemed at Apple’s online iTunes Store, according to the report.

The first song will be Bob Dylan’s “Joker Man.” After that, “thirty-seven artists with featured songs include Paul McCartney and Joni Mitchell — the first two to sign on with Starbucks’ Hear Music label — along with Joss Stone, Dave Matthews, John Mayer, Annie Lennox and Band of Horses.”

Apple’s iPhone and new iPod Touch will both work with the new service. As we reported a few weeks ago, they also let folks buy music from the iTunes Store over WiFi networks while on the go.

Starbucks to Give Away 50 Million Songs [AP via NYT]

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