Seminal cultural icon Bob Dylan is going through a well-deserved high-profile resurgence of late. Volume One of his autobiography Chronicles – due out in paperback soon – has been gathering rave reviews this past year, while Martin Scorsese’s upcoming documentary profile is set to ensure him legions of new young fans.
Which is why all this Starbucks business seems a little disappointing.
Starbucks – the coffee shop equivalent of a Meg Ryan movie – have extended their hideous talons into the world of music recently. Certain hecklers may recall their ‘exclusive’ deal with Alanis Morrissette (CDs) earlier in the year.
While Morrissette isn’t exactly at the higher end of the cultural echelon (none of the things in that song are actually Ironic, okay? They’re just fucking unfortunate) it was the following announcement that raised serious music-lover eyebrows: that the ‘Bucks have 18-month advance rights enabling them – and them only – to sell copies of live retrospective Bob Dylan: Live At The Gaslight 1962.
Ignoring the obvious here – that selling work by Dylan (CDs) at Starbucks is like flogging Rimbaud poetry in Poundstretcher – this scrabbling to grab slices of the music market has upset certain retailers.
Enter HMV Canada, then. They’ve revealed that – in the wake of this tawdry deal – they’re refusing to stock any Dylan albums for the entire length of the Starbucks promotion. That’s a year and a half – a move which should hit Dylan’s sales considerably.
Of course, this isn’t the only instance in which an artist has nearly invalidated all their work by plonking it in a hot beverage outlet. Both Elvis Costello and Joni Mitchell – the mind boggles – have allowed their records to be sold in branches of Starbucks.
A sole dissenting voice? Step forward, Mr. Bruce Springsteen – a man who "pulled the plug" on a proposed Starbucks money-maker because "he loathes merchandising his music."
That’s why they call him The Boss. We expect.
Read More:
Dylan Dissed In Canada – Yahoo! News
[story by C J Davies]