{"id":344,"date":"2006-05-31T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2006-05-31T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/idolchatter\/2006\/05\/ill-have-yoyo-ma-britney-and-a.html"},"modified":"2006-05-31T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2006-05-31T12:00:00","slug":"ill-have-yoyo-ma-britney-and-a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2006\/05\/ill-have-yoyo-ma-britney-and-a.html","title":{"rendered":"“I’ll have Yo-Yo Ma, Britney, and a Grande Mocha”"},"content":{"rendered":"
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If you\u2019re like me, the worlds of spiritual reflection and cultural relevance often meet at Starbucks, where I go for anything from solitude and reflection time to business meetings or reunions with friends. So I\u2019m a Starbucks lover, but I\u2019m not sure I\u2019m ready for its latest move.<\/p>\n

Several major publications have recently reported<\/a> on Starbucks\u2019 intention to make a deeper dent into our cultural direction and our personal decisions. \u201cStarbucks is changing what we eat and drink. It’s altering where and when we work and play. It’s shaping how we spend time and money. That’s just for appetizers,\u201d says USA Today. \u201cStarbucks has an even glitzier goal: to help rewrite society’s pop culture menu.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe company recently announced an alliance with the William Morris Agency, a talent and literary agency that will help Starbucks identify music, film, and book projects to consider for marketing and distribution in its stores,\u201d offers The Washington Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And they\u2019re not just floating the idea: They already have licensing agreements \u201cwith most of the major record labels that will give it the ability to offer everything from Britney Spears and The Polyphonic Spree to Yo-Yo Ma and Ray Charles,\u201d reports Business Week<\/a>. \u201cChairman Howard Schultz, sitting casually in his office near a photo of him arm-in-arm with Mick Jagger (said), \u2018Our customers have given us permission to extend the experience.\u2019”<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know about you, but I haven\u2019t given my permission. I find myself unsure of whether I want Starbucks to be a convenient marketplace or a break from it. I can handle, “Would you like a muffin or a bagel today?\u201d or \u201cWould you like to sample our latest coffee?\u201d I\u2019m not sure I\u2019m ready for, \u201cCan I get you a CD or DVD with your coffee today?\u201d I think I want a break from being sold on something.<\/p>\n

Says the USA Today article: \u201cSchultz says Starbucks still has to earn its stripes as tastemaker. Much as it would like to become an \u2018editor\u2019 of culture, he says, \u2018one of the great strengths of Starbucks is our humility.\u2019<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a nice branding soundbite, but I think Starbucks is showing more pride than humility. I\u2019m curious to see how it goes.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re like me, the worlds of spiritual reflection and cultural relevance often meet at Starbucks, where I go for anything from solitude and reflection time to business meetings or reunions with friends. So I\u2019m a Starbucks lover, but I\u2019m not sure I\u2019m ready for its latest move. 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