I do not agree with the Starbucks analogy for several reasons. First, Starbucks already owned a small record retailer (Hear Music) so music was something they had experience in.

Second, Starbucks are in the business of selling many things in addition to coffee. They’ve had mugs, grinders, etc. in their stores for years. Adding one more thing was easy.

Third, Starbucks music was a big part of their brand. People consisently would ask the workers at the store what they were playing. It was a natural extension.

Fourth, music is part of Starbuck’s master plan. Look for the stories on the music stations (that will burn CDs in the stores) that are being rolled out chain wide.

Now let’s look at Song.

They don’t sell stuff. They are an airline.

Music is not part of their brand. People don’t flag down flight attendants and say, “wow, that’s cool music playing over the intercom, where can I get that?

Finally, Ray Charles versus “Better Than Ezra”. Nuff said.

Kudos to Mr. Glass for getting more press on Beter Than Ezra than they’ve had in a decade, but I still don’t see what Song gets out of this other than as a distraction and the promise to be associated with what will likely be 3rd tier acts.

Daniel Glass, the chief executive of Artemis Records, says the Song Records experiment offers a chance to circumvent traditional avenues for marketing pop music, such as radio airplay and retail promotion, which are becoming increasingly constrained.

“There’s a general frustration with the way records are sold,” says Mr. Glass. He cites as inspiration for the Song Records venture the success Starbucks Corp. recently had with Ray Charles’s posthumous album “Genius Loves Company.” Thanks to heavy promotion in its 4,500 North American stores, the coffee chain accounted for nearly one-third of the title’s total U.S. sales of three million albums: “Everyone’s very turned on with what happened with Ray Charles and Starbucks,” Mr. Glass says.