Starbucks And iTunes Heart Dallas Green

10/02/08 12:43pm

by Kate Harper (CHARTattack)

If you enjoy (legal) downloading and overpriced coffee, Starbucks and iTunes have a treat for you.

Every Tuesday, you'll be able to pick up a free "Pick Of The Week" card at your local Starbucks after ordering some drink with more syllables than supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, which you'll be able to redeem for a free download within 60 days. Seven hundred stores in western Canada and Ontario will stock the cards, and the first "Pick Of The Week" is City And Colour's "Constant Knot." Other artists who'll be featured in the coming weeks include 2008 Polaris Music Prize nominee Kathleen Edwards, Ron Sexsmith, Alex Cuba and the non-Canadian Dr. Dog.

"We are thrilled that iTunes and Starbucks are now working together in Canada to put great music in front of even more fans," says Apple Internet Services VP Eddy Cue. "The free 'Pick Of The Week' iTunes cards are a great way for our mutual customers to discover and download songs from emerging artists whenever they stop in to a Starbucks location."

Sexsmith is 10 albums into his career, which means he isn't exactly an emerging artist, but perhaps Cue was so pumped up on caffeine and excitement that he spoke before he thought when giving that quote to his company's PR person.

Starbucks also recently launched its own "entertainment area" on iTunes, which is currently highlighting albums by Fleet Foxes, James Taylor, a glam rock compilation and another compilation featuring American musicians from the Great Depression to the Cold War eras. It doesn't give you the option to download a tall, non-fat, no foam, extra hot, triple-shot latte. You still have to buy that in a store.