Highly Anticipated Album Features Duets with Christina Aguilera, Annie Lennox, John Mayer, Damien Rice, Carlos Santana, Paul Simon, Sting, Joss Stone, and more.
Hancock Music, Vector Recordings and Starbucks Hear Music today announced the availability of their co-release, Herbie Hancock’s new duets album, Possibilities, at Starbucks Company-operated locations and traditional music retail stores throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Additionally, and through a distribution agreement with Warner Music International, Hancock’s Possibilities is being released globally the week of August 29 at traditional music retail and select Starbucks locations.
Today’s announcement marks the first time Starbucks has made a CD available simultaneously at Company-operated locations in the U.S. and select international markets, including Australia, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom.
Co-released by Hancock Music, Vector Recordings and Starbucks Hear Music, and produced by Herbie Hancock and Alan Mintz, the genesis of the album was Hancock’s vision of collaborating in studio to create music with some of the artists he most admires. Herbie Hancock describes Possibilities this way: “This is real collaboration that we’re doing here. It’s all been decided at the session.” For example, John Mayer came to his recording session with a simple guitar phrase from which he and Hancock created a fully arranged song, replete with lyrics and a rhythm section of drums, bass and keyboards.
Sting and Hancock freshly reinterpret Sting’s song “Sister Moon,” from the album Nothing Like the Sun. “Herbie Hancock has been an iconic figure in my personal pantheon for many, many years,” said Sting. “Long before I was fortunate enough to work with him I had followed his startling trajectory from his work with Miles Davis, the Headhunters and up to the present day. While the core of his work has always been jazz, his openness to new ideas, technological as well as musical, has bestowed on him an ageless and natural ‘hipness’ that sits well with his playful genius. A deeply spiritual and delightful human being, Herbie rocks!”
“Pairing Herbie’s legendary talents with such an unprecedented array of duet partners has resulted in an event album,” said Ken Lombard, president of Starbucks Entertainment. “Every element of Possibilities is a result of unique collaboration — from Herbie’s studio sessions with each of the artists and the work between the labels, to the promotion of the album globally by traditional retailers and Starbucks. We are honored to bring this special music experience to our customers around the world.”
“We have always admired Herbie Hancock for his immense and continued contribution to music. When we first learned that we might have an opportunity to work with him, we jumped at the chance,” said Vector co-principal, Jack Rovner.
Ken Levitan, Rovner’s partner in Vector, added, “Possibilities is a truly unparalleled collection of collaborations. The album is everything we knew it could be.”
About Possibilities
Herbie Hancock has remained influential and innovative through four decades of music making, having won ten GRAMMY(R) Awards, an Academy Award and countless other accolades for his various and influential work.
The diverse lineup of artists who accepted Hancock’s invitation to create and record music with him for the album is a testament to the breadth and magnitude of his impact. The collaborators are a diverse group of world-renowned musicians, and represent genres of music well beyond the world of jazz.
Starbucks Marketing Campaign
As with the multi-platinum, eight GRAMMY(R)-winning Ray Charles album, Genius Loves Company, Starbucks Hear Music participated in all facets of the project’s lifecycle — from facilitating production to distribution and marketing of the album.
Starbucks is leveraging the Company’s credibility, reach and frequency of customer visits to provide a unique channel for marketing and distributing the album. In-store promotional efforts in the U.S. include complimentary multimedia content delivered via the T-Mobile HotSpot network, which is available in more than 4,000 Starbucks coffeehouses in the U.S. The content is accessible on the welcome page of the T-Mobile HotSpot service at Starbucks. Any customer with a Wi-Fi enabled device will be able to experience compelling video of Herbie collaborating in-studio with a variety of the duet partners including John Mayer, Christina Aquilera and Santana.
Other in-store promotional efforts in the U.S. and Canada include signage, point of purchase displays and overhead music play. Timed to coincide with the release of the album, Starbucks will utilize its relationship with XM Satellite Radio to promote the album in the U.S. on Hear Music(TM) Channel 75 on XM Satellite Radio. In November and December, marketing efforts will also include in-flight programming on United Airlines, another party with whom Starbucks has a marketing relationship.
About Starbucks Hear Music
Founded in 1990, and acquired by Starbucks Coffee Company in 1999, Starbucks Hear Music is the voice of music at Starbucks. Starbucks Hear Music is dedicated to creating a new and convenient way for consumers to discover, experience and acquire all genres of great music through its CD compilations and music programming for Starbucks coffeehouses worldwide, as well as its innovative partnerships with other music labels to produce, market and distribute both exclusive and non-exclusive music.
In 2004, Starbucks Hear Music launched a 24-hour digital music channel with XM Satellite Radio (XM Channel 75), the Starbucks Hear Music(TM) Coffeehouse in Santa Monica where customers can select from over 15,000 CDs or burn their own custom mixes, and the Starbucks Hear Music(TM) media bars, a service that offers custom CD burning at select Starbucks retail locations in Seattle and Austin.
Starbucks Hear Music(TM) CDs are featured at Hear Music and Starbucks retail locations, as well as online at www.Starbucks.com/hearmusic.