Starbucks and Spotify join forces
When it comes to coffee, I am pretty open-minded, brewing many different brands with my Keurig. Hell, the use of that single-cup brewer is sacrilege to many aficionados, but I enjoy it. Away from home, however, I drink Dunkin' Donuts, 7 Eleven and, of course, Starbucks. While the Seattle-based Starbucks is not my favorite coffee, I go there more often than the other two. Why? The ambiance. I enjoy being in the coffee shop, as it is trendy and they play interesting music. Oh, and free Wi-Fi!
Apparently, I am not alone in enjoying the music that is played in Starbucks, as the company is joining forces with my favorite streaming music service, Spotify. While this partnership seems odd on the surface, it actually makes a lot of sense.
"Coming first, Starbucks 150,000 U.S.-based partners (employees) will receive a Spotify Premium subscription, followed shortly thereafter by partners in Canada and the U.K. This fall, Starbucks partners can help shape the in-store music programming using tools provided by Spotify. These partner-influenced playlists will then be accessible on Spotify via the Starbucks Mobile App so that customers can stream music anywhere, anytime from their mobile device", explains Starbucks.
Wow, Spotify Premium for all Starbucks employees? That is a very sweet perk!
The coffee giant further explains, "in addition, Spotify users will enjoy opportunities to obtain 'Stars as Currency' for My Starbucks Rewards loyalty program. This will represent the first time that Starbucks loyalty program stars can be accessed by a third party for the benefit of Starbucks MSR members and Spotify users. Spotify will also include a dedicated section on Spotify featuring new playlists from Starbucks and its most popular music from the past 20 years, available to all Spotify users".
My favorite aspect of this partnership is the Starbucks-curated playlists. While this would seem like nothing more than a marketing ploy coming from any other company, the coffee seller has made music a part of its experience for many years. It should prove to be a great way to discover new music.
Hopefully this will make more music available to the coffee shops too.
Daniel Ek, CEO of Spotify explains, "Starbucks has a rich music heritage and customers who are passionate music fans which makes us incredibly proud to be their music partner. Spotify has powered more than 25 Billion hours of listening around the world so far, and we're looking forward to creating unique in-store music experiences while also making more than 20 years of popular Starbucks music available to both Starbucks customers and Spotify’s 60 Million global music fans".
What do you think of this partnership? Tell me in the comments.
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