BeBe Winans' ``My Christmas Prayer,'' a Starbucks CD Exclusive, Tops the Charts; The Album Reaches No. 1 on Multiple Music Charts

Business Wire, Dec 7, 2004

SEATTLE & LOS ANGELES -- Demonstrating the power of Starbucks (Nasdaq:SBUX) distribution channel, Starbucks and Hidden Beach today announced that BeBe Winans' My Christmas Prayer has reached No. 1 on four of Billboard's catalog charts. The CD, which is exclusive at Starbucks locations this holiday season, is available through an agreement with Hidden Beach Recordings. To date, Starbucks has sold more than 97,000 units of the CD since it became available at Starbucks locations in North America on November 10. The CD ranked number one on key industry charts including Billboard's Top Pop Catalog Chart, Top Contemporary Christian Catalog Chart, Top Gospel Catalog Chart and Top Catalog R&B Albums Overall Chart, as well as securing the No. 4 spot on Top Holiday Albums.

"I could not have envisioned a better scenario for this project," said BeBe Winans. "With partners such as Starbucks and Hidden Beach, and the wonderful opportunity to appear on my good friend Oprah's "Favorite Things" show, the blessings seem to come one right after another. Most of all, I am glad that people are embracing My Christmas Prayer during this important time of the year."

"The chart debut for My Christmas Prayer further supports the proposition that the Starbucks Experience and the company's broad customer base provides a compelling and powerful distribution channel for the music industry," said Ken Lombard, president, Starbucks Entertainment. "Our expertise in music through our Hear Music brand, coupled with Starbucks unparalleled distribution, and our collaboration with Hidden Beach, combined to create an incredible platform for success."

Lombard added, "My Christmas Prayer builds on Starbucks Hear Music's successful collaborative release with Concord Records, Ray Charles' Genius Loves Company, which recently went multi-platinum. We hope to see many collaborative successes with Hidden Beach, Concord Records and other labels in the future."

My Christmas Prayer, which is a 15-song disc, is offered via an exclusive distribution agreement between Starbucks, Winans and Hidden Beach Recordings, was released November 10 and is available at Starbucks retail locations throughout North America this holiday season. This collaboration is part of a breakthrough model for the music industry, changing how music recordings are distributed and marketed to consumers.

To help spread the CD's inspirational message, Winans is currently on a special holiday tour and will perform at some of the nation's largest churches. He kicked off his tour by performing on Oprah's Favorite Things 2004 show on November 22, and has made stops at churches in such cities as Chicago, Detroit and Los Angeles. The gifted singer has upcoming appearances scheduled in Houston, Fresno, and New York. In addition, Winans will appear at Starbucks locations to sign CDs and meet fans. Winans will also co-headline a holiday concert with Carly Simon at the Apollo Theater in New York City on December 17 and 18. For more information on specific locations and dates, visit http://www.bebewinans.net.

"The early success of My Christmas Prayer is satisfying for a number of reasons," said Hidden Beach Founder Steve McKeever. "Not only does it speak to the viability of our collaboration with Starbucks, an innovative company that understands the power and benefits of branded entertainment in reaching today's consumers, but it also underscores our commitment to staying the course on a project originally released over a year ago and seeing it achieve the level of success and awareness that it deserves."

This type of long-term commitment to finding innovative ways to market, promote and distribute their artists' recordings is a cornerstone of Hidden Beach's marketing philosophy.

The disc, a collection of Yuletide classics destined to be a holiday treasure for years to come, is anchored by the spirited duet between Winans and Rob Thomas (lead singer of Matchbox 20) on "My Christmas Prayer." Winans was inspired to write the song while visiting U.S. troops stationed in the Middle East to offer hope and encouragement to the soldiers' families. The CD also includes favorites such as "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas," "Silent Night," "O' Come All Ye Faithful," and "Joy to the World."

My Christmas Prayer, a joint release from Winans' The Movement Group label and the Hidden Beach Celebrations Series, is available exclusively during the holiday season at North American Starbucks locations for $12.98 U.S./$15.98 CAN. Also, select tracks from the CD are available for download on MSN Music (http://music.msn.com/) as part of their special Christmas offering.

The CD, which was produced by Winans and multi-talented Nashville-based musician Tom Hemby, paves the way for the singer's next studio album, Dream, which will debut in early 2005.

(c) 2004 Starbucks Coffee Company. All rights reserved.