Ring in the Season with Entertainment Exclusives from Starbucks

Business Wire, Nov 7, 2006

The Starbucks Holiday Tradition Continues with Warm Classics and Fresh Takes in Seasonal Music from Artists ranging from Frank Sinatra to Pink Martini, plus Movies and Musical Audiobooks Available Exclusively at Starbucks Beginning November 9, 2006

SEATTLE -- It's beginning to sound a lot like Christmas as Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) Entertainment announces the release of an exclusive assortment of classic music, movies and audiobooks to warm the holiday season. Fond memories of holidays past are blended with fresh offerings in a new year, to create a selection of entertainment products available exclusively at Starbucks beginning November 9, 2006.

Building on the success of last year's holiday exclusives, Baby, It's Cold Outside and Elton John's Christmas Party which debuted at #27 and #61 respectively on the Billboard Top 200 Comprehensive Albums Chart and sold more than 310,000 units combined, Starbucks continues its holiday music tradition in 2006 with a proprietary CD compilation, Santa Baby.

Santa Baby, the newest CD in a series of annual holiday offerings hand-picked by Starbucks Entertainment, is anchored in beloved classics performed by the likes of Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. The 15-song compilation also includes new additions to the seasonal oeuvre, most notably new songs from Sonya Kitchell and Pink Martini recorded exclusively for Starbucks. New tracks on Santa Baby include Sonya Kitchell's "White Christmas" and Pink Martini's "Little Drummer Boy." Also included on the compilation is Aimee Mann's rendition of "I'll Be Home for Christmas" and GRAMMY[R] Award-winning singer and songwriter Sarah McLachlan's intoxicating version of Joni Mitchell's classic, "River." Santa Baby will be available exclusively at Starbucks in the U.S. and select international locations.

Legendary songstress Eartha Kitt is featured on the collection with her classic song "Santa Baby." Says Kitt, "I think it's just puurrr-fect that 'Santa Baby' is included on this very special holiday CD. I also love that this holiday brew includes many of my favorite performers, especially the wonderfully delicious Nat King Cole."

A tasty holiday treat for the movie lovers on your list, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and Starbucks Entertainment offer a holiday exclusive DVD/CD edition of Michael Curtiz's cinematic classic White Christmas. The 1954 feature film on DVD from Paramount Home Entertainment is packaged together with a Limited Edition re-issue of the Decca movie soundtrack entitled "Selections from Irving Berlin's White Christmas," out of print for more than a decade and now on CD from Universal Music Special Markets. Never before offered together as a single unit (the feature film on DVD with its companion soundtrack on CD), the White Christmas DVD/CD will be available this holiday season exclusively at Starbucks Company-operated locations in the U.S.

The final belly-warming holiday offering is an exclusive musical audiobook co-released by Starbucks Entertainment and Random House's Listening Library -- The Night Before Christmas read by Academy Award[R] winning actress Meryl Streep. Originally released in 1985 and out-of-print for more than a decade, the audiobook offers Clement C. Moore's endearing Christmas poem on a CD packaged with an exquisitely illustrated storybook. The audiobook CD also features a collection of Christmas carols sung by renowned musicians including The Christ Church Cathedral Choir of Oxford, England, and The Edwin Hawkins Singers. The Night Before Christmas audiobook will be available exclusively at Starbucks Company-operated locations in the U.S.

All titles also will be available for sale online at www.starbucks.com/hearmusic beginning November 9, 2006.

About Starbucks Entertainment

Starbucks Coffee Company launched Starbucks Entertainment in 2004 to help customers discover quality entertainment options as part of their daily coffee routines. Starbucks Coffee Company first acquired Hear Music in 1999 to become Starbucks Hear Music, the sound of music at Starbucks. Starbucks Hear Music has made a transformative impact on the music industry by providing a new and convenient way for consumers to discover, experience and acquire all genres of great music through its Hear Music[TM] CD compilations, its innovative partnerships with other music labels to co-release, market and distribute both exclusive and non-exclusive music, its 24-hour digital music channel on XM Satellite Radio (XM Channel 75) and its breakthrough Hear Music[TM] Coffeehouses in Santa Monica, San Antonio and Miami. Starbucks Hear Music[TM] CD selections can be purchased at Starbucks retail locations around the world, as well as online at www.starbucks.com/hearmusic. In 2006, Starbucks Entertainment extended beyond music and announced a unique partnership with Lionsgate to market and distribute the inspirational film "Akeelah and the Bee." The company expects the film to be the first of many such partnerships that help customers discover unique and rewarding entertainment.