More Than Coffee is Offered
By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter
Coffee franchises have been offering more than delicious coffee ― everything from cakes to waffles ― and Starbucks is planning to continue with music.
The global coffee chain and music group Universal Music Korea installed listening booths and sales booths in several branches around Seoul, offering customers the chance to listen and even purchase albums.
``We started our book campaign a few years ago, where visitors can read books from the mini bookshelves installed in the stores, and we thought it was time for something else. We want our customers to have a cultural experience while drinking our coffee,'' Joyce Park, Starbucks general manager of public affairs, told The Korea Times at a press conference announcing the albums sales Tuesday at the Mugyo-dong branch, northern Seoul.
Selling music has become the norm in other Starbucks branches around the world, and it took time for local branches to join in because of legal regulations regarding food and sanitation. But revisions in the regulations gave Starbucks the green light to sell albums in stores. Starbucks will expand the number of stores to 34 starting from July 21 and will look into bringing albums to the rest of the branches.
The stores will have a listening booth where customers can listen to the albums on sale. They can choose from a variety of albums including those by top artists like MIKA, Diana Krall, Taylor Swift, Korean jazz group Winterplay and soprano Sumi Jo.
``We will offer music that goes well with the store's image and atmosphere, from jazz and pop to oldies,'' Park added.
Combining music with coffee has apparently become a good idea, with another coffee chain starting a similar project.
Local coffee chain Hollys launched its ``Fresh Coffee, Romantic Space'' project by releasing a compilation album featuring music by artists like Ralph Myrez, Cloud and Jazzamor.
``The local album market is not doing well, but the number of coffee places is growing immensely. We hope customers will be able to enjoy and further purchase our albums easily. This will hopefully bring a breath of fresh air to the staggering album market in the long run,'' said Lee In-sub of Universal Music Korea.