Macca's 'boss' speaks

Starbucks' label head talks to 6 Music

18 July 07 - The head of the Starbucks record label, Hear Music, has spoken exclusively to 6 Music.

Ken Lombard flew into the UK to speak to delegates at an industry conference in London and took the opportunity to talk about the success of Hear Music’s deal with Sir Paul McCartney, and future signings.

“We were very pleased. We could not be more excited and honoured that we had the opportunity to work with Sir Paul. I gotta tell you, he was a wonderful person to work with. Our customers loved him. The music consumers loved him. I think it resulted in fantastic sales for the CD which we’re all very pleased about.”

Those ‘fantastic’ sales saw Sir Paul’s album, Memory Almost Full, attain its highest chart positions in years on both sides of the Atlantic. It reached the Top Five in the UK and the US; Sir Paul’s Stateside sales were his best in more than a decade. The Hear Music deal also allowed fans to purchase Memory Almost Full online.

Little surprise then, that Hear Music is looking to build on that success, with another big name joining the label, as Ken Lombard told explained:

“He was a perfect artist to launch a label. Believe you me, we’re working very, very hard to figure out what the appropriate second signing from an artist perspective is gonna be. We hope to be able to announce that in the next couple of weeks.”

"We’re talking to a lot of different artists, we don’t have anything to announce right now with respect to Radiohead.”
Ken Lombard,  President of Starbucks Entertainment

Martin Talbot, editor of industry publication Music Week, attended the MusicMeetsBrands conference with Ken Lombard. He knows who the new signee is.

“He briefed me yesterday on who that was and I’m absolutely sworn to secrecy. But it is another big name artist – one of the all-time great female artists which will, I think, reaffirm what Hear Music is all about.”

Despite internet debates and a flat-out dismissal from Thom Yorke, rumours persist that Hear Music are still interested in releasing the next Radiohead album. Ken Lombard wouldn’t confirm or deny:

“We have a tremendous amount of respect for Radiohead, their music, and as artists. We’re talking to a lot of different artists, we don’t have anything to announce right now with respect to Radiohead.”

You can hear The Music Week’s full interview with Ken Lombard on 22 July from 1pm.


Jacqueline Springer