Starbucks Teams With WMA

Starbucks is delving further into the entertainment business by hiring William Morris Agency to seek music, film and book projects to market and distribute from its stores.

The Seattle-based coffee retailer recently promoted the film “Akeelah and the Bee,” which opened April 28th. Starbucks’ goal is reportedly to have one book in its stores this year and at least two or three movies on DVD to promote by next year, according to The New York Times.

Starbucks entertainment staff is reportedly moving from Seattle to Southern California to be closer to the industry, the paper said.

The company has a successful track record promoting and selling CDs by Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Herbie Hancock, Antigone Rising, and others, which WMA CEO Jim Wiatt said was key.

“Since Starbucks shook up the music industry when it launched its focused music strategy in 2004, we recognized the important role that they would have on entertainment marketing and distribution going forward,” Wiatt said in a statement. “As they extend their reach into broader forms of entertainment, we couldn’t be more pleased and honored to be working with Starbucks.”