Paul McCartney Leaving Capitol Records After 40 Years
Paul McCartney is splitting with the record company he’s called home for most of the last 43 years.
Except for a brief break in the early 1980s when he skipped to Columbia Records and then back, McCartney has been with Capitol since the Beatles’ first album in 1964.
But he’s leaving, effective immediately, and taking his entire back catalog of solo albums with him. That’s everything including bestsellers like "Band on the Run," "McCartney," "Ram," "Flowers in the Dirt," "Tug of War" and his critically acclaimed most recent album, "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard," nominated for four Grammys, including Album of the Year, in 2006.
That much is news. This much has also been reported: McCartney will be the first artist signed with Starbucks’ new record label. News of the label and McCartney’s potential involvement were first suggested in Sunday’s New York Post.
But I can tell you exclusively: It’s a done deal. It will be announced this week. McCartney will first offer just his new album to Starbucks for a fall release. The rest of the catalog he will sit on for the moment.
Capitol, I can also tell you, is not happy. They are part of the ailing EMI Records empire. EMI, like Warner Music, is suffering and could collapse at any time. This news is a terrible blow to them.
"They knew it was coming," a source says. "They did nothing for the 'Chaos' album, and they were reminded that McCartney’s entire contract was ending. Look, they did nothing for the Beatles’ 'Love' album this winter. It just sold on its own. Everything they do is outdated."
McCartney’s exit from Capitol is interesting in many ways. Every since the Beatles joined Capitol, all their albums and all their solo albums have come from the label.
Capitol’s association with the group since they broke up in 1970 has always been key. McCartney’s Wings albums were with the label, as was John Lennon’s "Imagine," George Harrison’s "All Things Must Pass" and Ringo Starr’s "Ringo!" Even Sean Lennon has released a Capitol album.
But all that may change now that McCartney has flown the coop. Starbucks has proven to be a much more effective seller of CDs and DVDs than record stores, thanks to their amazing retailing and branding.
Starbucks customers have come to regard non-coffee product merchandise as hip and attractive, while record companies have been unable to reach customers at all in recent years.
Good on Sir Paul! It really irritates me how big business is totally unresponsive to both the people who work for them, including artists such as McCartney and The Beatles, and to their customers. It's all naval gazing to get more money; how can we get blood from a stone? When if they looked at the actual marketplace or listened to their own people they'd have a clue.
Goodness, am I preachy lately. *slaps self* Anyway, I hope Paul's departure scares everyone else into treating their tried-and-true (and therefore ignored) artists better. Everyone's so busy looking for the next Beatles, they can't treat the people they have decently... even if they were Beatles. I will never understand the folly of corporations, and I've worked in them for decades.
All you've got to do is choose love. That's how I live it now. I learned a long time ago, I can feed the birds in my garden. I can't feed them all. -- Ringo Starr, Rolling Stone magazine, May 2007
For all I know, Ringo might be a yogi disguised as a drummer! - George Harrison
Acchording to Sunday Express his new album could be released this spring ...
McCartney signed to new Starbucks label
SEATTLE - Paul McCartney was introduced Wednesday as the first artist signed to Starbucks Corp.'s new record label. The former Beatle made an appearance via a video feed from London at the company's annual meeting.
The world's largest specialty coffee retailer announced earlier this month that it was partnering with Concord Music Group to launch the Los Angeles-based Hear Music label.
The McCartney announcement is another big step for Seattle-based Starbucks' attempts to spin part of its consumer appeal into the entertainment business. The coffeehouse chain already has produced and sold some albums, markets books, and helped develop a feature-length movie.
Hear Music has been used as a brand on other releases developed for sale in Starbucks stores. The coffee giant also has a branded page on Apple Inc.'s iTunes digital music store, and a handful of hybrid music-and-coffee stores that allow customers to burn tracks to CDs.
Concord, which controls several other labels, helped Starbucks sell the Grammy-winning "Genius Loves Company," an album of Ray Charles duets.
If was Starbucks, I'd get Paul to re-record some Beatles songs--or do something really cool like have him do songs by George and John. He did a pretty nice "Something" on the Concert for George. How about Paul doing "Imagine"? Talk about closure.
I think Starbucks goes for the softer, more meditative, coffee-friendly sound. They may do a "genius with friends" type of thing with him. Hopefully that will exclude Michael Jackson this time.
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"Memory Almost Full" will be released on June 5, 2007!!! ...UK-ains can pre-order the album from Amazon.UK 
