The idea of giving music fans more power to create their own compilations of CD music is a natural progression in a world in which the consumer is king and personalized service is the ultimate goal. This trend has been manifesting itself in cable TV service (TiVo, "time shifting", VOD - Video On Demand, etc.), the electronics industry (PVR - Personal Video Recorder) and why not think also in the audio/music industry?

In fact, the notion of giving consumers the choice to choose their own song compilations (paying a license fee per song) and then burn their CDs at a music store (including the engraving of the blank shiny CD surface) was discussed in this forum before.  Now, add coffee to it - and presto! - it's a pretty powerful combination.  So kudos to Starbucks (Nasdaq:SBUX) for coming up with the idea of "music bars", a nice setting where customers can listen to digital recordings and burn their own CDs.  The famous chain is enjoying success in its firs music bar opened as a pilot project in Santa Clara, CA (I will be sure to pop in next time I am in town).  The plan is to open 15 of these "Hear Music" coffee houses in Seattle, WA and roughly 30 in Austin, TX.  Music fans will be able to select their music with the aid of a stylus pen and self-service screens placed throughout each location.  The pricing of a customized CD has been set to $8.99 for the first seven songs and 99 cents for each additional song.