Starbucks plans big launch for McCartney album

After signing Paul McCartney to launch its new record label, coffee retailer Starbucks is planning to make sure that as many people as possible hear the former Beatle's latest album.

The coffee giant will host a worldwide listening party on June 5 for McCartney's new Hear Music-released album, "Memory Almost Full," with more than 10,000 Starbucks stores in 29 countries set to participate in the event by playing the disc for customers all day long.

"Customers from Taipei to Topeka have the opportunity to experience this extraordinary album all within a span of 24 hours," said Ken Lombard, president of Starbucks Entertainment, the company that oversees the day-to-day operations of Hear Music. "The Global Listening Event is one example of how we are bringing back the sense of event surrounding new releases, allowing fans to discover new music in a very personal way."

The company estimates that six million people around the world will hear at least part of the album, which is the debut release for Starbucks and its Hear imprint. The album will be available at Starbucks locations, as well as traditional music retail outlets, beginning June 5 in the US and Canada, and June 4 internationally.

McCartney reunited with longtime producer and friend David Kahne to record the new effort, which draws upon his memories of childhood and time spent writing songs with John Lennon.

"In places, it's a very personal record and a lot of it is retrospective, drawing from memory, like memories from being a kid, from Liverpool and from summers gone," McCartney wrote recently on his website.

The video for the opening track, "Dance Tonight," was shot in April with director Michel Gondry ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"). It stars Natalie Portman and Mackenzie Crook.

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