Springsteen Lyrics Too Much for Starbucks
Posted on May 5, 2005
When you hear about song lyrics being too racy or too off-color to be played in a mainstream setting, you think more of the 2 Live Crew incident or the Eminem ruckus of a few years ago. Bruce Springsteen doesn't really come to mind. But Starbucks has backed out of a deal to sell the Boss' new album, Devils & Dust once they heard the lyrics to the song "Reno." The lyrics describe an encounter with a prostitute and discuss what she charges for a certain act which the Supreme Court recently ruled is now legal in Texas. Newsweek reports that this is the first time Starbucks has declined to stock an album over lyrics.
Critics generally are hailing the CD, which was released last week on Columbia Records, a Sony Music label. It is the only Springsteen album to carry a parental warning (Adult Imagery) due, apparently, to "Reno."We haven't heard the song, but have to wonder. Is the Boss having a mid-life crisis? Is it all a publicity stunt to make Springsteen appeal to a younger audience? In any event, censoring Bruce Springsteen just seems....silly.The episode appears to be the first time Starbucks has declined to stock an album by a major act because of concern over lyrics, notwithstanding the warning sticker. The java juggernaut, with almost 6,400 outlets in the U.S., has become an influential link in music distribution in just a few short years, especially in 2004. Starbucks boldly demonstrated its power in music last year when its outlets accounted for at least a third of sales of the million-selling album of Ray Charles duets, Genius Loves Company. Record labels increasingly view Starbucks as an attractive outlet for reaching fans of adult contemporary music, including baby boomers flush with disposable income but who've long since stopped browsing record-store aisles. What's more, the mix of coffeehouse and music has a nostalgic appeal.