My “Dear Starbucks” Response

Dear David,

Thank you for contacting Starbucks Coffee Company.

At Starbucks, we are proud to offer customers a diverse range of music for their enjoyment. Music has always been a part of the coffeehouse culture and is an essential part of the Starbucks heritage and in-store experience.

We understand that our customers have diverse tastes and perspectives. In selecting music, we strive to represent the work of a variety of talented artists who reflect many creative viewpoints. Starbucks is an avid supporter of free speech and the creative process. When considering new projects, our primary goal is always to help our customers discover and acquire quality music.

We value input from our customers and respect their opinions. Starbucks and Hear Music believe our music selections continue our commitment to offering customers a variety of music from a vast array of genres.

Thanks again for contacting Starbucks.

Sincerely,

Minh L
Starbucks Coffee Company

[As expected, the response is obviously a formula. They might very well be gauging the responses one way or the other. It would be poor market research to do any less. I don't believe these people actually realize they're offending anyone, so much as allowing an artist to speak freely about what some would perceive as a faceless institution, not a body of individuals, and indirectly at that. Their position is naive at best, disingenuous at worst. But in light of the above, it does not surprise me. -- DLA]
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