Most people don’t give Starbucks enough credit for their entry into the music business. Well, most people don’t really give Starbucks enough credit for anything, but that’s another story. The truth is that when it comes to marketing music, Starbucks has the right idea… and others need to follow.

Starbucks has begun putting plasma televisions in all their stores that show you what song is currently playing, who it’s by, and what album it is on. Furthermore, if you open iTunes during this time, you can find out this information as well, along with a list of the songs played previously in that location. This is genius.

A few weeks ago, I was at my coffee shop of choice when a song came on that I liked and totally would’ve purchased on the spot if only I had a clue what it was. But I did not, and as such the music industry lost a sale.

The music industry is likely losing millions of potential sales because of this.

Some sort of service along the lines of this Starbucks one should be implemented anywhere music plays and where people congregate. It will earn money for both the venue and the music industry, and introduce people to new music in the process.