McCartney sings for Starbucks

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Starbucks said Wednesday today it signed on former Beatle Paul McCartney as the first artist to its new record label Hear Music.

The announcement was made at the Starbucks annual meeting of shareholders in Seattle, where McCartney made a surprise appearance via satellite and said his new album is expected to be available in Starbucks stores by early June.

Paul McCartney

"For me the great thing is the commitment and the passion and the love of music, which as an artist is good to see," McCartney said in a statement. "It's a new world now and people are thinking of new ways to reach the people and for me that's always been my aim."

"Having the honor of releasing an album by Paul McCartney as our first project under the Hear Music label is in a word, remarkable," Ken Lombard, president of Starbucks Entertainment, said in the statement.

Starbucks (Charts) partnered with Concord Music Group on the release. The two companies have previously collaborated on albums by Ray Charles and Sergio Mendes.

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