I’m spending the night in Everett, WA on my way to teach in Marysville tomorrow. After dinner I spotted a starbucks down the street and decided to get a caramel machiato to help me relax. (Decaf.) Outside was a sign for Starbucks’ new Hear Music Media Bar. I’d heard about this before and now I was definitely making a stop.
After getting my drink I sat down at the system and started to browse. It turns out that these systems have thousands of CDs completely available for selection and on site burning. Additionally you can select the tracks of your choice (nothing was “album only” as some iTunes tracks are) to burn onto a custom CD.
I selected seven songs for the base price of $8.98+tax. Each additional song is $0.99 but I held my ground. I was ablt to reorder my list since I hadn’t selected my songs in the order I wanted them on the CD. I was also able to pick a graphic from a selection of about 40 images. (I didn’t count so that number is just an estimation.) I was also asked to choose a title for my CD.
I finalized my list and swipped my credit card. It did not ask me for a signature and promptly processed the charge. While the CD was burning a printout was made which I folded along the perforations as instructed and inserted into the flaps of a paperboard and plastic jewelcase. About three minutes later my CD, lebeled with my title popped out, ready to be placed in the newly customized jewelcase.
Overall the system worked as advertised however it isn’t perfect. First, the on-screen keyboard has keys in alphabetical order. As someone used to a QWERTY keyboard, this made my searching and title entry a bit dificult. Secondly, the price. The track peices are in line with iTunes but since you’re getting a physical item, the starting price seems a bit high for seven songs but I guess it’s justifiable.
I documented the process with my camera. The 12 photos can be found in a set in my Flickr account.
