Oh, let it be

Starbucks logged its highest single-day sales of a music album when it moved 23,000 copies of Sir Paul McCartney's new "Memory Almost Full" on June 5. At a price of $15.95, the CD put about $360,000 into the chain's coffers on the first day of its availability—before the promotional tour, before a highly publicized "secret" show in a small New York venue, before airings of the disk's music video, before its considerable radio play, before the promo machine had kicked into high gear. The recording is now Number 3 on the Billboard sales chart, with more than 160,000 units sold.

Is that "Money" playing in the background? The Beatles' version, of course.

The chain presumably sold a few cups of coffee to the McCartney fans as they tramped through stores to the record display area by the sales counter. Some might've even popped for the chain's new high-priced sandwiches. But even without the lattes, that's a lot of cash to collect, especially since Starbucks is getting more than just the usual commission.

The ex-Beatle's release is the first on Hear Music, a new label launched earlier this year by the coffee giant and Concord Music Group. Other works are presumably in the pipeline. The venture presumably has entered the charts with a bullet.