Those who enjoy buying physical compact discs at Starbucks won't be happy to hear that these products won't be available at the coffee chain's stores for much longer.
The Seattle, Wash.-based company announced Friday that it will no longer stock and sell CDs at its 21,000-plus retail stores starting at the end of March, according to Billboard.
A Starbucks representative said the company "continually seeks to redefine the experience in our retail stores to meet the evolving needs of our customers. Music will remain a key component of our coffeehouse and retail experience, however we will continue to evolve the format of our music offerings to ensure we're offering relevant options for our customers. As a leader in music curation, we will continue to strive to select unique and compelling artists from a broad range of genres we think will resonate with our customers."
Starbucks started investing in music in the late 1990s with its purchase of music retailer Hear Music, which was aimed at putting together collections that would inspire people to discover new music, Billboard reported. After the deal led to significant growth, the coffee chain continued its music push with partnership with William Morris in 2006 aimed at finding music to feature in their stores.
A partnership with Concord Music Group gave birth to original music releases from major artists like Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell and Alanis Morissette.
However, national CD sales have been going down, declining by another 15 percent in 2014, though Starbucks didn't reveal exact details about CD sales, USA Today reported.
Starbucks officials say music will remain a strong interest, and the company will continue to provide digital music. However, they did not reveal what offerings will be available in the future.
"Music has always been a key component at Starbucks," said company spokeswoman Maggie Jantzen. "We are looking for new ways to offer customers music options."
