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Carly Simon sues Starbucks

Singer Carly Simon is suing Starbucks Corp., saying the coffee company’s defunct music venture failed to promote her 2008 album, dooming it before it was even released.

SEATTLE — Singer Carly Simon is suing Starbucks Corp., saying the coffee company’s defunct music venture failed to promote her 2008 album, dooming it before it was even released.

The singer, whose biggest success came during the 1970s and ’80s with hits like You’re So Vain and Anticipation, is seeking unspecified damages related to the release of the 14-track This Kind of Love in April 2008.

In a lawsuit filed Friday with California’s Los Angeles County Superior Court, Simon and her attorneys said the album wasn’t available in “a substantial number” of Starbucks stores during the key early months following its release. Later, when the disc was stocked in Starbucks locations, the Seattle-based company slashed the price.

“By doing so, Starbucks stigmatized Ms. Simon’s album as an album that could not be sold at full price,” according to the claim.

In a statement issued Monday, Starbucks said it met all its contractual obligations and even extended the amount of time it promoted the album.

“Unfortunately, sales continued to lag as the title received tepid response from music consumers,” Starbucks said. “Other retailers faced the same fate with this CD.”