Sir Paul McCartney’s latest album will be released by Universal Music under a partnership with Starbucks to distribute the coffee chain’s new music releases. Sir Paul ended his 45-year association with EMI by signing with Starbucks Entertainment for his new album Memory Almost Full, released next month. The album will be sold and heavily promoted through Starbucks’ network of 13,500 outlets. Yesterday, Universal announced a global deal to distribute Starbucks’s CDs in music retailers in 77 territories. Yesterday EMI said that it would release Sir Paul’s entire solo back catalogue, including LPs by Wings, as digital downloads. A deal finally to make the Beatles’ catalogue available for sale online is “virtually settled”, Sir Paul said.

The coffee retailer has enjoyed considerable success in the music market since releasing the Ray Charles album Genius Loves Company, which has sold 5.5 million copies since 2004.

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