Paul McCartney

Record label: HearMusic
First release: The Beatles' My Bonnie/The Saints single, 1962

McCartney surprised many people in March, 2007, when he walked away from longtime label EMI Group—which was also the home of the Beatles. McCartney signed with HearMusic, a record label acquired and relaunched by Starbucks (SBUX), to release his latest record, Memory Almost Full. The coffee chain is planning to use its nearly 14,000 outlets to help sell music from its roster of artists, and McCartney is also pushing the record via his Web site. HearMusic's McCartney coup was seen as a potential lure for other artists, and shortly after, 70s icons Joni Mitchell and James Taylor also announced deals with the label to release their records this year.