[atari 2600]

French media giant Vivendi Universal is far more of a corp. whore than Starbucks. Sonic Youth's involvement with them was purely incidental as Geffen (where they ha(d)ve a unique deal with the David himself) was amalgamated with Interscope and then for a number of years, both were absorbed by the Vivendi Universal monster. The music & film division was sold to NBC & GE (a kinder, gentler corporate beast?) last year to form NBC Universal and is no longer part of Vivendi.

Starbucks treats employees fairly. As they should, since coffee has the highest profit margin of almost any legal good.
I'm not a big fan of expensive coffee, however, and I don't buy from Starbucks on anything other than a once-in-a-blue-moon basis.
Starbucks has gained an especially bad rep/rap among people (townies, historical preservationists and the like) because they've moved into so many spaces that were once occupied by small businesses with local color. Thing is, those businesses were failing; despite appearances, it was Starbucks that thankfully bailed their soon-going-bankrupt asses out. So don't point a finger at a robust Starbucks company, blame a lame economy and short-sighted governmental policies that devalue currency, accelerate class separation, and cause small businesses to fold.

Personally, I'd be surprised if anyone other than die-hard fans buy this compilation anyway, so it seems to be an odd play for that reason in my opinion. The best possible outcome here will occur only if Starbucks locations will actually play Sonic Youth music in their stores.