 Alanis Morissette is currently on tour in the US |
A Canadian music retailer has refused to stock Alanis Morissette's records in protest at an exclusivity agreement with the coffee giant Starbucks. The singer has given the coffee chain exclusive rights to sell her new album in the US and Canada for the first six weeks of release.
In response, HMV Canada has removed all of her records from its stores.
The album - an acoustic version of her 1995 hit Jagged Little Pill - will be released in the UK on 25 July.
It was released in North America on Monday.
HMV North America chief executive Humphrey Kadaner said the decision not to stock Morissette's records was "consistent with the views of the majority of our customers".
The singer's arrangement with Starbucks does not apply to UK outlets.
'Openness'
Ottawa-born Morissette, 31, said she had not intended to offend retailers in her home country.
"My intention certainly was not to ruffle feathers in that department," she told the Boston Herald.
However, she defended her decision to give the coffee chain exclusive rights to sell her album.
"When people walk into Starbucks, there's a real openness and a focus to behold and take in whatever may be on that counter."
The coffee chain has played an influential role in US music sales in recent times.
It was responsible for a quarter of all sales of the late Ray Charles final album, Genius Loves Company, which sold three million copies across the US.