Music lovers looking for a coffee fix will be able to feed both those cravings at a Starbucks in the future, according to an executive at the coffee powerhouse.

Starbucks is looking to expand its already burgeoning music business presence by offering MP3 downloads, Starbucks Entertainment president Ken Lombard said yesterday at the Midem music industry conference in Cannes, France, according to Bloomberg News.

Lombard said that with the music industry in "chaos," Starbucks's Hear Music division plans to move beyond CD sales and custom CD burning to allow customers to transfer songs directly onto MP3 portable music players.

"A lot of our customers are asking for device fill-up, and going forward we'll do that,'' Lombard said.

Plans are still in the early stages, Lombard said. Starbucks hasn't yet set a date for moving into MP3 downloads and is still talking to various companies about the technology, he said. A big challenge will be deciding between making the downloads iPod-friendly or going with the digital rights management (DRM) technology of its Microsoft-backed rivals.

But given Starbucks' successful musical forays, including exclusive retail releases (Ray Charles, Alanis Morissette), its 3.5 million albums sold in its fiscal year ended September 30, and its recently announced plans to promote movies and offer DVDs and soundtracks at its retail locations, it's likely MP3 downloads could be coming to that Starbucks near everyone soon.