Celebrating its new partnership with Apple iTunes, Starbucks (the coffee folks rather than the eponymous Viper pilots) has announced it's giving away 50 million free song downloads next month.  E!Online reports that among the many songs to be offered include "Joker Man" by Bob Dylan, and songs by Paul McCartney, Joss Stone, Joni Mitchell, and the Dave Matthews Band.  This is all part of a new promotion allowing iTunes users to browse and download music at selected stores using a high-speed Wi-Fi wireless network without logging in or paying a connection fee.  The service rolls out in New York and Seattle on October 2nd, but will spread shortly thereafter to San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago, with other markets opening in later 2008.

One of the big new features for customers will be the Now Playing list.  Songs playing at the store can be instantly downloaded to users' devices with a few clicks.

Steve Jobs, Apple founder and CEO, said, "Getting free access to the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store and the 'Now Playing' service at Starbucks is a great way for customers to discover new music.  Imagine walking into a participating Starbucks, hearing a great song, and being able to instantly download it onto your iPod or iPhone. We think this is very cool."