Other Music is a music retail store that sells CDs

Compact Disc

The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

 and records

Gramophone record

A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...

 through their website as well as a brick-and-mortar store in Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

. It specializes in the sale of closely curated underground, rare and experimental music.

In January 2007, Other Music announced that it plans to begin selling high-quality MP3

MP3

MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...

 files for download without using any type of digital rights management

Digital rights management

Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...

. This announcement follows similar moves made by other small online music retailers, including United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

-based Rough Trade

Rough Trade Shop

Rough Trade are two independent record shops based in London, UK.The first Rough Trade shop was opened in 1976 by Geoff Travis in the Portobello Road district of west London. In 1978 the shop spawned the famous Rough Trade Records, which was to go on to be home to bands from The Smiths to The...

, New York

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

-based Insound

Insound

Insound is an online CD, vinyl, digital, and music related merchandise retailer that focuses primarily on the sale of indie rock and music from other similar genres. The company is located in Greenpoint in Brooklyn, New York.- History :...

 and New York

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

-based Anthology Recordings

Anthology Recordings

Anthology Recordings is an all digital reissue label, providing an online outlet for rare and out-of-print music of all eras, genres and cultures...

. The announcement also coincided with the closing of Tower Records

Tower Records

Tower Records was a retail music chain that was based in Sacramento, California. It currently exists as an international franchise and an online music store....

' Lower Manhattan location. According to Other Music co-owner Josh Madell, this closing signifies the growing hardship of selling music out of a physical store, especially considering his store's location just across the street from Tower.

External links

• "A Real Music Store Sprouts Online", Wired News, January 22, 2007
• "In the Shadow of No Tower", The Village Voice, January 26, 2007
• Other Music
• Rough Trade Digital
• Insound Digital
• Anthology Recordings