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NEW YORK RECORD STORE OTHER MUSIC IS TO CLOSE DOWN

Former employees include Panda Bear and Scott Mou...

Much-loved New York record store Other Music is to close down on 25th June.

The East Village record shop as has been selling music since it opened in 1995 and calls both Panda Bear and Scott Mou former employees.

Co-founder Chris Vanderloo told the New York Times that the store would close down in June due to exorbitant rent increases, which he says have doubled over the years, whilst sales have continued to fall since 2000.

"We still do a ton of business — probably more than most stores in the country," explained fellow co-founder Josh Madell. "It’s just the economics of it actually supporting us — we don’t see a future in it.

"We’re trying to step back before it becomes a nightmare."

It’s another example of how the music industry — whether it’s clubs, venues or records stores — are being forced out of the very cities where they’ve had a huge cultural impact.

It would seem that Other Music is now trapped in the wrong neighbourhood according to Madell. "When we opened, Brooklyn was not even on the map really for music culture. Now that is definitely where you’re going to be.”