You probably already noticed, earlier this week we rolled out a new and improved version of Other Music Digital, introducing retail and non-retail features that we think we’ll make everyone’s experience much more enjoyable and easy to navigate. Here’s a breakdown of our favorite changes and additions:

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  Wishlist - The number one customer request. For all you work surfers out there who’ve perused Other Music Digital for new finds during your lunch break, only to forget what you found by the time you got home and were ready to download, or for those of you who have a list of music to purchase, but not on the week rent is due, just click the Wishlist button. Think of it as your virtual shopping list that you can access on any computer, and where any title will remain until you make the purchase. Or if you change your mind, you can manually remove items as well.

• Search Engine - Probably the function that we most wanted to refine was our search engine. We’re sure that any of you who tried searching our Digital site in the past for a band like, say, Stars, and had to sort through dozens of entries before finding the actual group will be quite pleased. The results of your search are now broken down into categories: Artists, Albums and Track Names. You’ll also see that there’s a drop down bar next to our Search Engine now which allows you to refine your search by Artist, Album, Track and Label names. Of course, there are still plenty of short cuts that you can use, such as clicking on an Artist or Label name on any feature page to search its discography.

• Jukebox - Our new music clip player is way more dynamic, allowing you to manage the history of music that you’ve previewed audio for, as well as quick access to your Wishlist. You can even make a playlist of the preview clips and listen to them on your computer’s iTunes.



• Tell A Friend - This is one of our favorite new functions. Found an album that you want to share? Click on the Tell a Friend link, and you can automatically send an email to up to five people of your choosing. The message will include a link to the album along with its album art and a review, and you can also add your own comment.

• News Section - You’re probably seen us touting our download store as “A Real Record Store Goes Digital,” and it’s more than just a slogan. One of the things that we fear of being lost in this new age of technology is the vibe you get walking into a record shop, hearing unknown music playing on the store stereo, and being able to ask a clerk for a recommendation, whether it be a new album or a good show to see. It’s a culture that we don’t want to see disappear, and we’ll do our best to keep it alive, even on-line. Our News page will be much more conversational than the retail sections of our website, an open forum for our staff to talk about anything, from a long lost gem of an album that they’ve just discovered to a must-see happening around town. It’s the kind of stuff you’d hear discussed on the floor of our shop on any given day, minus the sound of Duane’s iconic laugh. Add to this, our new Video Show that we’ll be rolling out in the not so distant future, which will be featuring high quality clips of in-store performances and band interviews. So even if you don’t live in NYC and are unable to pay us a visit, we’ll do our best to make you feel like you just walked in through our East Village shop’s front door.

Gerald Hammill
Other Music Site Editor