The Guardian today announced the opening of #GuardianGreenRoom, a multi-purpose interactive digital lounge housed inside one of the shipping containers that makes up Rough Trade's new NYC store.
Rough Trade, the revered independent U.K. record store, opens its first-ever U.S. location in Williamsburg, Brooklyn today. The digital lounge is where the Guardian's independent journalism comes to life through an immersive and interactive in-store experience.
#GuardianGreenRoom, located on Rough Trade NYC's second floor mezzanine, will serve as an in-store content creation hub. Visitors will be able to explore the Guardian's music and cultural coverage, interface and engage with the Guardian's wide assortment of interactive content, browse store events and daily happenings, compare music tastes and cultural trends across the Atlantic, share insights, ideas and opinions, or simply enjoy the store's many diverse offerings.
With its iconic history as a record label and cultural hub already comprising two locations in East and West London, Rough Trade NYC will be the largest and most ambitious of its three locations -- the first international step toward making the independent and beloved brand a trusted global symbol of personable music retail.
The sprawling 15,000 square foot warehouse space will house a vast and diverse collection of curated records and books; a dedicated 250-person capacity music venue with bar and balcony seating offering a full schedule of live shows and events in partnership with The Bowery Presents; 30 CD listening stations; a cafe run by the team behind Five Leaves restaurant; and a 400 sq ft exhibition space that will feature a new exhibit every month, in addition to the Guardian's digital lounge.
"We're thrilled to partner with one of the most iconic music brands to bring the Guardian's independent journalism to life in the heart of New York City's creative community," said Caspar Llewellyn Smith, Head of Culture at the Guardian. "#GuardianGreenRoom is all about making our journalism and cultural coverage accessible in new and exciting ways."
"As a fiercely independent company, we're proud to partner with the Guardian, who has pioneered an innovative and independent approach to journalism, said Stephen Godfroy, Co-President & Co-Owner, Rough Trade. "#GuardianGreenRoom is a wonderfully dynamic element of Rough Trade NYC, particularly with its emphasis on digital interaction and complementary transatlantic sensibilities."
Rough Trade NYC is located at 64 North 9th Street, corner of Wythe Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (5 minutes walk from Bedford L subway, 3 minutes from North 6th East River Ferry terminal).
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For further information please contact:
Gennady Kolker, Guardian US
o. 646.937.5878 / m. 925.437.4522
gennady.kolker@theguardian.com
Rough Trade NYC
press@roughtrade.com
About the Guardian
The Guardian US, with its digital-only newsroom in New York, covers global news for an online, US audience, merging the innovation and energy of a start-up with the groundbreaking, award-winning journalism and backing of the Guardian brand.
Guardian News & Media (GNM), publisher of theguardian.com, is the third largest English-speaking newspaper website in the world. Since launching its US and Australia digital editions in 2011 and 2013 respectively, traffic from outside of the UK now represents over two-thirds of the Guardian's total digital audience.
First published in 1821, the Guardian is most recently renowned for its agenda-setting NSA surveillance revelations following disclosures by whistleblower Edward Snowden, globally acclaimed investigation into phone hacking, and trailblazing partnership with Wikileaks in 2010, and the launch of its groundbreaking digital-first strategy strategy in 2011.
About Rough Trade
First opened in 1976 in West London (UK), on the doorstep of punk, Rough Trade was as much a hang-out for likeminded people as it was a place to buy music. Finding itself at the forefront of the DIY music scene, Rough Trade launched an eponymous record label in 1978. Founder Geoff Travis left Rough Trade to manage Rough Trade Records in 1983, leaving Rough Trade employees to take on the ownership, and grow the retail seeds he'd had sown. Although they remain separate entities to this day, Rough Trade and Rough Trade Records are still very much akin.
Today, Rough Trade comprises two London stores, Rough Trade East and Rough Trade West. The latter being the historic store, the quintessential record shop that resembles an Aladdin's cave for anyone with an appetite for music. The former, Rough Trade East, opened in 2007 against a backdrop of nationwide retail closures, but has gone on to redefine music retail expectation, becoming a definitive 'destination store' for culture lovers of all ages, exhibiting the fundamental characteristic that marked the original store, of being a hang-out for likeminded people, as it is a place to buy music. Rough Trade also operate an online store (www.roughtrade.com) that sells all formats, physical and digital, including monthly and weekly new music subscriptions.
Rough Trade NYC will become the newest Rough Trade store, the first international step toward making what is already one of the most respected and loved brands in music, a trusted global symbol of personable music retail.
Follow Rough Trade on Twitter: @RoughTrade and @RoughTradeNYC