Qobuz And Rough Trade Announce Global Co-Promotion Partnership

InnovationConsumer TechQobuz And Rough Trade Announce Global Co-Promotion PartnershipByBenny Har-Even,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about commercial cinema technology and smart-home tech.Follow AuthorMay 31, 2026, 01:38pm EDTMay 31, 2026, 01:40pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.Rough Trade is known for live in-store performances of acts such as the Beastie Boys, PJ Harvey, and Jeff Buckley.Rough TradeWhile vinyl records continue to thrive, like all physical media, record stores have to work harder than ever to compete with streaming services. As the saying goes, if you can’t beat them, join them, which explains why Rough Trade, the famous independent record store, has announced a deal with Qobuz, the France-based streaming service.As part of an initial two-year deal, Qobuz will be the music service playing in Rough Trade’s nine stores across the UK, US and Germany. The two companies will also collaborate on in-store events and live performances.Additionally, music from the Qobuz download store will be available through the Rough Trade retail website, while exclusive streaming deals and other offers will be available to Rough Trade customers. Equally, Qobuz subscribers and employees will be able to access discounts at Rough Trade stores. The match-up with Qobuz does make sense as the brand wants to promote the “Discovery” feature that emphasizes human curation over algorithms. Qobuz was also the pioneer of lossless music, and first launched CD-quality FLAC-based lossless audio back in 2008. Qobuz now offers 100 million tracks in lossless formats such as CD, hi-res (up to 24-bit/192kHz), DXD and DSD.“Rough Trade is one of the best known and most respected names in music retail, and Qobuz is honored to have been chosen as their Official Music Streaming Service. We are looking forward to working closely with the Rough Trad...