To people who are not familiar with NME, the name will not be obvious. NME stands for New Music Express. A popular music magazine, published in the UK was born in March 1952; and has been influential ever since. It’s weekly publishing ensures that today’s contemporary youth culture are kept up to date with the latest music, singers, downloads and bands.

NME became the first British magazine or paper to include a singles chart, which occurred in 1952.

1970 saw NME become the best selling British magazine of the time. Krissi Murison was named

the magazines eleventh editor, in late July of 2009; subsequently becoming it’s first female editor.

NME is published by IPC MEDIA, and is published on a weekly basis.

NME AND THE 60’S.

The 60’s saw rise to band like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. They owe some of their success to NME, as they were each frequently featured on the cover; and with NME’s young influenced audience there was no doubt of the two bands individual success.

In the late 1960’s the paper started to mimic the physcedelia trend. This refers to the popular culture music at the time, with a range of genres. This music attempted to replicate the experience of drugs; really popular among blues bands and rock bands in Britain’s 60’s.

During the 60’s NME had competition for sales

with MELODY MAKER, but NME’s sales stayed

at around 200,000 issue sales per week!

Frankie Vaughan featured in a 1960 article of NME, which was previously named Musical Express was a British pop singer; showing already how NME were ahead of their time and setting a trend for stars on the cover.

In 1981, NME released a cassette tape with ROUGH TRADE RECORDS, available at a low price to all readers. This tape featured lots of up and coming artists such as Linx, Scritti Politti, Ian Durv and Pere Ubu.

NME’s main journalistic writers during this period included Mat Snow, Danny Kelly and Chris Bohn. By this time, NME sales were dropping and was soon in danger of closing. Some of the rough-patch was created by tension between journalists who wanted to write abut hip hop, and those who wanted to write about rock music.

Due to the low sales, and uninteresting topics (including politics and stories unrelated to music) their previously dedicated fans began switching to magazines like The Face, and Smash Hits.

NME AND THE 80’S.

When a new editor (Alan Lewis) and writers were brought into save the falling magazine, old staff didn’t seem confident with the change of direction Alan had planned. But when the magazine took this new direction it proved a huge success and gained a strong identity. At last, Musical Express was given a new lease of life; NME.

NME.com tells us that every week it strives to offer it’s wide audience…

“the most exciting, most authoritative coverage of the very best in contemporary music, including award winning features, releases, live reviews, the guide to the best bands; as well as regular look back at the magazine’s 58 year history”.

We can see a distinct di

fference in the magazine

s; the

original version is much

simpler and neat, whils

t the

latest NME issue is attr

active, loud and colourf

ul;

just like the changing s

ociety. What people want

ed in

the 60’s is different to

now; people today expec

t

more. They want better d

esign, content and image

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PRICE: £2.20

CIRCULATION: 56,284

READERSHIP: 411,000

MALE READERS: 73%

FEMALE READERS: 27%

AVERAGE AGE OF READER: 25

TARGET MARKET FOR NME: MEN (17 YEARS TO 30)

According to NME.COM, a poll they carried out in early 2011 suggested precise figures for it’s audience. These figures concluded that:

•80% of it’s readers felt music was an important part of their lives.

•49% prefer to listen to live bands

•52% of readers are interested in taking on a music-related course

•59% like to keep up to date with technology

•34% are working full time, with 18% working part-time, as well as 26% students

•Almost half of all readers have been reading NME for at least 3 years

•84% say the magazine gives them what they want

These figures show us what NME want to have as their “Ideal reader”. They obviously want someone young, interested in music, changing cultures and styles, as well as into technology. Most of all the want dedicated readers!

FULL PAGE £3920 FULL PAGE: £950

HALF PAGE: £1960 HALF PAGE: £500

QUARTER PAGE: 4 COLUMNS

£1120 QUARTER PAGE: £275

QUARTER PAGE: 3 COLUMNS

£845 SIXTH PAGE: £17560

    TWELFTH PAGE: £9530

In 1996, NME set up NME.COM which has successfully grown to become Europe’s biggest music website with an average 4 million users across the globe, famous for it’s music news, reviews, videos, features. More than anything, it allows NME’s readers to become involved, to have their say and to state their opinions of the changing world of music style, and of anything else they decide to! (This is also a great example of Media 2.0) The website sees 5million users each month browsing through music article after music article!

As stated on their site, NME also have facebook, twitter, YouTube, Myspace and many more accounts…allowing readers to interact like never before!

Across the magazine, nme.com, NMETV, NME Radio and the brand's live events and awards allows NME to reach over one million music fans every week.

THE NME AWARDS:

The concert sees the poll winners receiving their awards; the concerts took place between 1963 and 1972. From 1964 onwards, the concerts were filmed, edited and then broadcasted on British TV a few weeks later. . .

In 1994 the awards were reborn as the “NME BRAT AWARDS”; a parody of the “Brit awards”.The awards show has been very controversial, including a singer who gave a 7 minute long “silent speech” and then had to be removed from the stage, awards to Justin Beiber for “worst style”, “worst album” and “villain of the year”. In 2007 Razorlight received a “worst album” award, and in 2009 George Bush won a “villain of the year” award for the 6th consecutive year.

NME RADIO:

NME radio features the best in new and alternative music, with live sessions and music news. First aired in 2008, it is operated from Blue Fin studies on London’s South Bank. It’s first every played and aired song was “Knights of “Cvdonia” by British rock band Muse.

In late 2010 the IPC MEDIA GROUP signed a deal with “Town and Country Broadcasting” to air NME RADIO. It re-launched in September and returned to Freesat, as well as having an IPhone app launched. This means that NME will potentially be able to expand it’s audience, expand it’s profit and earn greater respect as a true, British music magazine.

In 2010 NME In 2010 NME broadcast broadcast live from live from TOPMAN in TOPMAN in Oxford Oxford Street, Street, London; London; which im which im sure gained sure gained them a lot them a lot of of publicity!publicity!

NME was voted the Interactive Consumer magazine of the Year at the PPA awards. The controversial and “brutally honest” magazine has also won numerous other awards for its features on topical areas, music reviews and writing.

http://www.nme.com/mediapack/pdf/nme_media_information_full.pdf

The NME media kit proved really helpful and useful. Rate cards, audience information and statistics proved most beneficial for me. I can see that for a company looking to advertise, NME would be the right place, especially for brands like HMV who specialise in music. This is the URL for the media kit: