The new NME is rather like the magazine equivalent of the Sugababes by their final line-up, not necessarily bad, but completely different; only the name remains.
Like any change, it is tempting to write it off as terrible, but for years everybody has openly slated NME for well, slating everybody else. They band-wagon jump until the difficult second album, then they’re off to the next thing, just like the stereotype of the seventeen year olds that they try to appeal to. It may be scathing if you are the new band on the block, but it’s critical style made it a compelling read with a focus on new music, unlike its counterparts (ahem, Q). I have to confess, I enjoyed the ritual of opening the first page and finding it filled with new music to look up on Spotify and YouTube during that week.
But, like the entire print industry of the world, we have that pesky pay wall issue to deal with and unfortunately, it just isn’t going to go away. Since the magazine has become free, they have maintained a solid proportion of editorial and haven’t let the adverts take over, at least for now. But surely that means that half of the editorial is actually press releases for promotional purposes?! Few of the best NME writers are appearing in the by-lines, or perhaps they jumped ship when they realised their editorial careers were potentially going to go down the pan? One thing is for sure, the switch to the free magazine format has definitely made a marked impact on the style of the writing. The short reviews act more as introductions to new albums, rather than descriptions of the musical sound littered with hyperbole and simile. Hmm, smells like PR to me.
Despite any criticisms, it is important to take into account that the magazine is completely FREE and very accessible (I picked mine up in TopShop, Oxford Street). I can’t deny that I responded with glee that I could pick up a copy without spending a penny, before the realisation that ‘oh yeah the whole print media industry is pretty fucked’ caught up with me. Shamefully, I still managed to get the last two copies before being distracted by a great jacket. This pretty much sums up the problem with the media industry (and music industry, arts…) – people want something for nothing. And with the new NME, it is fair to say that is exactly what they get. No longer justifiably classed as a magazine solely about music, you can find film reviews, TV interviews and even an oddly featured investigative style piece about a Mexican drug cartel. I mean music festivals and gigs sometimes involve drugs, so the readership wants to know all about the drug trafficking trade, right?! Um, probably not, but the article was interesting all the same.
Ultimately the new format is not the NME as we know it, but that doesn’t stop it being a good general entertainment read and a publication to be supported.
Marriarty 