NME History

1960s
The paper's first issue was published on 7 March 1952. It was initially published in a non-glossy tabloid format on standard newsprint. During the 1960s the paper championed the new British groups emerging at the time. The paper became engaged in a sometimes tense rivalry with its fellow weekly music paper Melody Maker; however, NME sales were healthy with the paper selling as many as 200,000 issues per week, making it one of the UK's biggest sellers.

1970s
By the early 1970s NME had lost ground to the Melody Maker as its coverage of music had failed to keep pace with the development of rock music, particularly during the early years of psychedelia and progressive rock. In early 1972 the paper found itself on the verge of closure by its owners IPC. Alan Smith was made editor and was given a short period of time by IPC to turn things around quickly or face closure. As a result the paper's coverage changed radically from an uncritical and rather reverential showbiz-oriented paper to something intended to be smarter, hipper, more cynical and funnier than any mainstream British music paper had previously been.
In mid-1973, the paper was selling nearly 300,000 copies per week and was outstripping its other weekly rivals, Melody Maker, Disc, Record Mirror and Sounds.

1980s
However sales were dropping, and by the mid 1980s NME had hit a rough patch and was in danger of closing. During this period (now under the editorship of Ian Pye, who replaced Neil Spencer in 1985), they were split between those who wanted to write about hip hop, a genre that was relatively new to the UK, and those who wanted to stick to rock music.

1990s
The start of 1990 saw the paper in the thick of the "Madchester" scene, and covering the new British indie bands and shoegazers.

2000s
From the issue of 21 March 1998 onwards, the paper has no longer been printed on newsprint, and more recently it has shifted to tabloid size: it has full, glossy, colour covers. 2000 saw the closure of the Melody Maker (which officially merged with the NME) and many speculated the NME would be next as the weekly music magazine market was shrinking.

In May 2008 the magazine received a redesign, aimed at an older readership with a less poppy, more authoritative tone. The first issue of the redesign featured a free seven-inch Coldplay vinyl single. Circulation of the magazine has fallen continuously since 2003. In the second half of 2009, the magazine's circulation was 38,486, 47% down on a 2003 figure of 72,442. In 2010, NME partnered with
MetroLyrics to provide lyrics snippets on its web site nme.com, with full
 lyrics exposure at metrolyrics.com.

-  Information taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NME#History

What does the NME website offer its audience?

The NME website offers its audience a number of different opportunities. Firstly it allows them to buy tickets to gigs they may be interested in, including ones that are said to have been sold out, ensuring that they do not miss out on hearing their favourite bands. It enables them to listen to new music and the latest songs out, plus gives them the chance to write their own feedback and comment about new music and relevant topics and they can give their opinion on. As well as this, they hear about the latest news regarding music stars and gigs and they can see up to date photos of what has been going on in the media amongst the music scene. Even though fans can buy their latest bands/solo artists music the website also has its own shop online where they can buy merchandise such as t-shirts. Including all this, the website gives reviews on the most recent albums that have been released, plus the chance for fans to vote for who they think is the best British band, best international band, best solo artist, best new band, best live band and who they think deserves to win best album.

How does the NME website address its audience?

First of all you look at the appearance of the NME website, it is bright and colourful and appeals to the correct audience (probably people between the ages of 15-30). It appears very current and recent which keeps up with today’s trends. The text used on the website it kept very simple, short and straight to the point – there are no long pieces of text. This is good as people of the age category they are aimed at often don’t want to read long bits of writing. As well as this, the range of different things it has to offer, such as new music, new photos and the chance to vote bands for awards, it is very unlikely that there is nothing on the website that will appeal to a music fan, seeing as the website covers a vast range of topics and idea’s for music lovers. In conclusion, the website addresses its audience in a very relaxed yet informative manner. It manages to keep things simple, however still gives the reader the information they need/may like to know.

- Information taken from:  http://www.nme.com/