The Guardian view on the death of NME: the end of an era | Editorial

The news that the music weekly will no longer appear in print is unsurprising. Where should we look for the sense of excitement it once offered?It would be silly to mourn the demise of NME, which is closing its print edition after 66 years, maintaining only its painful digital existence. This is not because popular music does not matter – that fight was over decades ago – nor even because the magazine became so associated with one particular form. But NME’s heyday was long past and, though the closure is bad news for staff, it is hard to imagine current readers weeping. As an ad-funded free title, no one thought it thrilling, essential or even surprising. The growing sense of profits overruling passions didn’t help. It was superfluous and disposable: something you picked up, passed the time with and dropped again – the antithesis of its former status as a cherished artefact to hunt down and then hoard in a yellowing pile in your bedroom. Its aura was once burnished by scarcity; this is a world of cultural abundance.NME was rarely as cutting edge as it liked to think itself, overly in thrall to its own mythology (especially the “hip young gunslinger” punk years of Julie Burchill et al) and too often to a narrow band of music. In many ways it was less subversive than Smash Hits. For every Aaliyah, Public Enemy and Odd Future cover there were many more with Oasis (some blame the readers). For every radical voice there was one of rockist conservatism, busy constructing a... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2018-03-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #cutting edge #julie burchill #smash hits #public enemy #white men

Other Publishing stories related to: 'The Guardian view on the death of NME: the end of an era | Editorial'


The Guardian puts PaidContent up for sale for $20m

The Guardian has put its PaidContent website up for sale with a price tag of $20m (£12.7m), three years after it bought the New York-based digital publishing and events business. Continue reading at Media Week

[ Media Week | 2011-11-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #price tag #events business


Three Years Later, the Guardian Wants a Buyer for PaidContent

The British newspaper publisher says the pioneering Web site is "is a high-quality asset but our focus in the US is on building the Guardian." Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-11-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Guardian First Book shortlist heads Down the Rabbit Hole

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 14/11/2011 - 08:12 Stephen Kelman's Pigeon English (Bloomsbury) has made the shortlist of the £10,000 Guardian First Book Award, equaling its achievement on the Man Booker Prize this year, with Down the Rabbit Hole by Juan Pablo Villalobos... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #guardian readers #rabbit hole #book award


Kelman shortlisted for Guardian First Book Award

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 14/11/2011 - 08:15 Stephen Kelman's Pigeon English (Bloomsbury) has made the shortlist of the £10,000 Guardian First Book Award, equaling its achievement on the Man Booker Prize this year, with Down the Rabbit Hole by Juan Pablo Villalobos... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book award #rabbit hole


BA: 'end charity bookshop concessions'

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 11/11/2011 - 07:35 The Booksellers Association is calling for the end of tax and business rate concessions for charity bookshops, saying that they represent "unfair competition" to high street booksellers. The call comes amid claims... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #booksellers association #charity bookshops #unfair competition #charity shops


Ribblestrop scoops Guardian Children's Book Award

Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Fri, 11/11/2011 - 07:30 Return to Ribblestrop by Andy Mulligan (Simon & Schuster Children's Books) has been awarded the Guardian Children's Book Award, beating off shortlisted titles including David Almond's My Name is Mina and Simon Mason's Moon... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book award #guardian children #simon mason


IPC appoints Emily Hutchings as NME publishing director

IPC Media has appointed Emily Hutchings, the current publisher of weekly titles Now and Soaplife, as publishing director of music titles NME and Uncut. Continue reading at Media Week

[ Media Week | 2011-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ipc media #current publisher


Another Editorial Shift Change For SPIN Media

SPIN Media announced three new changes to its editorial staff: Caryn Ganz as online editor-in-chief, Christopher R. Weingarten as senior editor and David Bevan as associate editor. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #spin media #editorial staff #senior editor #associate editor


Digital sales 'could be 15%' by year's end

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 07/10/2011 - 14:39 Independent publishers are predicting that ebook sales may make up as much as 15% of their total sales by the end of 2011, as FutureBook's Digital Census reveals that a quarter of UK publishers now have ebook sales which... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital sales #ebook sales #total sales #uk publishers #kindle fire


Guardian launches indie guide

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 29/09/2011 - 13:55 A guide to independent bookshops will be given away in this Saturday's Guardian [1st October], with more than 350 indies included. The Independent Bookshops Directory is a 74-page A5 guide, with bookshops picked by the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #independent bookshops #tree books


Bezos tops Guardian book trade power list

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 26/09/2011 - 08:50 Amazon c.e.o. Jeff Bezos has been named as the most powerful man in books in a Guardian and Observer "power list" of the 100 key people in the trade. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #jeff bezos #powerful man #power list


Signore new Transworld editorial director

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Tue, 20/09/2011 - 08:35 Transworld has appointed Michelle Signore, currently editor-in-chief at John Blake, to the role of editorial director. Signore will join Transworld on 17th October, and will report to publishing director Doug Young.... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #john blake #17th october


No end in sight for OFT ebook pricing probe

Written By: Benedicte Page and Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 15/09/2011 - 09:51 Publishers are being kept waiting for the conclusion of the Office of Fair Trading's investigation into ebook prices, begun at the start of this year, with the OFT now in the process of assessing all the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #benedicte page #fair trading #ebook prices


Waterstone's moves to end promo fees

Written By: Lisa Campbell, Benedicte Page and Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 09/09/2011 - 09:00 Publishers have reacted broadly positively to Waterstone's requests for a higher flat rate discount on books in return for a scrapping of major promotion charges, calling the system... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #indie publishers #lisa campbell #benedicte page


Waterstone's to end 3 for 2 next month

Written By: Graeme Neill and Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 31/08/2011 - 10:27 Waterstone's is bringing its iconic 3 for 2 offer to an end, with plans to implement money-off deals across individual books. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #graeme neill #individual books


Trade greets end of Waterstone's 3 for 2

Written By: Lisa Campbell, Graeme Neill and Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Wed, 31/08/2011 - 18:15 Publishers and trade figures have broadly reacted positively towards the scrapping of Waterstone’s 3-for-2 promotion. As The Bookseller revealed earlier today [31st August], the offer is... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #lisa campbell #graeme neill #trade figures #individual books


Main to join Picador as editorial director

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Tue, 19/07/2011 - 10:17 Simon & Schuster senior commissioning editor Francesca Main is leaving the publisher to become editorial director at Picador. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


The Back-End Tools Sales Teams Use to Manage, Monitor and Close the Integrated Sale

In the more simple days of selling, advertising sales executives dealt in print, closing deals on a monthly cycle. Now, as technology drives opportunities for publishers, sales execs are faced with an ever-growing portfolio of products and services to offer to clients. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #closing deals #ever-growing portfolio


Automating the Editorial Workflow

Many publishers are moving to leaner editorial staffs while relying on more contributors (some paid, many not) to generate digital content. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Harvill Secker to publish death row lawyer memoir

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 30/06/2011 - 13:09 Harvill Secker has acquired a non-fiction title about the work of British lawyer Clive Stafford Smith over 25 years to save those on death row in the US. Editor-at-large Rebecca Carter bought UK and Commonwealth rights... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #patrick walsh #conville walsh #harvill secker #non-fiction title