Has the NME still got importance.

AdamskAdamsk Posts: 1,384
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Does anyone feel the NME has no importance in music now.
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  • SoupietwistSoupietwist Posts: 1,314
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    No. Hasn't done for the last 10 years, it's last relevance to music was when they championed the brief resurgence of garage rock bands at the turn of the century (The Strokes, White Stripes, Vines etc...).
  • PointyPointy Posts: 1,762
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    The problem with the NME is they turn on acts for no reason and champion wilfully obscure music. When Stephen Fry decried journalists for a variety of reasons I automatically thought of the NME and it's writers. I used to read it in the mid-90's, but by 2001 or so I couldn't tolerate the nonsensical views of some of their journalists.
  • SpaceToiletsSpaceToilets Posts: 3,343
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    No. Hasn't done for the last 10 years, it's last relevance to music was when they championed the brief resurgence of garage rock bands at the turn of the century (The Strokes, White Stripes, Vines etc...).

    That was definitely its last relevant moment.
  • ashtray88ashtray88 Posts: 1,531
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    I like NME..:o

    I don't buy it religiously, but i will read it sometimes...
  • vauxhall1964vauxhall1964 Posts: 10,334
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    what's the readership these days..25,000? To think it was ten times that 'when I were a lad'. I think it has next to no influence now... You certainly don't hear musicians bitching about how the NME has it in for them and how it has affected their sales...you did hear that in the 80s... I'm surprised it's still on the newsstands to be honest with such a low circulation
  • misslibertinemisslibertine Posts: 14,306
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    No. Hasn't done for the last 10 years, it's last relevance to music was when they championed the brief resurgence of garage rock bands at the turn of the century (The Strokes, White Stripes, Vines etc...).

    It meant a lot to me at that point - never missed an issue (even when it reached obscene prices for a music weekly), loved and hated everything it told me to... But I was 12 - 15, so I excuse myself.
  • FrankBTFrankBT Posts: 4,215
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    The NME has been around since the 1950s encompassing all types of musical styles and fashions over time. To suggest that it isn't relevant anymore is absurd. Once again those that suggest this indicates that music as an interest for young people is dying. the huge decline in album sales over the past decade or so only serves to back this up
  • AdzPowerAdzPower Posts: 4,861
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    FrankBT wrote: »
    The NME has been around since the 1950s encompassing all types of musical styles and fashions over time. To suggest that it isn't relevant anymore is absurd. Once again those that suggest this indicates that music as an interest for young people is dying. the huge decline in album sales over the past decade or so only serves to back this up

    What a ridiculous statement, music is just as important to young people, the difference is that now they can get it all for free with a few clicks, that's why album sales have declined.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,304
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    FrankBT wrote: »
    The NME has been around since the 1950s encompassing all types of musical styles and fashions over time. To suggest that it isn't relevant anymore is absurd. Once again those that suggest this indicates that music as an interest for young people is dying. the huge decline in album sales over the past decade or so only serves to back this up

    Correct.


    Also, I don't think any music related mag is relevant these days. It's all digital now. And musicians still get all pissy when NME give them a crap review.

    The fact that it still gets on everyones nerves tells you everything you need to know. I don't even know many music related tabloids. Rolling Stone and NME are the only two I really know about.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,302
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    I don't think it has, or very little. People have shifted to the Internet for music reviews/opinions/news and the NME seems to be barely mentioned these days. What they probably should have done is gone completely digital, revamped their website (which is still awful) and moved with the times. Considering some of the boring stuff they champion these days it's not really a big loss imo.
  • Gigi4Gigi4 Posts: 3,631
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    I never buy it, but I do enjoy looking at their website. I may not agree with their opinions, but it does give you an overview of indie music and tell you about bands you may not otherwise have heard of and check them out. A lot of newspapers and magazines are more geared towards mainstream pop/dance chart songs, so it's nice to have a publication around that is geared towards the indie scene. So I'm glad it's still around.
  • FrankBTFrankBT Posts: 4,215
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    AdzPower wrote: »
    What a ridiculous statement, music is just as important to young people, the difference is that now they can get it all for free with a few clicks, that's why album sales have declined.
    Really? I see Adele still managed to shift a substantial amount of CDs.

    In the old days before the internet people recorded music on cassettes for free. Not as instant and less convenient than the internet. But you could go to your local library, order a cd/lp if they didn't stock it and record off it for nothing. And if you liked the album enough you'd go out and buy it. The internet is used as an excuse for the decline in album sales. People take the easy option of 'downloading for free' because they don't really care that much about what they listen to. One of the reasons why vinyl is making something of a comeback is because there are still people around who want decent sound quality. ie analogue sound and do care about the music.
  • Eric_BlobEric_Blob Posts: 7,756
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    ^ Adele isn't what young people are listening to. It was mainly older people buying her albums.

    Young people don't buy albums anymore, except in rare occasions. This is backed up by the low album sales. An artist can be listened to by millions, but their album will only sell 10,000. Rock bands that crossover to the older generation can sell albums well though.

    Music is the #1 hobby of young people. I am a uni student living in a building with hundreds of other "young people". Music all day, every day, 24/7. Everybody loves music just as much as I do.
  • gpkgpk Posts: 10,206
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    Eric_Blob wrote: »
    ^ Adele isn't what young people are listening to. It was mainly older people buying her albums.

    Young people don't buy albums anymore, except in rare occasions. This is backed up by the low album sales. An artist can be listened to by millions, but their album will only sell 10,000. Rock bands that crossover to the older generation can sell albums well though.

    Music is the #1 hobby of young people. I am a uni student living in a building with hundreds of other "young people". Music all day, every day, 24/7. Everybody loves music just as much as I do.

    i suppose young people didn't buy her string of platinum singles either.:rolleyes: the truth is she had cross generation appeal, she must have done to have sold so many units.

    also. is there anything to support that theory at all or is it just an observation from your student accommodation?
  • IWasBoredIWasBored Posts: 3,418
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    NME stopped being funny in 2005. It's journalists are agest which is just as bad as racism
  • shackfanshackfan Posts: 15,461
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    FrankBT wrote: »
    The NME has been around since the 1950s encompassing all types of musical styles and fashions over time. To suggest that it isn't relevant anymore is absurd. Once again those that suggest this indicates that music as an interest for young people is dying. the huge decline in album sales over the past decade or so only serves to back this up

    What a load of bolox. That makes no sense. Firstly to suggest that just because something has been around since the 50s must still be relevant is rubbish. And the fact that album sales are in decline just means that music lovers get their music fix in other ways, free downloads, single track purchases, streaming via Spotify, YouTube etc. Concerts still sell out quickly, kids still play instruments and the popularity of programmes like x factor all prove that all types of music are as popular as ever. The kids just don't need weekly papers like the NME to find out when their favourite band are on tour like I did in the early 80s.
  • Apollo CreedApollo Creed Posts: 998
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    Like all music mags it's lost it's relevance when it comes to reviews. In the past, a good review in NME could make a band. Now they can get a poor review but still succeed through the power of The Net

    If you want to know what's critically acclaimed then Metacritic is really the only place you need. The problem with music magazines is that a lot of their reviews and articles are totally unreliable. For instance when U2 released Rattle and Hum Mark Sinker of the NME gave it a poor review but the review in question was pulled by the editor and replaced with a more favourable one. This was because U2 were the biggest thing going and the NME worried about how a poor review would effect readership. I am sure similar worries occurred when they gave Daft Punk and Arctic Monkeys 10/10 this year. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone who thinks those two albums are perfect.

    There's also the bands themselves. I do a little bit of Freelance Journalism and I have been offered money by bands to give them a good review for the outlet I am writing for. Reviews for music publications are totally untrustworthy

    If you want to read reviews with no outside bias that I'd suggest Rateyourmusic. There are so many great reviewers on there who don't have to tow any line
  • barbelerbarbeler Posts: 23,827
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    NME was my Bible when I was in my teens and early twenties. The great upheaval as prog rock gave way to punk was incredibly exciting and I'm probably still influenced by the sharp humour that permeated the pages at that time.

    Then it fell flat in a way that it didn't really recover from. First of all there was the little clique within the paper who were trying to convince the nation that salsa was the only music that really mattered. This is where they seemed to be unaware that the rest of the country didn't necessarily agree with their coke-fuelled opinions formed in tiny clubs within a square mile of their office.

    Then they went radically political – all very worthy in some respects, but again, they thought they were addressing the country when in reality, they were nodding in agreement to a small group of friends. The rest of the country resented being lectured to by a bunch of posh-kids-turned-feral.

    The end came when they changed it from a newspaper-style publication to a smaller, magazine-type format. It simply looked like one of the superficial pop fanzines from then on and lost all its credibility.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,302
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    ^ I would say that all reviews are less relevant because it's so easy now for people to hear the music before buying and make their own mind up. They certainly still serve a purpose though. A good, knowledgeable reviewer can add real insight into the music and artist. And with so much music around they can help as a filter (an album with lots of good reviews is probably worth checking out more than an album with lots of poor reviews).

    I'm not sure NME do have particularly good reviewers any more and as you say, there seems to be an element of them over-hyping stuff because they're pandering to their audience.
  • uniqueunique Posts: 12,360
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    it was around the mid to late 90s when the NME went down the dumper. most of the good writers moved elsewhere, loads more magazines had appeared, and they moved away from the newspaper format to the magazine format. and whilst they played with mentioning some pop acts they went a bit far and away from the indie acts, although by the 90s there weren't many real indie acts left as most indie labels closed as a result of majors taking over.
    i still read the website daily but it's mostly the same stuff that features on a number of other sites, pure rubbish and stuff that simply isn't true or isn't an accurate portrayal of the real story.
    in the old days i used to literally read almost every word in nme, even the interviews of bands i didn't like or know as they were usually so well written, but when i read the magazine now i skip through most of it. the internet provides news quicker than nme and the articles are tired and boring. it's like they are padding whilst waiting on a new bowie or smiths album
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1
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    Read the NME review of the new Arctic Monkeys album, proves that it has absolutely no importance whatsoever. Trash.
  • FrankBTFrankBT Posts: 4,215
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    shackfan wrote: »
    What a load of bolox. That makes no sense. Firstly to suggest that just because something has been around since the 50s must still be relevant is rubbish. And the fact that album sales are in decline just means that music lovers get their music fix in other ways, free downloads, single track purchases, streaming via Spotify, YouTube etc. Concerts still sell out quickly, kids still play instruments and the popularity of programmes like x factor all prove that all types of music are as popular as ever. The kids just don't need weekly papers like the NME to find out when their favourite band are on tour like I did in the early 80s.
    X Factor has little or nothing to do with the music scene.. It's purely an entertainment show that at last seems to be losing its popularity. The music side is just subsidiary to the point of that show like any other reality and celeb tv nonsense.You might as well say Strictly Come Dancing or that awful tv show with Andrew Lloyd Webber a few years ago means music is still popular because those shows feature music.

    As for concerts contrary to what you believe they too have suffered with declining attendances in recent years, along with album sales in the US and Europe.The use of the internet, via Spotify, Youtube to listen to music is irrelevant.We've had alternative media before the internet but it didn't deter people buying records/cds or attending live performances.

    http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2012/120504easier
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,302
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    FrankBT wrote: »
    The use of the internet, via Spotify, Youtube to listen to music is irrelevant.We've had alternative media before the internet but it didn't deter people buying records/cds or attending live performances.
    That's a ridiculous statement. Of course it's relevant and a big factor. The Internet, where a person can instantly share music with tens of thousands of other people is vastly different to what we had before.

    As a consumer I love the greater access to music the Internet has provided but it also has some side effects which are not necessarily good for music as a whole.

    This is off topic anyway, the thread's supposed to be about NME.
  • vauxhall1964vauxhall1964 Posts: 10,334
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    If you want to read reviews with no outside bias that I'd suggest Rateyourmusic. There are so many great reviewers on there who don't have to tow any line

    100% agree. An album's rating on rateyourmusic (or Metacritic) will actually get me to buy an album or check out the act on Youtube. The combined ratings of dozens of critics (Metacritic) or thousands of regular music fans (rateyourmusic) has infinitely more credibility than an NME review, often written by some hack with a chip on their shoulder, axe to grind and points to score. With a circulation of around 25,000 surely it will fold soon... I'm not impressed with the website either which is all that will soon be left
  • constantino_chrconstantino_chr Posts: 673
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    Well I am 15 and have been reading NME since I was 9, and it has played a massive part in establishing my musical preferences and also in discovering my favourite artists/bands (along with my mum who has an awesome music taste.)

    I still enjoy the stuff they write as it played a big part of my childhood, to me NME is still relevant as I am still discovering around 35-55% of my new music from them. And their reviews are usually pretty accurate to me. Although I agree they do sometimes go a bit overboard!
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