Music Mag NME Set To Go Free To Boost Circulation

More than 65 years after it was first launched, legendary music magazine NME is set to go free in a bid to boost circulation.

Having dropped to just 15,000 copies sold a week, the New Musical Express’ publishers plan to boost that to 300,000 by distributing copies at stations, shops and colleges across the country.

Editor Mike Williams insists the plans prove that the magazine is not leaving print editions behind in the wake of websites.

He said: “NME is already a major player and massive influencer in the music space, but with this transformation we’ll be bigger, stronger and more influential than ever before.

"Every media brand is on a journey into a digital future.

“That doesn’t mean leaving print behind, but it does mean that print has to change, so I’m incredibly excited by the role it will now play as part of the new NME.

"The future is an exciting place, and NME just kicked the door down.”

NME has always been a vital part of the musical landscape in Britain, helping to break bands like Oasis and Blur before Britpop hit the big time in the 1990s.

They also promoted The Beatles and The Rolling Stones on their front pages since the magazine launched in 1962, where it sold in the hundreds of thousands.

Classic front covers include a picture of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain after he committed suicide and the ‘Top Dog’ headline after Blur beat arch rivals Oasis to the number one spot.

Publisher Time Inc said music would stay "at the heart of the brand”, but the magazine would also cover “film, fashion, television, politics, gaming and technology”.

Time Inc boss Marcus Rich said: "This famous 63-year-old brand was an early leader in digital and has been growing its global audience successfully for the best part of 20 years.

"It has been able to do so because music is such an important passion and now is the right time to invest in bringing NME to an even bigger community for our commercial partners.”

NME veteran Danny Baker greeted the move on Twitter, posting a picture of him at its office in 1979 and saying: "And so … the NME is a free sheet now. Why not? The games up & the fire’s gone out.”