What Is The Current State Of The Music Magazine Industry?

 What Is The Current State Of

The Music Magazine Industry?

At the moment the state of the UK's music magazine industry is bad and is continuing to decline. In the past the sales of the magazines have been significantly higher, like "NME" (New Musical Express) which launched its first issue in 1952 and sold over 300,000 copies at its peak in the early 1970s which made it the most popular music magazine at the time. However, companies like these have begun to decline in popularity due to the integration of digital media.


Since the rise of digital media's popularity a large part of the magazine industry has been negatively affected, this is due to the accessibility of online media which is mostly free and can be viewed from anywhere and at any time meaning that consumer don't need to go out of their way to purchase a printed copy of a magazine. Another large reason for it's popularity is its live feed which allows users to be quickly informed about new information and updates, but magazines have to include information since their last issue meaning that consumers wouldn't be updated for days or even weeks after the information has been released. Finally, the industry feels like they are losing a large and important audience, youth, some companies, including "NME", think that the music magazines which are published are "struggling to interest a younger audience" meaning that they are potentially missing out on a large target audience.


Although the magazine industry is in decline some brands are still able to keep going. One way
that companies are getting people to continue buying printed copies of magazines are to add incentives for customers like making unique and collectible covers containing popular bands like those seen on "Classic Rock" which features Iron Maiden, this means that the company would continue to get a constant source of income from the print copies of their magazine. Some companies such as "MOJO" and "Q" have started to become more digital by using social media accounts like Facebook and Twitter which advertise the magazine and the news inside, they have also created websites where parts of the magazines can be viewed for free.