Deconstruction of NME magazine

Now out dated but a good example never the less. This contains more background information than I would expect you to come up with but its interesting.

NME was one of the longest running weekly music magazines in history after its initial publication in 1952. Originally the magazine was published in broadsheet newspaper format using newsprint , and competed for many year with titles such as Sounds (focussing on Rock and Heavy Metal genres) and Melody Maker (mainstream Pop and Chart music).

Ideology Unashamedly ‘indie’ NME has always championed the cause of UK and US independent music and embraced Punk Rock in the 1970s and 1980s with an excitable fervour – alongside its clear musical preferences promoted by iconic writers such as Danny Baker and Tony Parsons (both now well respected cultural commentators) NME also did nothing to disguise its anti establishment, left wing socialist ideology. Campaigning artists like Billy Bragg and Paul Weller were frequently featured, particularly during the Thatcher era as part of the ‘Red Wedge’ movement.

Institution In 1998 the ‘magazine’ became a magazine finally reverting to a colour magazine ink finish and printing in tabloid size format – ironically perhaps considering NME’s independent credentials it is now owned by international magazine publisher IPC, like Bauer Media Group part of the oligopoly of magazine publishers who in turn are owned by Time Inc whose parent company is Time Warner, the biggest media corporation in the world. Like the monthly magazine Q, it is again no surprise that its weekly circulation is low at 27,500, 60% down on 2003 figures and like every magazine and newspaper, suffering from the rapid decline in print media circulation as a result of the internet and new digital media. IPC still publish however 350 million magazines a year and their eclectic brands include Woman, Woman’s Own, Marie Claire, Wallpaper, Nuts and Horse and Hound. The brand of NME is itself iconic and as a result has survived its early competition in Sounds and Melody Maker. Commentators suggest there was always something that set NME apart and true to this www.nme.com, their online magazine has become critically and commercially successful (see below).

Genre Cross media platforms are also promoted in the print version of NME with the website, like Q trading on the iconic, established brand name New Music Express (NME) itself having positive connotations of immediacy and being at the cutting edge of music evolution which was on many occasions the case - NME can probably lay more legitimate claim than other music magazines to being responsible for kick starting many career. NME have their own radio station but like Q, NME TV shut down in 2012 as a result of high production costs, fierce completion from other music channels and the continued success of YouTube and Vevo.

After Punk in the 1990s NME adopted the Brit Pop and ‘Madchester’ scene with bands like Oasis and later adopting Blur, deliberately setting both against each other on NME covers as ‘northern, working class beer boys’ (Oasis) versus ‘southern, middle class, educated art students’ (Blur). The rivalry boosted magazine circulation, the band’s publicity and for most associated with Brit Pop (including ex Prime Minister Tony Blair) it was a win win situation. NME had been in on the birth of punk and now they adopted a critically and commercial successful (in the US) British music movement.

In the 2000s NME began to adopt a more hybridised format to keep pace with the proliferation of the music scene and electronic technology – artists like Jay-Z, Missy Elliott and and Aphex Twin were foregrounded but their inclusion brought considerable opposition from readers who reacted in the same way when a non indie, guitar based artist (Jay-Z) headlined at the Glastonbury Festival on Saturday night in 2008. This hybridisation and approach was withdrawn and the magazine reverted to its familiar format in terms of content. This realignment was more successful in 2001 with NME adopting another raft of successful artists representing a new indie punk movement. Bands like The Strokes, The Vines, The White Stripes and later on The Libertines, Franz Ferdinand, The Kaiser Chiefs and the Arctic Monkeys were the darlings of NME covers going on to become successful artists in their own right. A rebrand in 2008 saw the magazine targeting an older readership become less ‘poppy’ in its format and layout and focussing on ‘serious’ and critically successful bands like Coldplay.

Language The May 2010 edition above is typical of the current approach of NME – ‘NME’ appears as bold, upper case, red, sans serif block text on the left hand side top of the magazine with it stereotypical connotations of masculinity. Opposite the title but still in the masthead a main cover line states ‘Introducing the new NME. 10 special edition covers’ reflecting another mini rebrand. The cover is minimalistic in design and frames female artist M.I.A. centrally in medium shot as the USP (unique selling point) of the cover with her name as a bigger size font and same colour as the name of the magazine.

Representation Although on first glance this would suggest a departure from NME standard representations her inclusion and importance reflects the history of the magazine musically and politically – M.I.A’s music combines elements of electronic, Dance, alternative, World Music and Hip Hop but she cites punk as one of her key influences, particularly Malcolm McLaren and The Clash.

M.I.A. also represents a positive representation of gender and multiculturalism which again fits the left wing, socialist political ideology the magazine has always been associated with. She is of Sri Lankan Tamil origin and fiercely considers herself British as evidenced by her dress code wearing a Union Jack top. Her body language is strong and positive suggesting a post feminist icon status which is anchored by the cover live underneath the title, ‘Lady Gaga sounds more like me than I f**king do’. Lady Gaga, in terms of her representation would also be considered a post feminist icon.

M.I.A’s body language is almost aggressive and confrontational as she stares back at the camera smoking a cigarette challenging the target audience. Although pluralistic in her representation there are still elements of the photograph (a photo shoot for this cover) that suggest she is also sexualised and framed for the male gaze. This would successfully appeal to the magazines demographic which would primarily include ABC1, Individualists and Aspirers , urban and city living, 16-35, male skew but with a significant secondary female readership. The lower price of this weekly magazine is also likely to reflect a younger reader and the audience would also respond to the simplicity in terms of graphic design of the front cover with a basic colour palette of reds, blues and white; use of non standard English on the cover would also have the same effect.

For most NME readers however content would be more important than design as cultural capital and intelligent knowledge and understanding of the music industry are important factors. The bottom right cover line, ‘THE STATE OF MUSIC TODAY’ suggests an authority that the magazine feels qualified to comment on with contributions interestingly by artists from a range of genres and not exclusively indie including Rihanna (Pop) and Laura Marling (Folk). Foregrounded however at the top of the list includes more traditional NME artists such as Jack White and Florence and the Machine suggesting their perceived hierarchy and status within the music industry.