NME Undergoes Redesign To Boost Circulation
Music weekly NME is to undergo a redesign in a bid to boost the long-running title’s circulation amidst a generally depressed market.
At the most recent ABC concurrent release, for July to December 2006, the title recorded around a 5% year on year dip in its total figure, and a 1.6% loss period on period. It now holds a circulation of around 73,000.
IPC Media says it will introduce a host of new elements to the print offering, including a new logo, as a result of “extensive reader research”, including more interactive elements and a “radical modern look and feel to switch on NME‘s design-savvy audience”.
Innovations include a ‘Your photos’ section to run alongside the letters page; a ‘Weekly Planner’ catering for younger readers; ‘Stuff We Love’ that extends coverage to fashion, gadgets and band merchandise, and ‘Behind NME Lines’, coverage which takes readers into the NME office and introduces the staff.
Existing sections are also being shaken up with the cover feature being brought to the front of the title; an overhaul of the news pages for deeper analysis, comment and opinion, and the review section being boosted by 60%. Readers will also now have album reviews published.
“Our readers are the magazine so when it’s time to innovate we allow them to lead the process,” said editor Conor McNicholas. “Development at NME is continuous and with these changes we’ve really nailed an essential weekly value for money package for the passionate British music fan.”
Publishing director, Paul Cheal, added: “The media landscape for 15-24-year-olds is moving at breakneck speed and it’s vitally important that NME continues to evolve its contact and design to reflect this.”
Meanwhile, according to IPC, the magazine’s website now has 1.6 million unique users for March 2007, which has remained static since June 2006. Page impressions were down, from 19 million in June last year to 16 million for March this year.
Elsewhere, other titles in the sector have also seen declines. Emap’s Q magazine proved to be the top of its sector despite a considerable year on year and period on period decline in circulation.
Q recorded a loss of almost 17% year on year (11.4% period on period) equating to an actual fall of more than 28,000 copies. The market-leader now reports a total ABC of 140,282, whilst other Emap title in the sector, Mojo, follows with a total of 114,183.
Mojo was down 5.3% year on year, a loss of over 6,000 in real terms, whilst the title also saw a fall of 6.2% period on period.
However, Kerrang! and Uncut managed to boost their circulation. Kerrang rose more than 12% year on year to give it a final figure of 85,377, whilst Uncut was up by 5.5% period on period, but still recorded a downturn of almost 15% year on year. The title lost more than 16,000 copies in real terms year on year to leave its total at almost 94,000 (see ABC Results Jul-Dec 2006:Q Mag Remains King Of Music Sector Despite Circulation Decline).
Recent entries into the market have flopped altogether, with Channel 4’s Popworld spin-off magazine, Popworld Pulp, folding after just two issues (see Popworld Pulp An Almighty Flop).
Entering an already volatile market, the title joined the scrap heap with other magazines in the sector, such as the once unrivalled Smash Hits and Xfm’s X-Ray (see Smash Hits To Close As Music Fans Move Online).
IPC Media: 0870 4445000 www.ipcmedia.com