A Review of NME Magazine

Take a deep breath and consider how much has changed since the New Musical Express first graced us with its presence in 1958. At only £2.30, with a mixture of gig, festival, and albums reviews the NME sits in the hinterland between mainstream pop music and underground indie. With adverts for credit cards and high end mobile phones NME is seemingly aimed at the 16 – 30 market. Reviewing all the newest music, the NME seems to be aimed at males more than females, its vocabulary neither simplistic nor over complex always setting the scene for the reader. Although sales have dropped faster than Russell brands trousers at an orgy in recent years, from an impressive 300,000 per week in 1964 to 33,875 for the first half of 2010 , I feel this is more to do with a change in market than a decrease in quality, this magazine is both entertaining and informative and there are still another three days to go until the next issue hits our shelves.

Are 'Blackness' and 'Whiteness' useful concepts in the study of popular music

'Blackness' and 'Whiteness' are terms often used to describe genres of music, but they are difficult to define. Is it the artist, origins, or audience that decides whether music is ‘black’ or ‘white’?

In the 50s, and 60s artists like Elvis Presley and the Beatles covered music originally considered to be 'black' music, soon radio stations would only play white artists covers of 'black' music. Does this mean that the music becomes ‘white’ music or are the origins of the music more important?

Russell Potter (1999) said with music genres crossing over it is harder to define than ever. One example is the white artist Plan B who performs acoustic rap songs combining acoustic guitar which could be considered ‘white’ with a ‘black’ style of rapping.

Although it is difficult to categorise music into ‘black’ or ‘white,’ these terms help us understanding of the origins and development of popular music.

Does the emergence of the digital download signal the end for the music industry

Change is not something the music industry is too fond of; nearly every technological advance in musical consumption has been opposed by them. With the introduction of the compact cassette in the 1970s the BPI launched and anti piracy campaign. The same concerns are present over digital downloads.

Just because something is free doesn’t necessarily mean people will steal it. On their album ‘In rainbows’ Radiohead did a ‘pay what you like’ scheme, were the average price paid was £4. For their new album ‘King of limbs’ they decided that when you download the album from their website you receive a CD, two 10” vinyls, and album artworks. Marketing schemes like this could be a key to competing with illegal downloads.

Ian Condry (2004) sees downloads as a new kind of radio, where the consumer becomes the DJ. He concludes that downloads do not have to be the end for the music industry and that downloading is ethical as long as the artists are supported.

Can popular music achieve genuine political change?

Popular music can be a way of raising both consciousness and funds for political causes (Shuker, 2001). Billie Holidays ‘Strange Fruit’ is a great example of music being used to promote a political consciousness. It was written as a poem by Abel Meerpol in 1937 expressing his horror about lynching. The song was called propaganda by time magazine in 1939, but in 1999 they declared it the song of the century. Music can also be used to sway voters’ political allegiances. In 1985 Red Wedge formed to try and help labour win the 1987 election, but ultimately they failed as labour lost the election. Band aid used music to raise money and awareness for famine in Africa. They raised £8 million so they were successful in their aims. It is impossible to say that music cannot instil political ideals but it is hard to say the direct effect it has on political change as often change comes from a series of events as opposed to one key event.