brokenbottleboy:

“I ask him about a recent editorial in industry publication Record of the Day which said ‘we’re seeing blogs and websites like Daytrotter, Pitchfork and the Quietus being name-checked much more regularly [than the NME] and without wishing to put the knife in, the content on these online sites is often far more informative and entertaining.’ To which the editor responds: ‘Who are Daytrotter? There’s just no competition there. And there is a lot of support for us out there - some readers even set up a Bebo site dedicated to the magazine.’ ‘Besides!’ growls Alex Miller, NME’s New Bands editor, referring to another website, ‘you can’t read Drowned in Sound on the bus.’”

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From today’s Observer piece on the NME.

This is arrogant as fuck and I suppose that’s what editors are paid to do but there is competition there because those blogs and websites have less capital on the line and less to protect. They’re lighter on their feet and can take more risks, they can build communities quicker and create websites that feel immediately more inspiring. The trouble with major publishing houses is that there is a culture of commitees and focus groups that means everything just takes too long. Nobody in the big publishers is truly tapping the immediacy of the internet. They want to see profit straight away and are usually too old to understand how younger consumers consume information online. Incidentallly: if you’ve got a smartphone, you can read Drowned In Sound on the bus. I wouldn’t recommend it though. It’s bobbins.

NME.com always felt like a magazine with social stuff glued on. Hypem, Daytrotter, even Tuneage have social at the core, something NME cannot replicate and if leveraged correctly could really upset NME.

I think it’s stupid to just disregard Daytrotter, yes they may not be competition in terms of doing interviews with the last shadow puppets (old media with press passes currently trump that), but Daytrotter & Hypem get lots of eyeballs in the areas that the magazine would love. Why advertise a gig at the back of the NME when you can advertise next to a track or similar artist page? they speak of multiplatform but it’s slow slow magazine + web. Hypem could think of a new features tonight and get it our tomorrow, you’ve got to wait a week to publish reviews on dead trees.

‘you can’t read Drowned in Sound on the bus’, well people do but not in significant numbers yet, it’s because the experience isn’t great and much less immediate. But there’s a phone that’s very good at creating a wonderful experience and one which lots of people will buy because it’s also a great music player, do you think that 3 million+ iPhones with free full web access is that going to make a paper copy of the NME more relevant?

What about next year when the figure will probably be around 6 million+ Will you audience still be buying a paper copy of the NME or will they be turning to an iPhone app that gives me interviews, reviews, uptothesecond news, new free streamable music and social features at it’s core. That will surely improve your sales right? 

Of course, in about two years time the NME will probably do all that themselves anyway and call it a ‘revolution’ in publishing.