NME and Q Background Information.

‘NME’ (New Musical Express) is a popular publication for music and has been published weekly since March 1952. It began as a newspaper, but in the 1980’s it gradually adapted and from 1998, it was known as a magazine. They demographically cater for those of a younger age in the population. NME don’t only produce weekly magazines, they have an international website. The website includes the following categories:

·         News – bringing you the latest news from the music industry.

·         Video – this category includes music videos, interviews and backstage insights.

·         Tickets – this section shows you all the tickets for upcoming events.

·         New music – shows you the new music of the week.

·         Reviews – this category gives you track/album/ live reviews.

·         Photos – shows you all the photos from albums, festivals and photos which are on sale.

·         Blogs – this brings you blogs from internal people and external people of the company.

·         Film & TV – this keeps you updated on all the latest film news, including actors/actress’.

·         Artists – This gives a list of all the artists and giving the most popular ones at present.

·         Awards – gives you the latest news, pictures, videos and tickets to the awards.

·         Metal – brings you all the rock & metal news, videos, reviews, albums, tickets and merchandise.

·         Shop – This section gives you the opportunity to buy a range of NME items, from magazines to clothing.

·         Lists – this offers a wide range of lists including the 100 greatest albums of the decade and the best albums of the year.

This shows that they are a massive company providing a lot of media. By providing a wider range of media, the company will expand and a larger audience range will be intrigued by NME. If they didn’t have the media involved that they do at present, then they wouldn’t be anywhere as big as they are at now.

The ‘Q’ magazine has been published monthly since October 1986. It was named ‘Q’ because the creators believed that it would make the magazine look more prominent on newsstands. Q is a magazine that demographically caters for a range of ages in the population. The reason for this is because it has up to date music, so it will suit teenagers and young adults. However, the style in which it is made and written makes it appropriate for an audience of an older age range. Q magazine also has a similar range of media like ‘NME’, ranging from latest music news to latest tickets. The company Q doesn’t only have a magazine, it has other brands including, ‘Q TV television channel’ in the UK. It also holds a yearly awards ceremony called the ‘Q Awards’. This signifies that they are a large company and have the audience range to grow in the industry and have television channels and award ceremonies.

Overall both the companies ‘NME’ and ‘Q’ have been and still are extremely successful mainly due to not only producing magazines, but many other types of media to expand their brand to a wider audience. The brands have also become bigger and more recognisable to the population due to advertisement and sponsorship. Also both the magazines have been adapted over the years to keep up with modern day music, styles and graphics. This has allowed them both to be continuously popular and appealing to the audience they cater for.