The print edition of NME is relaunching after a five-year hiatus.
In March 2018, after 66 years in business, NME had ceased print production. The publisher’s then parent group Time Inc UK had announced that the weekly publication was “no longer financially viable”. Now, just five years later, a print version of the influential music magazine, which was first founded in 1952, is set to be published six times a year.
NME described the new magazine as a music lover’s “bible”: “Print has always been a cornerstone of the NME brand, and we are thrilled to announce the return of an icon,” said Holly Bishop, one of NME’s chief operating officers.
“Our new global magazine will curate the very best of NME; championing emerging artists and bands and serving as the definitive voice in pop culture.”
After turning into an online-only magazine, NME has reportedly enjoyed a growth in its readership, which helps to explain the decision to embark on the new bi-monthly print extension.
Meng Ru Kuok, the founder of NME’s parent company, Caldecott Music Group, said: “NME has never reached more people than it does today, and we’re excited to embrace our legacy, giving emerging artists the recognition and exposure they truly deserve.”
Speaking to Variety on Thursday, Bishop said: “We believe there’s value in scarcity, and you really see this in the hype and buzz that’s created in the fashion world, particularly around sneaker drops. We’re taking a similar approach to the magazine.”
NME’s July/August issue is set to feature American singer-songwriter D4vd on its cover and will be exclusively sold at Dawsons from August 9. Dawsons is a British audio retailer that went defunct in 2021 and was bought by the Caldecott Music Group-owned brand Vista Musical Instruments last month.
Although there have been a few one-off print versions of NME published over the last five years – for example, last June NME released a special Elvis-focused edition to accompany Baz Luhrmann’s award-winning biopic – this is the first time in years that NME fans will be able to regularly get a physical copy of the music magazine.
“Heh, heh! The Inkies are coming back,” tweeted one happy reader, while another said: “Now that is a refreshing twist of news!”
Given that NME became particularly known for its creative and often outlandish covers – such as the 1992 cover of the Manic Street Preachers’ Richey Edwards and Nicky Wire covered in lipstick and love bites – its return to print is being heralded by many excited music fans as a major moment: once again they can collect the magazine’s covers, sticking their favourites to their walls.
Scroll through the gallery above to take in some of the publication’s most iconic covers ever put to print, featuring the likes of Morrissey, Amy Winehouse, Daft Punk and Kurt Cobain as well as the first-ever cover from 1952.
