As NME Relaunches Print Magazine, COO Details ‘High-Hype Model’ With Limited Drops and Emerging Artist Focus (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Ellise Shafer Iconic music publication NME is relaunching its print magazine. After shutting down production in 2018 to focus on its digital presence, the brand will return as a global bimonthly magazine with a July/August issue featuring fast-rising indie singer-songwriter D4vd.

Each issue will focus on an emerging artist as part of NME’s commitment to music discovery, and a limited number of copies will be sold via select partners (starting with music retailer Dawsons on Aug.

9) to enact what NME Networks COO Holly Bishop calls a “high-hype model.” “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,” Bishop, who has worked in publishing at NME for 10 years, tells Variety. “Of course, we want the brand to be accessible … but there really is something valuable in delivering a product that’s hard to get your hands on.” One of the most historic titles in music journalism, the U.K.-based New Musical Express was founded in 1952 and quickly became a tastemaker, helping propel British acts from the Rolling Stones to the Sex Pistols, U2, Blur and Oasis to worldwide fame.