History of music magazine

General history:

Music magazines were very prolific in the United Kingdom, with the NME (short for New Musical Express) leading sales since its first issue in 1952. NME had a longstanding rival in Melody Maker, an even older publication that had existed since 1926; however, by 2001, falling circulation and the rise of internet music sites caused the Melody Maker to be absorbed into its old rival and cease publishing.[1] Several other British magazines such as Select and Sounds also folded between 1990 and 2000. Current UK music magazines include Q, Kerrang! and Mojo (all published by EMAP).[2] Magazines with a focus on pop music rather than rock and aimed at a younger market include the now-defunct Smash Hits and the BBC's Top of the Pops, which outlived the television show on which it was based.

The longest running music magazine of the U.K. is BMG, founded in 1903 by Clifford Essex.[3] BMG, which stands for Banjo, Mandolin, and Guitar, is the oldest fretted instrument focused publication and actively promotes acoustic instruments of all kinds.

Major music magazines in the United States include Rolling Stone (founded in 1967) and Spin (founded in 1985). Clash magazine was voted Music Magazine of the Year in 2004 and is the second largest UK online presence. Clash was also Awarded Magazine of the Year at the PPA Scotland Awards.

Among classical music magazines, Diapason is the most read in France.

Nostalgia magazines - An example of a nostalgia magazine is Keep Rockin'[1] 1950s & '60s nostalgia magazine. The Premier issue came out in January 2009. The magazine features a mixture of current events surrounding that time period (concerts, car shows, etc.) and stories with original photos from the 1950s & 1960s, as well as some reader-written articles about experiences growing up during that period.

Kerrang:

Kerrang! commenced publication on 6 June 1981 and was edited by Geoff Barton, initially as a one-time supplement in the Sounds newspaper, which focused on the New Wave of British Heavy Metal phenomenon and on the rise of other hard rock acts.[4] Angus Young of AC/DC appeared on Kerrang!'s first cover. Launched as a monthly magazine, Kerrang! began to appear on a fortnightly basis later, and in 1987 it went weekly. The original owner was United Newspapers who then sold it to EMAP in 1991.
During the 1980s and early 1990s the magazine placed many thrash and glam metal acts on the cover (like Mötley Crüe, Slayer, Bon Jovi, Metallica, Poison, and Venom) but later discarded them when grunge acts such as Nirvana rose to fame. Readers often criticise the magazine for repeating this process every time a new musical trend becomes popular.
Kerrang!'s popularity rose again with the hiring of editor Paul Rees circa 2000 when the nu metal genre, featuring bands like Limp Bizkit and Slipknot were becoming more popular.[5] Rees went on to edit Q magazine and Ashley Bird took over as editor from 2003 to 2005. However the magazine's sales went quickly into decline in 2003 and Paul Brannigan took over as editor in May 2005.[6]
The term "Thrash Metal" was first referred to in the music press by Kerrang journalist Malcolm Dome while making a reference to the Anthrax song "Metal Thrashing Mad" in issue number 62, page 8 published on 23 February 1984. Prior to this Metallica James Hetfield referred to their sound as Power Metal.[7]
With the emergence of emo and metalcore, Kerrang! began to heavily feature this musical trend. However, the revamp was not welcomed by all readers and many complaints were received about Kerrang!'s sudden emphasis on emo and metalcore music. Brannigan took the magazine into its most commercially successful period with a record ever ABC for the title of 80,186 copies.[8]
In 2008, EMAP sold its consumer magazine to current owner Bauer Media Group. Brannigan left Kerrang! in 2009 and Nichola Browne was appointed editor.[9] She later stepped down in April 2011. Former NME features editor and GamesMaster deputy editor James McMahon was appointed as editor on 6 June 2011.[10]

NME:

NME's paper's first issue was published on 7 March 1952 after the “Accordion Times and Musical Express” (from 4 October 1946) was bought by London music promoter Maurice Kinn, for the sum of £1,000, just 15 minutes before it was due to be officially closed.[5] It was relaunched as the New Musical Express. It was initially published in a non-glossy tabloid format on standard newsprint. On 14 November 1952, taking its cue from the US magazine Billboard, it created the first UK Singles Chart, a list of the Top Twelve best-selling singles. The first of these was, in contrast to more recent charts, a top twelve sourced by the magazine itself from sales in regional stores around the UK. The first number one was "Here in My Heart" by Al Martino.

History timeline from 1894 - 2013
http://prezi.com/mioqru7noydj/copy-of-timeline-history-of-music-magazines-from-1894-to-2013/