Media Analysis: Music Publications

Spin, The Stool Pigeon and Clash magazine were just some of the music publications today that made my mind swivel with confusion. I never realised how many music magazines there were; but then again I only knew of NME, Kerrang and Q magazine. As our lecture proceeded about the industries views on men’s and women's alternative magazines, a debate suddenly started to arise on a topic which made the class somewhat intense. As we all know, the internet has evolved into a multi-million pound industry which is part of our everyday life; and the music downloading sector is gradually increasing, making music stores like HMV decrease in profit. And what makes it so successful is that it is cheap, quick and easy to access. I mean, why go to a store and purchase a CD for £12.99 when you can go on a website like iTunes (if you have an iPod) and download your music for around 70p or even by the album to download on your iPod for around £1.70. Sometimes the cheaper option can be more convenient. As I watched the class prolong this debate through the whole lecture, I could not help but think about the effects this has on music publication or even any publication in fact. For me, purchasing a magazine such as Vogue, Another or Wonderland is more personal and practical for my use when bought over a counter, but it is still essential for me to look at the magazines if I can on their websites to. Again it is free, easy and quick to do. Is this industry, which seems to be taken over by the internet, failing when publications and CDs are being sold over the counter? Is the internet becoming increasingly more popular when wanting to download music, rather than buying singles and albums at the store? And if it is, what is left for the businesses publishing all these publications?