Melody Maker

After 74 years in circulation, one of Britain's finest music magazines has finally been forced to bow to the pressure of the competition, and cease publication. As a music fan, it was sad to hear that Melody Maker magazine will no longer be adorning our newsagents' shelves. I have never been a regular buyer of this magazine, although like its main competitor, the New Musical Express, it managed to persuade someone with mainstream tastes, such as myself, to buy the occasional copy - which was quite a feat. It has been obvious for some time that Melody Maker has been feeling the pinch. In fact, recent pressures had forced the 'Maker' to ...

It was announced earlier this week that Melody Maker was too fold after 75 years of existence. The reason given was an ever decreasing circulation, a rot which had been settling in way before the relaunch as a glossy magazine earlier this year. Many people will see this as a bad thing, I however am glad to see Melody Maker disappear into the great recycling bin in the sky. My major problem with MM was then throughout the 1990's it had become increasingly poor and irrelevant. However at one point MM was the best music magazine published. The golden age of MM for me was in the late 80's/early 90's. MM was then a paper not afraid to take risks with the ...

Since it's transformation into a shiny, glossy magazine "Melody Maker" seems to have improved. I wasnt a big fan of the old newspaper-style format, mainly because it was a nuiscance to read if not at home and a pain to carry around. Nevertheless "Melody Maker"'s sales have gone up since it's new look. The magazine focuses on a range of alternative music: indie, metal, hip-hop, dance among other genres. It gives the reader a refeshing break from the "Smash Hits"esque music, and fights to get less mainstream music recognised, which lets face it, is what the charts need right now: something that isnt boy/girl band, so-called ...