UK music and pop culture publication NME launches in Australia
Following hot on the heels of Rolling Stone Australia’s re-entry into the market, UK music and pop culture title NME (New Musical Express) has announced its Australian launch.
The entry is marked by an online feature with Amyl & The Sniffers on the cover, and will see NME.com adopt a dedicated Australian channel.
NME’s first cover in Australia features Amyl & the Sniffers
At this time, the content will be provided by the London and Singapore offices, but NME said it will be welcoming Australian writers in the coming months and eventually a dedicated team will be built locally.
Regarding the print product, a frequency has not yet been confirmed, with a spokesperson saying to ‘watch this space’.
Alongside the launch, the NME Awards, which return in 2020 in an extended format, will now feature Australian awards categories to ‘highlight and recognise Australian artists on a global stage’. They will be announced in January with public voting opens, ahead of the awards on February 12.
Meng Ru Kuok, CEO of NME parent company BandLab Technologies, which also oversees Uncut, Guitar.com and MusicTech, said the business is excited to be accessing the Australian market. Rolling Stone International also formerly sat under BandLab but was sold earlier in the year.
“NME has long been recognised as one of the world’s leading authorities in music and pop culture, known for our distinctive voice and point of view. We’re excited to be opening a new platform for Australian artists, both established and emerging, as well as a channel for brands to engage with an audience of music lovers in Australia and globally,” said Kuok.
“With the launch of our stand-alone brand extension in Australia, our team’s best writers will be shining a spotlight on the artists and stories coming out of one of the world’s most compelling music scenes.”
The online launch story will feature a longform interview with Amyl & The Sniffers, who recently won the Best Rock Album title at the 2019 ARIA Awards, on everything from their year to climate change.
The launch follows the re-entry of Rolling Stone into the Australian market after it disappeared in 2018, and the relaunch of Blunt magazine in 2020.
