No one should be surprised that the NME closed recently. It's a difficult time for all print media. Furthermore, no one should care either. IPC has long put a noose around its neck to make the reader stop caring. It was trading off its once good name to sell adverts. Global are doing the same with Radio X, Channel 4 & Bauer did the same with Q television. They’re all run by people who just want a job and judge success on numbers. They should be run by people who want to push the boundaries of art, fashion, and music.
Speak to anyone who writes about or takes photographs of bands they love and the same themes emerge. They were born out of a love of something and a deep-rooted sense of injustice that it was being overlooked.
It's not officially a public service, but, essentially, that’s what is provided. So, for anyone thinking it’s a sad day for music journalism, get off the canvas and join the struggle. You only have to look at This Feeling, Rocklands TV, The Zine UK, or Louder Than War over to realise how digital media can matter. Hell, even if you have just one reader, be it your wife, best friend, or parent who says “hey, I just listened to The Blinders after reading your review”, you've won!
What else can be done:
1. Take to social media when you find a band you like. From our experience, the mainstream music industry will look for any reason not to play alternative music, such as lack of online presence. It’s not in the DNA of the hegemonic to allow rebellion to thrive. So, like them on as many platforms as possible. Don’t give them an inch!
2. Start your own club nights. Find a room in a pub for free, get some mates, have a party. Get any local bands you know to play and most of all, don’t be snooty if they are shit. Everyone is shit when they start out. Find the first entries of our google blog, appalling (please don’t find them). Those willing to try should be afforded the space to fail.
3. Finally, to the younger generations, the ones who instinctively understand digital media. Find ways to make an honest living from it and ways for bands to make an honest living from it. Spotify cannot be the answer. You can and must do better to help artists thrive.