Competition in the UK
Mojo History
MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title that would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music. MOJO was first published on 15 October 1993; in keeping with its classic rock aesthetic, the first issue had Bob Dylan and John Lennon as its first cover stars. Noted for its in-depth coverage of both popular and cult acts it acted as the inspiration for Blender and Uncut. Many noted music critics have written for it including Charles Shaar Murray, Greil Marcus, Nick Kent and Jon Savage. The launch editor of MOJO was Paul Du Noyer and his successors have included Mat Snow, Paul Trynka and Pat Gilbert.
While some criticise it for its frequent coverage of classic rock acts such as The Beatles and Bob Dylan, it has nevertheless featured many newer and "left-field" acts. It was the first mainstream magazine in the UK to focus on The White Stripes, whom it has covered as zealously as many older acts.
MOJO regularly includes a covermount CD that ties in with a current magazine article or theme. In 2004 it introduced the MojoHonours list, an awards ceremony that is a mixture of readers' and critics' awards.
In early 2010, MOJO was involved in a controversial move by its new parent company, Bauer, via Bauer's attempt to unilaterally impose a new contract on all photographers and writers, taking away their copyright and off-loading liability for libel or copyright infringement from the publisher onto the contributor. Two hundred photographers and writers from MOJO and Bauer's other music magazines, Kerrang! and Q, were reported as refusing to work under the new terms.
Kerrang! History
Kerrang! commenced publication on 6 June 1981 and was edited by Geoff Barton, initially as a one-time supplement in theSounds newspaper, which focused on the New Wave of British Heavy Metal phenomenon and on the rise of other hard rock acts. 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. 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.
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's James Hetfield referred to their sound as Power Metal.
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.
In 2008, EMAP sold its consumer magazine to current owner Bauer Media Group. Brannigan left Kerrang! in 2009 and Nichola Browne was appointed editor. 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.
NME History
New Musical Express, popularly known by the initialism NME, created by Theodore Ingham, is a British weekly music journalism publication, published since March 1952. It is largely associated with rock, alternative and indie music. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s and 90s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles chart, in 14 November 1952 edition. In the 1970s it became the best-selling British music newspaper. During the period 1972 to 1976, it was particularly associated with gonzo journalism (self-involved reporting), then became closely associated with punk rock through the writings of Julie Burchill, Paul Morley and Tony Parsons.
An online version of NME, NME.com, was launched in 1996. It is now the world's biggest standalone music site, with over 7 million users per month. As of 16 August 2012, the magazine's circulation was measured as 23,924 (declining).
The magazine and website's headquarters are in Southwark, London, England, UK. The magazine's present editor is Mike Williams, who replaced Krissi Murison on 25 June 2012 (as announced on 31 May 2012). NME.com's present editor is Greg Cochrane – previously, the post was held by Luke Lewis, who replaced David Moynihan in March 2011. In 2013, the list of NME's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and the way it was conceived were criticized by the media.
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