It’s been revealed that NME’s ( New Musical Express ) circulation has fallen by 16.4%, and as such was the biggest circulation faller among music and film magazines in the second half of 2010.  IPC Media’s NME, which was the only title in the sector to report a double-digit year-on-year drop, now has a circulation of 32,166, and is a timely reminder that the music media icons of old were not cast in granite stone, but merely built on shifting sands.

When “I were a lad” in the 1970s and 1980s, the music fan avidly read New Musical Express, Melody Maker or Record Mirror to glean all the latest musical news, gossip and interviews. On TV, you switched on each week to watch Top of the Pops, The Old Grey Whistle Test or The Tube for your visual fix of chart and more credible music acts. However the digital and online explosion in the last 10 years, has meant that most of these music publications and TV programmes have fallen by the wayside.

That as they say is progress. But it may well be a progress that leads to a future devoid of the music press, as  Bauer Media’s music title Mojo’s circulation also decreased 3.9% year on year and another Bauer music monthly, Q’s circulation of 88,240, means it has dropped 6.9% year on year.

It seems that on line / the internet is fast becoming the one and only place to be for the music fans of today, with it’s instant Mp3 and You Tube downloads. The name of the latter is probably the closest we will ever get again to Channel Four’s Friday teatime music show “The Tube” from now on. But for all purist music and media fans, there is still the seminal “Later with Jools Holland”, so all is not yet lost!!

If you are a traditionalist and old enough to remember “The Old Grey Whistle Test” or Melody Maker, why not preserve some of these musical memories from the 1970s and 1980s by ordering your favourite vinyl record or CD, framed and mounted? All you have to do is click on…….. http://www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/ …….. and this way bring some of the 1970s and 1980s into your living room in 2011!!

Alternatively this would make a unique present and original gift for a special celebration  ie a 40th or 50th Birthday, A Silver, Ruby or Golden Wedding Anniversary, Father’s or Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day!!  THE PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENT!!

For all the latest music news and articles from NME……. www.nme.com

For those of a digital persuasion, for all your Mp3 downloads, click on…….. web2txt.co.uk