I ask him about a recent editorial in industry publication Record of the Day which said ‘we’re seeing blogs and websites like Daytrotter, Pitchfork and the Quietus being name-checked much more regularly [than the NME] and without wishing to put the knife in, the content on these online sites is often far more informative and entertaining.’ To which the editor responds: ‘Who are Daytrotter? There’s just no competition there. And there is a lot of support for us out there - some readers even set up a Bebo site dedicated to the magazine.’
‘Besides!’ growls Alex Miller, NME’s New Bands editor, referring to another website, ‘you can’t read Drowned in Sound on the bus.’
From today’s Observer piece on the NME.
This is arrogant as fuck and I suppose that’s what editors are paid to do but there is competition there because those blogs and websites have less capital on the line and less to protect. They’re lighter on their feet and can take more risks, they can build communities quicker and create websites that feel immediately more inspiring. The trouble with major publishing houses is that there is a culture of commitees and focus groups that means everything just takes too long. Nobody in the big publishers is truly tapping the immediacy of the internet. They want to see profit straight away and are usually too old to understand how younger consumers consume information online. Incidentallly: if you’ve got a smartphone, you can read Drowned In Sound on the bus. I wouldn’t recommend it though. It’s bobbins.
