History of music magazines

  • What was the first ever music magazine?

    The first music magazine was billboard, the first magazine was issued in 1894. It was issued by William Donaldson and James Hennegan. They didnt have the intension of making it into a music magazine but it evolved into a magazine containing what the current music and films were ect. Although it was the first music magazine, Billboard didn't start doing music charts until 1930's.
  • Melody Maker

    Melody maker was one of the first ever music magazines released in June 1926 and inside had the honor list which was the first ever recorded charts.
  • NME Magazine

    NME magazine or 'New Musical Express' was first issued in 1952 and in the 1970's it became the best selling British music magazine.
  • When was the first charts published?

    On 14th november 1952, new musical express published the first singles chart in the UK; Record Mirror also started a singles chart and was the first to run an album chart.
  • Rolling Stone Magazine

    Rolling Stone is a magazine published every two weeks that focuses on politics and popular culture, in which was founded by Jann Wenner (who is still the publisher today) in November 9th 1967 the first issue of rolling stone was released.
  • Smash Hits

    Smash Hits was a pop music magazine, aimed at teenagers and young adults and originally published in the United Kingdom. It ran from 1978 to 2006 and was issued fortnightly for most of that time. It was also founded by Nick Logan, who had previously edited the New Musical Express.
  • Q Magazine

    Q Magazine was founded by Mark Ellen and David Hepworth. The magazine has a huge review section, including music, film, live shows, radio and television and so on.
  • Vibes First Issue

    Vibe was launched in 1993 and was founded by producer Quincy Jones.The publication predominantly features R&B and hip-hop music artists, actors and other entertainers.The magazine's target demographic is predominantly young, urban followers of hip-hop culture.
  • Blenders First Issue

    In 1994 Blenders first issue was published
  • NME

    The first issue of NME or New Musical Express was published in this time. It was a heavy competitor being published weekly ever since 1952. It was the first paper to include a singles chart.
  • Vibe Magazine

    After shutting down production in Summer 2009, Vibe was purchased by the private equity investment fund InterMedia Partners and is now issued every-other month with double covers, with a larger online presence. As of April 2013 Vibe is currently owned by Spin Media.
  • How many magazines are there?

    There is currently over 100 music magazines in circulation in the UK alone. Some say the industry is dying due to the development of the internet. More and more people now read music articles online.
  • Smash Hits

    Smash hits started its radio coverage in 1920 but which was shut down on 5th August 2013.
  • The Music Industry

    The music industry as a whole has taken a dramatic change over the years. Records went to CD’s and now there is the simplicity of getting albums online. You cant really buy records anymore so maybe CD sales will drop as more people convert to the internet.