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Iconic NME magazine to end its weekly print edition

NME NME's penultimate print coverNME

NME will no longer be available as a weekly magazine, its publisher has announced.

The final edition will be released on Friday after 66 years as one of the UK's most iconic music publications.

Its publisher Time Inc UK said the decision to stop its print edition is due to rising production costs and a "tough" advertising market.

Instead, it will be "focusing investment on further expanding NME's digital audience".

The magazine launched in 1952 and has featured global superstars on the front including David Bowie, Oasis, Dua Lipa, Amy Winehouse and Sam Smith.

Its website launched in 1997 and the magazine went free in September 2015.

The hashtag "RIP NME" has been trending on Twitter - with several musicians sharing images of when they were on the front cover.

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Fans of the magazine have also been reacting to the news.

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Time Inc's UK group managing director Paul Cheal said: "NME is one of the most iconic brands in British media and our move to free print has helped to propel the brand to its biggest ever audience on NME.com.

"The print reinvention has helped us to attract a range of cover stars that the previous paid-for magazine could only have dreamed of.

"At the same time, we have also faced increasing production costs and a very tough print advertising market.

"Unfortunately we have now reached a point where the free weekly magazine is no longer financially viable."

NME will continue to publish special issues in print, such as its new paid-for series NME Gold.

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