Sugababes and the indie press

[Keaty]

So I'm writing an essay about the music press as 'gatekeeper', i.e. the industry and the media having a symbiotic relationship and keeping one another going, and the press having the power over the public as regards to who buys what, and I thought the way the Sugababes have been received by magazines like NME and Q would be a good case for it. Has it affected their sales a lot? What about a band like Girls Aloud? How are they viewed by these magazines?

Sorry about this, but am bricking it slightly.

[Kirkland]

I will never forget the sight of 'Freak Like Me' being the NME single of the week. I feel NME are very positive about the Sugababes, Tatu and Girls Aloud who have all had good press from them. I think it's good to confuse the NME obsessed every now and then by sticking Kylie on the front! I did cringe at the sight of Rachel Stevens dressed up as Debbie Harry and people complained the next week BUT NME were very good about her and pop in general. They're not very complimentary about Robbie, Shayne and Westlife though.

[Storm]

I remember going to an NME sponsored showcase for Sugababes when One Touch had just came out, and thinking what a blinding idea it was to have a pop group that was embraced by the indie press. When they first started their sound was quite leftfield, and they'd collaborated with some credible people - Cameron McVey, Carl McIntosh, Jony Rockstar etc to name a few, which I would imagine helped them to get exposure from the indie press. Their 'moody' image, which was so at odds with the idea of being a toothy 'popstar' probably also helped.

The early support form the likes of NME is still carrying them through. They get play on Radio One without trying, as they are now considered to be 'cool' and 'ok' to like. This is primarily due to the image they had when they first started, which they've managed to keep hold of, despite their music being less edgy and a lot more poppy now. Things like the Arctic Monkeys cover was blinding - it kept them in touch with this fanbase, and made it seem like they're still 'credible' and are 'musically aware' rather than being mere 'puppets'.

Very, very clever marketing and a&r

Girls Aloud haven't fared quite as well. Despite their music being edgy and adventurous, they're still not considered 'cool' by a lot of people, a) because they're so obviously manufactured, and b) because image wise, they're very girly, very camp, and very un-indie....

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[Kirkland]

Didn't Girls Aloud get a good review from NME? I think that's more to do with the fact they are well known as a conduit for Xenomania and nobody could call them talentless.

[056]

The spice girls graced the cover of NME

[ninefootjoe]

I first heard about Sugababes through NME, they were the main 'On' (what is now 'Radar') band just before Overload was released.....and I remember just before Freak Like Me there was this interview, possibly with photographs in the Weakest Link studio but most definitely by Mr Robinson, and I remember it explaining what had happened to them very well, even down to the flop of Soul Sound.

He also got Hear'Say a cover story. I still have that somewhere...