Popworld in your pocket

Remember the second version of Raw, when EMAP attempted to launch a fortnightly magazine that sat between Smash Hits and Select? Nope, neither does anyone at Channel 4, who have somewhat bravely decided the time is right for a weekly music glossy based on its Popworld brand.

The cover stars on the dummy issue are Maximo Park, and there is a target audience intended:

[Popworld] will focus on new music and cater for a wide range of tastes including emo, R&B, indie pop and rock.

Now, while we would buy a magazine that loved the Sugababes and the Wedding Present equally, unless we wanted to lose large sums of money we wouldn't try to selling one, having seen so many attempts to do similar quickly dumped into the crisp box with "OLD MAGAZINES 25P EACH" written on in it biro.

Still, the publishers are quite upbeat:

"This is the most finely honed magazine we have ever launched - and I believe we will surprise and delight the market," said Darren Styles, the Brooklands Group chief executive.

If a pop-and-altrock magazine is the most finely honed title they've produced, it makes you wonder what else they're producing - Golfing Goths? Pigkeeping Express incorporating Church Weekly? Allergy Alert and Wordsearch?

A surprising number of the staff - and, apparently, the design - have been lifted from Zoo and/or Nuts. If that suggests a magazine which makes Pink For Girls look like The Economist, that's intentional:

"It's affordable, accessible, easily consumed and as portable as the medium it represents - it's all about sharing great music, at gigs or with your mates, and getting the inside line," Mr Styles added.

Lets hope nobody shows Mr Styles the internet, which already does that for less money. Still, it explains why the NME is giving away stickers - stickers - this week.