NME circulation continues in the same direction

There's not much to celebrate in the just-published ABC figures for the NME. But then there seldom is.

The headline? Average sales are down now to 20,011 - and around a quarter (5,002) of those are at below full cover price.

That's 13% down compared with the six months to the end of 2012; 16% down on the sale compared with the same period last year.

Is there much comfort for the title in the stats for its digital edition?

Not really, not yet: in the UK, they sold just 356 copies onto people's tablets. The much wider potential market of the rest of the world? 465 copies. Although there's potential there, the NME isn't making any digital headway yet.

There was, however, one glimmer of hope, as one issue managed to out-perform the sluggish sales of the title - the David Bowie cover story. It suggests that when the magazine is able to bring its a-game, it can still create a buzz. Perhaps - given that Liam Gallagher frontpages offer no sales advantage over, say, Haim or Karen O - its time for the magazine to stop clinging to the Gallaghers and start reporting the news?