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Melody Maker revived for Netflix partnership
By Andy Malt | Published on Monday 21 December 2020
Melody Maker is being revived in order to promote new Netflix movie ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ with a special edition celebrating the titular 1920s singer.
The Netflix partnership is actually with the NME and its current owner BandLab Technologies. But, they note, the NME didn’t exist in the 1920s, so it makes more sense to use the Melody Maker brand, that having been established in 1926.
Although the whole thing is online-only, so I’m not sure it’s really worth nit-picking over which music magazine actually existed in the 1920s too much. They get around this technicality by claiming that this special edition of the old music mag exists in “a sepia tainted, steam-punk powered proto internet of 1927”. Sure.
“Reviving one of the UK’s most recognisable and influential music titles to provide a platform for an iconic artist like Ma Rainey has been an absolute honour”, says Holly Bishop, UK Country Director and Head Of Partnerships at BandLab Technologies. “The hope is that this partnership will give some of today’s newest voices a platform to share their views, and at the same time, resonate with, and educate our shared audiences”.
Already in common ownership with NME, Melody Maker came to an end when it was technically merged with its main rival in 2000. BandLab then acquired NME and its related brands in 2019.
You can check out the Melody Maker revival (although I’d recommend lowering your expectations first) right here.
