NME is closing its print publication. The iconic British magazine’s current edition will be its last, according to a statement from publisher Time Inc. (via Music Week). NME.com will continue to operate and expand, with two new audio channels—one for new music, another for “NME classics”—launching online and on UK digital radio. A new, paid-for magazine series, NME Gold, will begin publishing in print. Founded in 1952, the New Musical Express became a leader in the once-competitive market for music mags, selling up to 300,000 copies a week in the 1970s. In the ensuing decade, the paper synchronized with the punk and postpunk movements, tackling issues such as the rise of the far-right and suicide among young people.

The paper switched to a glossy magazine format in 2002, when its intimate coverage of bands like the Libertines divided readers while ushering in a new era of tabloid-style journalism. In 2015, slumping sales forced the magazine to go free. In a statement, Paul Cheal, Time Inc. UK’s managing director for music, blames “increasing production costs and a very tough print advertising market” for the free edition’s closure.

“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,” Cheal says in the statement. “The print re-invention has helped us to attract a range of cover stars that the previous paid-for magazine could only have dreamed of.” He goes on, “Unfortunately we have now reached a point where the free weekly magazine is no longer financially viable. It is in the digital space where effort and investment will focus to secure a strong future for this famous brand.” The switch to digital will result in redundancies, according to a statement obtained by Music Week.

Read “Worth Their Wait,” Simon Reynolds’ feature on the British music press.

Editor's note: Many Pitchfork contributors, including the author of this news story, have also written for NME.