Independent: Indie music bible the NME will be given away free after circulation for the 63 year-old title slumped to below 15,000 paid copies. Owner Time Inc. UK said more than 300,000 copies will be distributed nationally through stations, universities and retail partners. The NME, the last of the old-school music weekly papers, enjoyed a circulation peak of 300,000 in the late 70s. Sales of the magazine, which helped launch the careers of bands including the Smiths and Oasis, crashed over the last decade with fans migrating to alternative digital sources of music news.