Notion is a British music and culture magazine covering new artists, fashion and youth culture. Founded in London in 2004, it is a globally distributed bi-annual magazine published by Notion London Limited, with a circulation of around 65,000. Across print and digital, Notion has spent two decades championing emerging talent alongside established stars, building a reputation for visually striking layouts and in-depth artist interviews.
Founding
Notion was founded in 2004 by Billy Hussein — known as Billy Notion — the magazine's managing director, and Nicholas Douglas, its creative director. The title grew out of London's early-2000s creative scene, positioning itself at the intersection of music, fashion and culture. From the outset it aimed to provide a platform for new voices and innovative ideas, with a youthful, forward-looking identity that set it apart from more traditional music monthlies. The ISSN 1745-1760 title grew steadily through the decade, building the cover-star portfolio and contributor network that would sustain it into the digital era. The magazine is now based in both the United Kingdom and the United States, reflecting its international readership.
Editorial structure
The magazine's print edition is organised around three sections. It opens with an established "Introducing" section featuring up-and-coming artists alongside new music and fashion stories — the discovery engine that has defined the brand. The centre section carries longer music features, notably in-depth interviews with established artists and fashion editorials, while the final section is devoted to culture and one-off features. Contributors to the magazine also write for other publications including The Guardian, Drowned in Sound, Popjustice and the Huffington Post, giving the title a strong journalistic pedigree. Kitty Robson serves as editor.
Cover stars
Notion's covers read like a roll call of 21st-century pop. Artists to have been featured include Demi Lovato — who fronted the October 2017 cover — Miley Cyrus, Pharrell Williams, Adam Lambert, Lindsay Lohan, Ariana Grande, Joey Badass, The Weeknd, Bastille, Bruno Mars, Jessie J, Pixie Lott and Carly Rae Jepsen. The magazine prides itself on spotting talent early: its past cover stars include Billie Eilish, The Weeknd, Bruno Mars, Gorillaz, Björk and Charli XCX, many of them featured before they reached the mainstream. Bob Marley has also appeared among its cover subjects, reflecting the title's breadth across genres and generations.
Digital presence
Alongside the bi-annual print edition, Notion has built a robust digital operation. Its website, notion.online, and its social media channels carry daily news, reviews and exclusive content, making the brand accessible to a global audience far beyond the UK. Digital cover features, interview series and video content extend the magazine's reach into the spaces where new music now lives — online and on social platforms. Series such as NOTION The Artists, which has run to multiple volumes profiling rising acts including The Dare, Rose Gray, KWN, Paris Paloma, Erin LeCount and the Patta Soundsystem collective, showcase the title's commitment to emerging talent in digital form.
Music coverage
Notion covers a wide sweep of genres, from pop and indie to hip-hop, electronic, R&B and afrobeats, with an emphasis on artists who are rewriting the rules of their fields. Its interviews range from intimate conversations with bedroom-pop newcomers to major features with global stars, and its writers bring the same rigour to a first interview with an unknown rapper as to a cover story with an arena headliner, and its fashion editorials blend music and style in the manner of a classic culture magazine. The title's editorial team has long made a point of highlighting underrepresented voices in the music industry, and its coverage of UK rap, alternative R&B and electronic music has kept it close to the scenes shaping contemporary British pop.
Global distribution and readership
Although born in London, Notion has always looked outward. The magazine is distributed globally and is based across the United Kingdom and the United States, with a print circulation of around 65,000. Its readership skews young and culturally engaged: readers who follow new music through streaming and social media but still value a beautifully produced print object. That dual audience — digital-native yet print-appreciative — is reflected in the brand’s strategy, which treats the bi-annual magazine as a flagship and the website and social channels as its always-on newsroom. The result is a title that speaks to music fans in London, Los Angeles and everywhere in between.
The Notion New Music Awards
In 2025 Notion launched its own awards ceremony, the Notion New Music Awards — a digital-first initiative celebrating the artists shaping tomorrow's sound. The accolades are voted for by a panel of respected voices across music and culture and are designed to honour the genre-defying voices defining what is next, from underground rap to bedroom pop. Winners are honoured across eight genre-spanning categories: Best New Artist (overall), Best New Pop, Best New Rap/Hip-Hop, Best New Alternative, Best New Afrobeats/Amapiano, Best New Electronic, Best New R&B and Best New Jazz/Funk/Soul. The overall Best New Artist is crowned with a full Notion digital cover supported by exclusive photography, interviews and cross-platform storytelling. Creative director Nicholas Douglas described the awards not as a victory lap but as a launchpad for the artists rewriting the rules before the rest of the industry catches up.
Live events and partnerships
Notion has extended its brand into live events and industry partnerships. In October 2025 the magazine headed to Manchester for Beyond the Music, one of the UK's most prominent music industry gatherings, curating its own stage with a handpicked selection of six emerging artists: JayaHadADream, Manchester-based rapper and poet OneDa, Che3kz, Lady Ice, Yetti Tabai and Nessa May. The magazine has also collaborated with Amazon Music on digital cover features spotlighting breakthrough UK artists. These ventures position Notion as a tastemaker embedded in the industry it covers, rather than a distant observer.
Fashion and visual identity
Fashion has always been central to Notion’s identity. The magazine’s fashion editorials sit alongside its music features as equal partners, and its covers are styled as high-fashion portraits as much as music photography. That visual ambition — bold layouts, striking portraiture and a colourful, confident design language — is one of the title’s most recognisable signatures. The creative direction of Nicholas Douglas has shaped a look that moves easily between street culture and high fashion, reflecting the way its young audience experiences music and style as a single continuum. Digital covers and social-first shoots have extended that visual language to new platforms without diluting it.
Two decades of championing new music
By 2025 Notion had spent 21 years championing the artists shaping the future before they hit the mainstream — from early cover stories and first interviews to viral digital features. That track record, the magazine argues, speaks for itself: a history of identifying future stars while they are still emerging. In an era when print music magazines have become scarce, Notion's bi-annual format, global distribution and digital-first extensions have given it a sustainable model. With its awards, live stages and digital covers, the brand now operates across more platforms than ever. It remains, in its own description, a vibrant celebration of music and culture — a London-born title with an international audience and an undiminished appetite for what comes next. For a generation of readers, a Notion cover remains one of the surest signs that an artist is about to break through.
