Happy new year.

And, as 2008 begins, for the first time Q’s opening issue of the year previews the next 12 months in music. It seemed as good a time as any to do so.

We were all assailed throughout 2007 with dire figures for, and even worse predictions about the future of the music business, and certainly no one in their right mind would claim the year just gone to have been a vintage one. But, at the risk of seeming hopelessly optimistic, what’s immediately ahead inspires more than a degree of confidence that 2008 may, by contrast, be a year to excite. Hence, the preview of the year.

Personally speaking, the current point reminds me very much of 2004, my second year on Q. 2003 had been, quite frankly, a stinker for music. Beyonce, Justin Timberlake and a whole fleet of seemingly pre-packaged, entirely interchangeable pop muppets were in the ascendancy. Almost to a man, the type of artists Q is happy to endorse were putting their feet up and pondering their next move. Come 2004, many of them returned, and happy days ensued all round. Plus ca change.

When we first began compiling details of the releases and events that would shape 2008, it felt very familiar. On the horizon, then, are new albums from such established acts as Coldplay, U2, Oasis R.E.M., The Verve, Green Day, Madonna, Metallica and more. In the case of Coldplay and U2, at least, the scent of re-invention is in the air. As for R.E.M., whose forthcoming album I’ve heard, it looks like very much being a case of a renewed sense of focus and a return to former glories.

The likes of Lily Allen, Razorlight, Keane and Corinne Bailey Rae – artists who have already secured sizeable footholds on the nation’s collective conscience – will also each be andeavouring to take ever greater strides. All are talking a good game, all suggesting they’re reaching for new horizons, and all will be worth listening to.

It will, too, one suspects be a defining year for live music in the UK and elsewhere. Radiohead, Foo Fighters, Kaiser Chiefs and Bruce Springsteen have already confirmed event gigs. Others will follow, with Led Zeppelin looking increasingly likely to be among them, and the rules for the scale and impact of such things to be re-written in the process. Then there's Glastonbury, the epitome of the summer festival, and which once again Q is proud to sponsor.

As ever, though, the lifeblood of any musical year is the new talent that emerges through it. In the current issue of the magazine, Q has hand-picked what we believe are the 10 acts likely to cause the widest ripples this year. And, whilst no one is ever going to agree on the merits of all of them, collectively they suggest we are in safe hands. Indeed, having seen Duffy, the artist we’ve pin-pointed to be 2008’s Most Likely To, utterly tranfix London’s Royal Festival Hall last month, I’d be prepared to eat my foot come next December if our list doesn’t throw up at least one major star.

Reading back through the above, and flicking through the issue, I don’t think that optimism is misplaced. Q’s job, of course, will be to reflect, capture and prompt that throughout, and as the months pass our aim will be to do it with great quality and across more platforms than ever.

In 2008, we expect Q Radio, Q online and QTV to evolve and develop in new, and we trust exciting ways. Likewise Q The Music Club Live At The Hospital, our monthly gig, which next month alone will see Stereophonics playing a special intimate show to an audience of 150 or so people. And then there’s the Q Awards, which will return in October.

I hope and trust that wherever you – as they now say – access Q, you will find the experience rewarding, the content unique, and the satisfaction guaranteed. I would welcome your thoughts on any part of the Q experience at any time.

Thank you for your support. Enjoy the year.
Paul Rees, Editor