It was known for covering the indie rock and Britpop genres,[2] but featured a wide array of music.

[6][9] Under the editorship of Mark Ellen, the magazine began focusing on the baggy and Madchester scenes.

[6] The magazine soon became known for its coverage of Britpop, a term already in use in the music press by writer like John Robb but with an added new context in the magazine front cover by Stuart Maconie in its April 1993 "Yanks Go Home" edition,[10] featuring The Auteurs, Denim, Saint Etienne, Pulp and Suede's Brett Anderson on the cover in front of a Union Flag.

Several publications have called the April 1993 cover an important impetus in defining the movement's tone and opposition to American genres such as grunge.

[14] Periditis later stated of its closure: "No matter how many features we did on Destiny's Child, people still thought we were a magazine about Oasis.