Nicholas Douglas Frames the Future of Music
By Matt Emma
With the launch of the NOTION New Music Awards, the Creative Director extends the brand’s legacy of shaping discovery into a new cultural platform.
NOTION has never just been about music. Since its earliest days in London, the magazine has worked at the intersections of sound, image and culture, presenting artists not only as musicians but as visual icons in the making. Now, under Creative Director Nicholas Douglas, that vision expands with the launch of the NOTION New Music Awards (NMA).
“The most exciting new artists today aren’t waiting for permission to be themselves,” Douglas explains. “They’re fusing genres, experimenting with aesthetics, and building communities on their own terms. Our job is to recognise that energy before the mainstream smooths it out.”
Beyond the playlist
In Notion’s world, discovery has always meant more than a headline. Its covers have consistently introduced readers to the faces – and looks – of what’s next. For Douglas, that alignment of sound and style is crucial. “Music culture today is inseparable from how artists choose to present themselves,” he says. “Style, visuals, the worlds they build – it all feeds into how audiences connect with their sound.”
That philosophy has shaped NOTION’s editorial language: photo-led storytelling, collaborations with stylists and brands, and immersive visuals that frame emerging artists as fully formed cultural players.
A new kind of awards moment
The NOTION NMA extends that editorial DNA into an awards framework. Categories from Pop and Rap/Hip-Hop to Afrobeats and Electronic recognise artists who are pushing sonic boundaries while redefining aesthetics and identity.
By design, the awards are digital-first – living on the platforms where image and sound collide daily. TikTok edits, Instagram carousels and behind-the-scenes content will ensure winners become cultural references in real time.
Nicholas Douglas as curator
Douglas has steered NOTION into a new era of storytelling, while building bridges with brands across fashion, lifestyle and technology. “We’ve always believed in showing artists at their most authentic but also their most aspirational,” he says. “The NOTION NMA is about extending that belief into a platform where discovery feels iconic.”
The fashion of discovery
It’s no coincidence that judges like Bimini, Jordss and AZ Captures all understand the interplay of style and identity. Together, they embody the philosophy that discovery is as much about how an artist looks and moves through culture as how they sound.
Looking ahead
As the first announcements roll out through September, the NOTION NMA marks a moment where editorial vision becomes a platform in its own right. For Nicholas Douglas, it’s about celebrating discovery in real time: “The NOTION NMA is about recognising artists when they’re still risky, still raw, still rewriting the script. That’s when they’re at their most powerful.”
In NOTION’s hands, discovery isn’t just about who you hear next. It’s about who you see, how you see them – and the moment those visuals, sounds and stories fuse into something unforgettable.
Photo by Sonali Ohrie
