A Christmas Message to the Now Spinning Magazine Community

🎄 A Christmas Message to the Now Spinning Magazine Family
Hi everyone,
I just wanted to take a moment to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and to send love and best wishes for a happy, healthy 2026.
From the bottom of my heart — from me and Sue — thank you. Thank you for your kindness, your encouragement, and your unwavering support throughout 2025. It’s been an incredible year, and I honestly couldn’t have imagined just how special it would become.

When I first started Now Spinning Magazine, I had a simple idea in my head. I wanted it to feel like a pub. Somewhere you could sit down, have a chat, talk about records, share stories — like meeting up with friends over a beer. What’s happened since then has gone way beyond that. It’s no longer just me talking about music; it’s become a real community of like-minded people who genuinely care about one another.

Through the WhatsApp group, the comments, the meet-ups, and the Now Spinning Arms sessions, friendships have formed — real friendships. We talk about music, of course, but we also talk about life. The personal stuff. The worries, the joys, the tough times. And that’s something incredibly rare online these days.
I’ve been absolutely bowled over by the kindness I’ve seen this year.

A special thank you has to go to Andy Old, who helped spearhead the fundraising for a new Mac — the very one this video was filmed on. Andy, I genuinely couldn’t have done it without you. And to everyone who contributed, encouraged, or simply sent a kind message — you’ve made a huge difference to what I can now do and what I can plan for 2026.

And what a year it’s been. The podcast audience has grown by nearly 1000%. It’s now growing faster than most other shows and sits in the top 10% of video podcasts on Spotify. The website is thriving. The community is stronger than ever. The Now Spinning Arms meet-ups have taken on a life of their own.
Looking ahead, there’s so much to be excited about.

We have also launched our own Now Spinning music store, with exclusives you won’t be able to get anywhere else. That’s a huge step forward. We’re also launching a consultancy side to Now Spinning Magazine — working with record labels to help them make better box sets and physical releases by listening to the people who actually buy them. Honestly, I can’t think of a better focus group than this community. You are the market research.

At Christmas, music always takes on a deeper meaning for me. I still love those songs that take me straight back to childhood — memories of my mum and dad, being young, feeling safe. And more than ever, music feels like something we need. When the world feels heavy, when the news is overwhelming, music becomes the healer. It can’t fix everything, but it can open doors to better memories and help us keep going.

This year especially, I’ve been very aware of how many people in our community have lost loved ones — partners, parents, friends. That kind of grief hits even harder at this time of year. I’ve felt it myself. And what has meant so much to me is seeing how you’ve supported each other. The messages, the shared stories, the quiet check-ins. That compassion is what makes this such a special place.

For those of you who watch from the outside, you might not always see that side of things. But those inside the community know exactly what I mean. It’s more than content. It’s connection.
I feel incredibly lucky to be able to do this — to talk about music, to bring people together, to share stories and memories, and hopefully, in some small way, help someone somewhere. I’m not chasing numbers. I’m planting seeds. And if those seeds grow into something that helps even one person, then it’s worth it.
Music doesn’t keep us warm. You can’t eat it. But it does shape who we are. It’s the soundtrack to our lives. Our collections, our shelves of vinyl and CDs — they’re not just objects. They’re pieces of us.

So thank you. Truly. Thank you for being here, for supporting one another, and for making Now Spinning Magazine more than I ever imagined it could be.

Enjoy the Christmas break, whatever it looks like for you. Stay safe. Keep spinning those discs. Remember — music is the healer and the doctor.
I’ll talk to you all very soon.
With love,
Phil 🎄❤️

Видео A Christmas Message to the Now Spinning Magazine Community канала Now Spinning Magazine