In the mid 1990s Gramophone introduced CDs on the cover of the magazine to allow readers to hear excerpts from the latest releases. Fifteen years later, new technology has allowed Gramophone to evolve once again, as we launch our new online Gramophone Player. The free, easy-to-use player – which will replace the covermounted CD – streams at 256kbps (better than most internet radio stations), and in addition to excerpts from the monthly “Editor’s Choice” recordings, it will also allow users to listen to features including:

- A complete recording every month, related to one of the magazine’s main feature
- A treasurable complete archive recording sourced by the Gramophone editorial team
- Music excerpts which illustrate features in the magazine
- A excerpt from the DVD of the month (complete with video)
- Gramophone podcasts
- A selection of new videos including coverage of the Gramophone Awards

To celebrate the launch and in anticipation of the upcoming Gramophone Awards, which take place on October 1, on the player now you will find the first in our series of Gramophone Award Podcasts exploring four of this year’s category shortlists (three more, covering the entire shortlist, will be added throughout September).

You need to be a registered, and logged-in, user of the Gramophone website in order to access the player. If you are not yet registered, it is free to do so – just click the link at the top right-hand corner of this web page. Once you are logged in, a large button to launch the player appears in the right-hand column, as well as links above the search box and at the bottom of the page. For more information about how the Gramophone Player works, you can read our simple-to-follow user guide to the Gramophone Player.

Log on, listen in and do let us know what you think.