Along with fellow "NME" writers such as Paul Morley and Barney Hoskyns, Penman soon developed an innovative style of music criticism dense with allusions to critical theory, philosophy, and other art mediums, and often experimental in its prose. With their increasingly esoteric writing standing in contrast to the magazine's more accessible competitors, such as "Melody Maker", the "NME" soon began to alienate its readership; it is estimated that within several years, the magazine suffered the loss of half its circulation, in large part due to the new direction of Penman and his colleagues.