The biannual ABC circulation figures for magazines were published today (August 13th). Four titles (The Word, Terrorizer, Mixmag and Rock Sound) have yet to post figures. I know Terrorizer only does theirs annually, but it’s a little surprising to see no updates from the other three. Maybe they will appear during the next few days.
Generally, this is going to be grim reading for the editors and publishers of many major titles. With Plan B and the Knowledge both ceasing publication during the last six months, it was obvious that things were getting tight. With the combination of falling advertising revenue and falling sales, it will be a surprise if other magazines don’t follow suit soon.
Following the trend of the last couple of years, the two titles in desperate trouble are Kerrang! and NME. Both are in a real mess with double digit percentage falls. The decline of NME in particular is staggering. I can’t see it lasting the next twelve months as a print publication. Uncut has also had a horrendous six months.
The magazines posting figures today (with their previous two six monthly figures in brackets):
Classic Rock 70,301 (70,188, 66,362)
Kerrang! 43,253 (52,272, 60,294)
Metal Hammer 46,004 (50,269, 48,540)
Mojo 97,722 (100,507, 106,367)
NME 40,948 (48,459, 56,284)
Q 100,172 (103,107, 113,174)
Uncut 76,526 (87,069, 86,925)
I will update this post with the others when (if) figures come through. Congratulations to Classic Rock – target the old folk and you can’t go wrong!
The Wire doesn’t post its circulation.
For the film buffs out there:
Empire 194,016
Total Film 85,031
Sight and Sound 19,733 (up to December 2008)
I’ve not posted film mags before, so there’s no comparisons.
Music Musings and Miscellany 