ABC Jan-Jun 2003: Emap’s Q Turns It Up In Music Sector

The figures listed in NewsLine’s ABC reports are those reported by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) as of Thursday 14 August 2003. Late submissions and changes may be made after this date, and will thereafter be amended in MediaTel’s Press database. For full notes on how NewsLine’s reports are compiled please see Important Notes: ABC January – June 2003.

ABC results for the six months ending June 2003 brought a mixed set of results to the increasingly fickle music magazine sector, which inevitably continues to rise and fall with changing musical trends.

There was good news for Emap’s market leading Q magazine, which experienced an impressive 7.2% year on year increase in circulation to 172,557. The Q brand is becoming increasingly attractive to advertisers and a radio version of the magazine recently launched on Freeview.

IPC Ignite’s veteran music title, NME, also performed positively in the first half of this year. The magazine saw circulation inch up by 0.5% year on year to 72,443, as its traditional brand of sharp reviews and features continued to prove popular with its core 15 to 24 year-old readership.

Meanwhile, Emap’s Mojo, which will celebrate its tenth birthday next month, also experienced a notable 3.5% increase in circulation to 103,654. Mojo‘s strength on the newsstand is mirrored by its growth in subscriptions, which Emap claims have hit the 20,000 mark for the first time.

There was also good news for IPC’s Uncut, which includes a mixture of music, movies, videos and books. The title reported solid growth, with circulation increase by 26.7% year on year to 105,781.

However, things looked less rosy for Emap’s Kerrang! and the flagship rock-focused title saw circulation dip by 16.2% year on year to 70,361. The decline could be attributed to the slowing chart popularity of rock music, which appears to be running out of steam following a recent surge.

This decline could also be seen at Future Publishing’s Metal Hammer magazine, which saw circulation slip by 18.6% year on year to 35,876, down from 44,070 in the same period the previous year.

There was blood on the dance floor once again with the closure of Ministry of Sound’s Ministry and IPC Ignite’s Muzik magazine. Emap Performance’s Mixmag, the last surviving dance title in this audit, also experienced a steep decline, with circulation dropping by 28.2% year on year to 53,212, down from 74,070 in the same period the previous year.

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