Rock rags in the UK record best-ever sales figures for first half of 2005

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http://www.drownedinsound.com/articles/12935.html

The date: 19th August 2005

A number of music magazines have received a boost from ABC (the Audit Bureau of Circulations), as newly published half-yearly sales figures in The Guardian show that the likes of Mojo, rock sound and Metal Hammer are selling far more copies now than in recent years.

Metal Hammer, for example, has scored the biggest yearly circulation growth of any music title, up 20.9% to 40,236 copies per month. The Emap-owned Mojo has seen monthly sales soar to 114,626, putting it second behind Q in the grand music monthly scheme. rock sound, now an independent publication, has seen 2005's figures improve upon 2004's by an impressive 11.3%, putting monthly sales at a healthy 22,305.

Elsewhere, the NME enjoyed a 5% boost, scoring some 73,640 sales per week, and Kerrang!'s sales have risen by just over 3%.

Stuart Williams, publishing director of Emap's music titles, said: "There's a lot going on in the market - kids are going to concerts and buying records. Go to any town in the country and you'll see kids walking around with guitars rather than record bags. Now there are 16 year-olds buying Beatles tracks and 60 year-olds buying Radiohead and the White Stripes."

― BeeOK (boo radley), Saturday, 20 August 2005 07:44 (twenty years ago)

For all figures: http://www.mediaweek.co.uk/articles/folder2005/08/AugustDaily/magABCs-janjune05

Music

Q – 160,310 – up 6.3%
Mojo – 114,626 – up 14.2%
Uncut – 110,015 – down 2.5%
The Fly – 107,519 – down 0.9%
NME – 73,640 – up 5.2%
Kerrang! – 64,554 – up 3.1%
Mixmag – 46,470 – down 7.9%
Classic Rock – 44,349 – up 15.2%
Metal Hammer – 40,236 – up 20.9%
Word – 33,376 – up 11.1%

― BeeOK (boo radley), Saturday, 20 August 2005 07:48 (twenty years ago)

The Fly – 107,519 – down 0.9%

How the fuck does a free magazine drop circulation?

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Saturday, 20 August 2005 07:50 (twenty years ago)

Maybe record shops tell their distributors not to send 'em as they don't want them cluttering up their racks no more. Has the Fly ever printed a single interesting piece. I mean, they're not even interesting in a negative I'm-so-pissed-off-at-this sense.

― Raw Patrick (Raw Patrick), Saturday, 20 August 2005 11:26 (twenty years ago)

five months pass...

announced today:

http://tinyurl.com/9szw8

ABC average monthly/weekly figures (NME and Kerrang! are the only weeklies on the list) for July-December 2005 (includes export copies):

01. Q - 168,547
02. Mojo - 120,530
03. Uncut - 110,052
04. NME - 76,792
05. Kerrang! - 76,165
06. Total Guitar - 52,183
07. Classic Rock - 50,027
08. Metal Hammer - 44,047
09. The Word - 34,753
10. Guitarist - 29,152
11. Rock Sound - 23,027
12. Guitar Techniques - 20,561
13. Rhythm - 10,434

NOTE: Magazines like Zero, Big Cheese, Zero Tolerance and Terrorizer aren't members of the ABC so they don't have "official" sales figures.

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Thursday, 16 February 2006 16:05 (twenty years ago)

Kerrang! rises as music sector rocks
http://media.guardian.co.uk/presspublishing/story/0,,1711381,00.html

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Thursday, 16 February 2006 16:13 (twenty years ago)

They ignore Smash Hits which would have finished 4th with 92,398 copies, and Mixmag (10th) with 42,234. I couldn't find any figures for Record Collector magazine but I'd guess that would be top 10 too.

― Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Thursday, 16 February 2006 18:34 (twenty years ago)

"Mixmag, which recorded a 8.5% drop in circulation to 42,234 copies year on year."

EMAP sold Mixmag to Hepworth & Ellen's Development Hell co

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Thursday, 16 February 2006 18:46 (twenty years ago)

six months pass...

Brand Republic report on the audited sales of UK music magazines: Uncut takes a big hit as music monthlies continue to slip

IPC's Uncut is the heaviest casualty in the ABC figures for January to June 2006, sliding 19.4% to 88,756

Uncut magazine did lose it's way earlier this year, that ghastly Paul Weller on the front cover was the low point. I actually thought the recent Spring redesign was an improvement, less Americana, better magazine design, more reviews etc. I expect that in 6 months time, Uncut will recover some of the lost sales.

From ABC stats - Mojo now have a massive sales lead on Uncut ! Mojo - 121,746

Also the Battle of the weeklies: Kerrang on Top

MediaGuardian.co.uk | Special reports: Kerrang! rocks NME's world

NME Down 3.4% to 74,206 [Compared to 6 Months Ago]

Kerrang rising 5.3% to 80,186, [24.2% year-on-year rise.]

Press Gazette: Mag ABCs: Rock titles make a noise in the music sector

Music magazine ABCs Jan to June 2006 (Year on Year)

Mixmag: 41,757, down 10.1 per cent

The Word: 35,142, up 5.3 per cent

Q: 158,271, down 1.3 per cent

Mojo: 121,746, up 6.2 per cent

Uncut: 88,756, down 19.3 per cent

Kerrang!: 80,186, up 24.2 per cent

NME: 74,206, up 0.8 per cent

Classic Rock: 56,037, up 26.4 per cent

Metal Hammer: 45,359, up 12.7 per cent

Rock Sound: 23,254, up 4.3 per cent

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Thursday, 17 August 2006 12:55 (nineteen years ago)

Interesting that the gradual slide away from Americana has resulted in a less-than-gradual loss of circulation for Uncut.

Perhaps the moral is that their readers really did want non-stop Peckinpah barbed wire tequila after all.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 17 August 2006 13:29 (nineteen years ago)

at the crossroads.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 17 August 2006 13:29 (nineteen years ago)

Looks like Rock's not dead after all (Americana is)

― Dadaismus (a rattly old puffin who remembers ILX in the days when...) (Dada), Thursday, 17 August 2006 13:32 (nineteen years ago)

About 2 years ago Uncut sold more than Mojo, now this

Mojo: 121,746, up 6.2 per cent

Uncut: 88,756, down 19.3 per cent

apart from Mojo now having freebie CDs why is it significantly out performing Uncut?

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Thursday, 17 August 2006 13:36 (nineteen years ago)

Better freebie CDs

― Dadaismus (a rattly old puffin who remembers ILX in the days when...) (Dada), Thursday, 17 August 2006 13:37 (nineteen years ago)

For what it does, Mojo is an infinitely better-written and simply more authoritative-looking magazine. Compare this month's Syd covers; the Uncut one bears the appearance of a Kwik Save Mojo.

I suppose Uncut have tried some minimal sprucing up, but even that seems to have proved a deterrent to the Bob Harris listeners who constitute the majority of the Uncut demographic. Expect more Ray Lamontaigne and Richmond Fontaine 30-page cover features, kids!

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 17 August 2006 13:39 (nineteen years ago)

Rock in rags, so to speak.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 17 August 2006 13:44 (nineteen years ago)

Also Mojo publishes first Wednesday of the month, Uncut first Thursday.

Mojo always gets it's issues into the shops before Uncut, also sometimes Mojo brings forward it's into retail sell date by a few days.

A few years back Mojo was published on a mid-month publication date cycle.

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Thursday, 17 August 2006 13:45 (nineteen years ago)

And it has better freebie CDs

― Dadaismus (a rattly old puffin who remembers ILX in the days when...) (Dada), Thursday, 17 August 2006 13:47 (nineteen years ago)

The upshot for the punter presumably being: well, why buy two?

Emap have definitely got their act together in marketing Mojo; Q I suspect is slowly being retired to the back burner.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 17 August 2006 13:48 (nineteen years ago)

Online: Mojo has superior marketing

Mojo
http://www.mojo4music.com/newissue/

Uncut
http://www.uncut.co.uk/magazine/

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Thursday, 17 August 2006 13:54 (nineteen years ago)

Syd had not made a record in the lifetime of some Uncut readers, who may be baffled by the significance to some of us his death (sic).

Talk about misreading your demographics!

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 17 August 2006 13:56 (nineteen years ago)

November 1970 - Syd Barrett
http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/syd_barrett/barrett/

[I was born May 1970, so i nearly qualify for the statement: re Syd had not made a record in the lifetime of some Uncut readers]

I am sure that Uncut does have a born November 1970 onwards % of readers

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Thursday, 17 August 2006 14:01 (nineteen years ago)

It probably has 1970 readers born post-1970.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 17 August 2006 14:04 (nineteen years ago)

This basically proves that emo really has fucked the NME in the knee for the moment, they haven't got a clue on how to properly handle it. Hint: putting The Horrors on the front cover isn't the answer.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Thursday, 17 August 2006 14:10 (nineteen years ago)

But NME have covered Panic at the crappy Disco and rubbish such as Fall Out Boy

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Thursday, 17 August 2006 14:15 (nineteen years ago)

Kerrang have too and thats what the emo kids are buying. No doubt NME will try create another scene soon.
New Wave Of Romo where the 90s romo kids are seen as godfathers?

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy (Kerr), Thursday, 17 August 2006 17:19 (nineteen years ago)

In the late 90s / early 00s it was Nu metal kids, now in 2006 it's emo kids - it's just a stoopid sheep-like fad with no substance.

ha, What the kids need, a big article: Why Emo sucks

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Thursday, 17 August 2006 18:07 (nineteen years ago)

Mixmag: 41,757, down 10.1 per cent

WTF? I thought that mag ceased publication years ago!

― Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), Friday, 18 August 2006 10:01 (nineteen years ago)

Kerrang have too and thats what the emo kids are buying

Exactly. If your favourite band are P!ATD, are you going to buy a magazine that has them on the cover, and then smaller interviews with, I dunno, The Academy Is and She Wants Revenge, or one that has them in a small interview and puts The Fratellis on the cover? It's not hard.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Friday, 18 August 2006 10:07 (nineteen years ago)

re: WTF? I thought that mag ceased publication years ago!

re: Mr. Snrub, i think you mean Muzik !

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Friday, 18 August 2006 10:09 (nineteen years ago)

How much is a copy of Mojo? I picked up Uncut at the airport a couple of weeks ago and nearly dropped it when I saw it cost the best part of a fiver.

― Mädchen (Madchen), Friday, 18 August 2006 10:13 (nineteen years ago)

Would anyone buy a magazine with something as awful as that Horrors cover on it?

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy (Kerr), Friday, 18 August 2006 10:13 (nineteen years ago)

Or is that how much non-fashmags cost these days? (x-p)

― Mädchen (Madchen), Friday, 18 August 2006 10:14 (nineteen years ago)

In the late 90s / early 00s it was Nu metal kids, now in 2006 it's emo kids - it's just a stoopid sheep-like fad with no substance.
ha, What the kids need, a big article: Why Emo sucks

-- DJ Martian (altmartinu...), August 17th, 2006.

eyeroll.jpg

― Bashment Jakes (Enrique), Friday, 18 August 2006 10:29 (nineteen years ago)

What do the Horrors actually sound like? They're basically just a name to me, I had no idea they were popular

― DJ Mencap (DJ Mencap), Friday, 18 August 2006 10:29 (nineteen years ago)

Are The Horrors real, I thought it was one oF NME's periodical conceptual jokes like Terris or Campag Velocet?

― Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Friday, 18 August 2006 10:35 (nineteen years ago)

yeah, i saw the poster and i didn't get whether it was for an actual nme issue or an actual band or what. with my eyesight i thought one of them was doherty, and figured maybe the others were in other nme-type bands. the kooks, that kind of thing.

― Bashment Jakes (Enrique), Friday, 18 August 2006 10:39 (nineteen years ago)

Imagine if the Cramps had erectile dysfunction and were playing 3rd from the bottom of the bill on a Camden all-dayer circa 2002. That's The Horrors.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Friday, 18 August 2006 10:41 (nineteen years ago)

it's not just a clever name.

― Bashment Jakes (Enrique), Friday, 18 August 2006 10:42 (nineteen years ago)

dom -- um, the guardian, not so saved?

― Bashment Jakes (Enrique), Friday, 18 August 2006 10:42 (nineteen years ago)

Next Friday, boss. They're rationing me so people can get used to lesser writers also doing reviews for them. They don't want to set unfair standards for the rest.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Friday, 18 August 2006 10:44 (nineteen years ago)

oic

― Bashment Jakes (Enrique), Friday, 18 August 2006 10:54 (nineteen years ago)

I bought Mixmag last week for the first time in ages but not read it yet.

― Konal Doddz (blueski), Friday, 18 August 2006 10:55 (nineteen years ago)

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