Music Week to become a monthly publication?

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Robbie View member profile	Nov 29 2020, 12:25 PM Post #1
BuzzJack Gold Member Joined: 4 April 2006 Posts: 3,442 User: 366	UK trade paper Music Week ends 60-year run as a weekly publication; parent Future says it will continue as a monthly ‘for the time being’ It’s a sad day for music industry media, and some of MBW’s staffers, as we learn that historic UK trade paper, Music Week, is to cease being a weekly title – with uncertainty surrounding its future. The magazine’s parent company, Future PLC, has announced via a surprisingly frank job ad that the title has “been impacted by a number of external market factors and significant economic pressures which mean that Music Week must move into a new phase of its development”. Adds Future: “The economics of Music Week as a weekly magazine are no longer viable, so we must look for other ways to serve our readership and build new sustainable revenue streams, both in the UK and internationally.” The title will soon move to a monthly release frequency, says Future, although how long the brand will remain as a physical publication after this point appears up in the air. “For the time being Future remains committed to Music Week in print, but monthly,” reads the job ad. The ad further reveals that Music Week will now “inevitably move over time to a digital-first proposition”, including the launch of a paywalled website scheduled to arrive in Q3 next year. It adds: “Music Week’s competition is hotting up… it’s [sic] long-established brand leadership is facing increased pressure from its competitors, including some who have significant strengths in digital media.” An important profit center for Music Week is its annual UK awards, the Music Week Awards, which traditionally take place in Q2 in London each year. COVID-19 saw off that possibility in 2020, and sadly may do the same in the first half of 2021, too. London-based Music Week began life as Record Retailer, originally founded as a monthly in 1959. A year later, it went weekly, and has remained so ever since, having been renamed as Music Week in 1972. Future Publishing acquired Music Week as part of a portfolio of titles from New Bay Media in 2018 in a $13.8m deal. In 2018, Time Inc announced it was ending the production of another weekly UK music title, NME.Music Business Worldwide © MusicBusinessWorldwide www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/uk-trade-paper-music-week-ends-60-year-run-as-a-weekly-publication-parent-future-says-it-will-continue-as-a-monthly-for-the-time-being/


Robbie View member profile	Nov 29 2020, 12:26 PM Post #2
BuzzJack Gold Member Joined: 4 April 2006 Posts: 3,442 User: 366	It's worth noting that the job advert referenced above has since been deleted, see: www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2020/11/music-week-goes-monthly.html


Robbie View member profile	Nov 29 2020, 12:26 PM Post #3
BuzzJack Gold Member Joined: 4 April 2006 Posts: 3,442 User: 366	The deleted job advert in full: jobs.laimoon.com/jobs/externalview/22392924 From the above: About the team Music Week has been the leading trade media brand for the UK music industry for over 60 years, and is essential reading for anyone who needs to understand the business of music, from vinyl to streaming, from the Dublin Castle all the way to Wembley Stadium. As well as covering industry news as and when it happens, our editorial team creates exclusive content that delves deeper into key industry issues. We have unrivalled access to the most powerful music business executives, both in the UK and abroad, and our unique relationships with a variety of trade bodies and chart providers, including the UK's Official Charts Company, means we are able to analyse the data and trends that lie behind the modern music industry. Music Week is undergoing a transformation. Long known as a weekly music magazine, published primarily for the UK market, it has been impacted by a number of external market factors and significant economic pressures which mean that Music Week must move into a new phase of its development. The ever-changing expectations of its readers mean that the brand will inevitably move over time to a digital-first proposition, serving both its audience and commercial clients with informative, compelling and impactful content across a variety of media platforms, including live events (when they are permitted to return). Music Week’s competition is hotting up too - it’s long-established brand leadership is facing increased pressure from its competitors, including some who have significant strengths in digital media. The economics of Music Week as a weekly magazine are no longer viable, so we must look for other ways to serve our readership and build new sustainable revenue streams, both in the UK and internationally. For the time being Future remains committed to Music Week in print, but monthly. The planned move of the MusicWeek.com website in Q3 FY21, with a paywalled facility, will open up new opportunities for the brand to serve its audience and clients.


Steve201 View member profile	Nov 29 2020, 12:30 PM Post #4
Shakin Stevens Joined: 29 December 2007 Posts: 46,140 User: 5,138	Always sad, used to buy it every week for the chart but stopped a while back, still buy the Xmas chart edition in January for keeps!


Robbie View member profile	Jan 7 2021, 09:11 AM Post #5
BuzzJack Gold Member Joined: 4 April 2006 Posts: 3,442 User: 366	Published this morning on musicweek.com A message from Music Week New year, new Music Week. For more than six decades, Music Week has attracted the biggest artists and executives and provided the most trusted, agenda-setting coverage of the music business world. Last year our pages were filled with coverage of all sectors of the music industry adapting to the unprecedented challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic. In 2021 the time has come for Music Week to establish our own new normal. As 2020 came to a close, the UK music industry lost some of its most respected music titles from news-stands. The tough economics of the marketplace during the pandemic – including reduced footfall in shops and a substantial hit in advertising revenue – affected us as it did so many others, making the cost of production of a weekly print title unsustainable. This, coupled with our having to pause our award-winning live events, has meant that the old ways of delivering our market leading coverage must now evolve. Crucially, however, while Covid-19 has hastened this decision, changes in both reading habits and expectations in the digital age mean that our brand was always going to have to reimagine itself in a new iteration. The recurring key message of the music industry in recent years has been that embracing change is essential for survival in a world of ever-shifting consumption habits – it is no different for us at Music Week. So it is that this year we are delighted to announce an all-new incarnation of Music Week. A NEW MONTHLY PRINT EDITION We are hugely excited to reveal that, starting this February, our print offering will now be brought to life in a deluxe 100-page monthly edition of Music Week magazine, comprising all the exclusive, forward-looking interviews with the biggest names in the business you are used to from our weekly format, bolstered with all-new and enhanced sections. Our presentation of the OCC charts will still be delivered weekly online via our digital chart pack and our new print edition will instead focus on presenting charts and analysis offering an overview of the preceding month in music. This ensures that Music Week gives you even greater perspective on the charts than ever before. ENHANCED ONLINE OFFERING Our change in print frequency will be coupled with an enhanced online offering for subscribers. In addition to our daily news updates, exclusive interviews and newsletters we will offer a weekly digital chart pack – containing all the main OCC charts and our own insightful analysis. Plus, starting in February we will be creating new weekly digital cover-features where you can expect to read interviews with the biggest movers and shakers in music. And there’s more in store… a brand new incarnation of Music Week’s website will launch later this year. Full details of the various subscription packages will be coming very soon. EVENTS Our acclaimed live events will continue and grow, either in person or virtually, with the Music Week Awards, Tech Summit and Women In Music ceremonies all in the works for 2021. You’ll see more webinars like our hugely successful The Art of Video Game Music too. While it will be business as usual online in January as we continue to deliver you exclusive news stories, analysis and coverage on a daily basis, all existing print subscriptions will be paused for the duration of one month while Music Week undertakes the necessary preparation to deliver its new digital and print offerings in February as outlined above. Alongside these developments is a change in our staff line-up. We say a huge thank you to our brilliant departing editor Mark Sutherland, who leaves us after leading Music Week for the last five years, and to our terrific senior staff writer James Hanley. Mark and James have made a tremendous contribution to the growth of Music Week and we wish them the very best. This is just the start of our evolution – we will be revealing more exciting developments over the coming months. At Music Week we have always believed that our voice is your voice. With the support of the industry we have served for over 60 years, we look forward to shining the spotlight ever brighter on the incredible stories and innovations driving the most exciting industry in the world.


gooddelta View member profile	Jan 7 2021, 09:24 AM Post #6
Hello? Joined: 8 March 2006 Posts: 83,014 User: 116	Sign of the times, but sad. I don't know what its subscriber base is like but I can't imagine it gets many shop purchases anymore with most people working at home (I know the larger WH Smith's tend to sell it on the newsstand). The monthly overview charts analysis sounds interesting, will that be an extra report for James Masterton to write, or maybe a 'top 40 of January' etc, which would be interesting to see, they used to do round-up charts like that at the back of the Top of the Pops magazines in the late 90s.


Steve201 View member profile	Jan 7 2021, 10:49 PM Post #7
Shakin Stevens Joined: 29 December 2007 Posts: 46,140 User: 5,138	I never enjoyed the monthly chart, hope they do a weekly factual one!


Mart!n View member profile	Jan 8 2021, 11:06 AM Post #8
Infamy Infamy they all got it in for me Joined: 5 March 2006 Posts: 129,134 User: 2	Just seen this and read... does this mean no more weekly sales from MW, how is that going to work