So, the latest ABC figures - the official print media circulation count - were published yesterday, which always makes me nervous because with the editorial teams of most of these titles reading CMU, whatever way I interpret these stats I'll probably get a complaint from someone.
Though I'm not sure how I can interpret the latest readership figures for the music mags anything but negatively - 2007 wasn't a great year for print media of the music kind. IPC's NME had an average weekly sale of 64,033 in the latter half of 2007, 6% down on the first half of the year, 12% down year on year. Its main weekly rival Kerrang!, now owned by Bauer, was down 8% on the previous six months and 9.9% year-on-year, although it is still ahead of the NME on 76,937.
The NME magazine, of course, is now just one part of a wider media brand, though IPC say they still consider it to be at the core of that brand and that, while not seemingly too panicked by the circulation fall, admit they will be looking to revamp the title a little later this year. IPC Ignite Publishing Director Paul Cheal told reporters: "NME magazine sits at the heart of the brand and we are constantly sense checking what readers want and looking to evolve the magazine's content and design. With this in mind our editorial team are currently engaged in exciting development work which will come to market later this year".
Kerrang! too is a multimedia brand, of course, and Bauer Consumer Media Deputy MD Stuart Williams dwelled on that when asked about the rock title's readership fall: "Kerrang! [and our other music and film titles] continue to develop in print, online, on TV, on radio and for podcast to considerable commercial and critical success, because they all provide their audiences with the opportunity to experience their favourite entertainment brands when and where they want in the format they prefer".
Also seeing readership fall this time was Bauer's Mojo, down 7% year on year; Future's Metal Hammer down 6.5% year on year; Development Hell's The Word and Mixmag, down 1.1% and 8.2% respectively; and freebie The Fly was down 5.2% year on year, though up 8.9% on the first half of 2007. IPC's Uncut was up 6% on the first half of 2007, though down 2.8% year on year, while the big guy of UK music media, Q, was up 0.9% on the first half of last year, but down 6.4% year on year.
If you want some good news, you should concentrate on Future's Classic Rock where, while sales for the second half of 2007 were pretty much as the first half, year on year circulation was up 7.5%. Its Editorial Director, Jim Douglas, told the Guardian: "Classic Rock knows its audience and stepped out of the denim timewarp years ago. The magazine has a vibrant and contemporary feel, and continuously finds new ways to tell the stories of rock's legendary albums, misadventures and of on the road exuberance. We also continue to build the brand beyond a monthly title, allowing us to get closer to the readers".