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ABCs – music mag circulations down again

By | Published on Friday 16 August 2013

The Fly

So the latest round of ABC circulation figures for magazines were unleashed yesterday, with further declines reported across the music press.

The biggest slump in circulation occurred at free title The Fly, previously the biggest music mag in terms of copies shifted. It had long relied on the HMV store network for some of its distribution – owner MAMA being an HMV division for a time – so obviously the closure of 81 HMV stores around the UK was going to have an impact.

Having distributed over 100,000 copies a month in the past, The Fly was distributing a more modest 55,580 a month in May, giving it an average distribution of 70,866 over the ABC period. Which means the title can no longer claim to be the “biggest music magazine” in the UK. That honour goes to Mojo at 79,345 copies per month (or RWD at 98,683 if you still count that as a music title, with the ABC charts do not).

A spokesman for MAMA told the Guardian that although The Fly’s circulation had slipped considerably since the streamlining of HMV, it had also relaunched the title in May with a swish new look, and that a new distribution strategy had also been employed “concentrating smaller drops in more venues, bars, cafes and shops, where music lovers are. We are now putting a better product in passionate communities”.

Despite having (officially) the highest ABC amongst the music titles, Mojo also saw its circulation fall 5.2% on the end of 2012, and 6.8% year on year. Kerrang! was down 2.5% (6.5% year on year) to 37,604, Uncut 8.8% (9.7% year on year) to 56,894 and NME 13.2% (16.4% year on year) to just over 20,000.

In the pop-mags-for-kids market, Top Of The Pops magazine saw its circulation drop to 63,482, while rival We Love Pop fell to 42,864.



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