Decline Of Dance Hits Ad Revenue At Music Titles

The latest ABC figures for July to December 2002 period reflected a turbulent period in the fickle world of music magazines, with the majority of dance titles seeing circulation decline (see ABC Jul-Dec 2002: Music Sector Hit By Decline Of Dance). This upheaval is also reflected with figures for the titles from Nielsen Media Research showing that display advertising revenues fluctuated across the sector.

Emap Performance’s specialist dance-title, Mixmag, saw ad revenues decline by 15.9% year on year to just over £2 million. The title also experienced the sector’s most significant decline in circulation, dropping 34.7% year on year to 60,070.

IPC’s dance title, Muzik, also suffered from changing musical trends and ad revenues at the title fell by 25.6% year on year to £648,013. ABC figures for the six months ending December 2002 also brought bad news to the magazine, with circulation dropping by 11% year on year to below 37,000.

On the other side of the musical spectrum, NME experienced the biggest actual year on year increase in ad revenue, which increased by £640,989 to £3,985,026. The title also recorded a 4.1% year on year increase in circulation to just over 73,000, demonstrating its continued strength as a stalwart music-lovers title.

Meanwhile, Emap’s niche-market metal title, Kerrang, experienced a notable year on year increase in ad revenues, which rose 42.4% to almost £1.6 million. Future Publishing’s Metal Hammer also saw an increase in ad revenues, which improved by 37% year on year as alternative music continued to flourish.

On a less positive note, Emap’s Q experienced the biggest real decline in ad revenues, which fell by over £600,000 to just over £3 million. ABC results for the six months ending December 2002 brought bad news to the title which saw circulation decline by 10.2% year on year to below the key 200,000 mark.

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