ABC Jul-Dec 2003: Uncut Soars In Music Sector

The figures listed in NewsLine’s ABC reports are those reported by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) as at Thursday 12 February 2003. Late submissions and changes may be made after this date, and will thereafter be amended in MediaTel’s Press database. For full notes on how NewsLine’s reports are compiled please see NewsLine.

IPC Media’s music and movies magazine, Uncut, continued to go from strength to strength with an impressive 21.9% year on year increase in circulation to 111,167 in the six months to December 2003.

The increase helped the title stay ahead of its closest rival, Mojo, which also performed well with a solid 4.0% rise in circulation during the same period to 104,437. The Emap-owned magazine’s focus on all types of music of the past present continued to prove successful with its core 24 to 45 year-old male readership.

Emap’s Q maintained its position as market leader despite a 10.3% year on year decline in circulation to 161,634. Emap recently decided to launch a special mini version of Q magazine and compilation CD for sale in Virgin Megastores (see Emap Launches New Mini Version Of Q Magazine).

However, things were less positive for Emap’s rock-focused Kerrang!, which saw circulation decline by 17.7% year on year to below the 70,000 mark, despite the recent resurgence of guitar-based pop music in the charts. Future Publishing’s Metal Hammer also suffered with a 17.6% decline to just below 30,000.

There was more bad news for Future after its new monthly magazine, Bang, closed before it could record an ABC figure. However, the publisher’s Classic Rock titles inched up by 0.2% to 40,347.

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