Mojo First Issue Review

Emap’s latest addition to the music market, Mojo, launches this week with a modest print run of 65,000. The magazine is predominantly aimed ABC1 25-44 year olds, although editor Paul Du Noyer, in his foreword says “It’s a magazine for anyone who loves rock ‘n’ roll.”

The first issue comprises 132 pages of which 20% is given over to display advertising. Mojo is slightly larger than an A4 and printed on relatively thick matt paper. The front cover is a picture of Bob Dylan and John Lennon with the Mojo logo printed over the top in white. Unlike other magazines the front cover is not an attempt to list the entire contents of the magazine. The contents page is also uncluttered. The first few pages of editorial are given over to a section called ’20lbs of Headlines’. This is an industry news and gossip section covering a wide variety of bands/singers including the Rolling Stones, Suede and Neil Diamond.

Features include articles on Van Morrison, Canvey Island as a Mecca of the 1970s, Grunge, Bob Dylan and the Beatles. ‘Archaeology’ takes a band and reprints press cuttings from their early days, in the first issue U2 are the victims. As would be expected from a music title there are also Album reviews and tour dates. Much of the reproduction in the magazine is poor with blurred photographs. This is especially evident in the Archaeology section, although this may be to some extent intentional.

The magazine is obviously trying to attract the older music fan with its focus on past rather than the present. Mojo’s stablemate Q currently has the oldest readership profile of all the music titles, with 51% of its audience falling in the 25-44 age group. In his foreword Paul Du Noyer says “It is our confirmed intention to pitch a wang-dang-doodle-all night long, if necessary. That’s our plan. So, wipe your feet and loosen your collar. You’ve found a new place to dwell. Enjoy it a lot.” Readers will probably be grateful that the editorial which follows this foreword is not quite so indecipherable.

Advertisers in the first issue include Vauxhall, Lowenbrau, HMV, and Kenwood.

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