MUSIC MAGAZINES

AND PUBLISHING COMPANIESABIGAIL FIRTH

MELODY MAKER (IPC)• Launched in 1926, making it the oldest British music

magazine/newspaper, discontinued in 2000• Focused mainly on jazz and pop music• Published by IPC Media, who also publish it’s rival New Musical Express• IPC (International Publishing Corporation) sells over 350 million copies

of it’s publications every year and is the second biggest publishing company

• It targets three specific audiences:– ‘Connect’ – the mass market for women– ‘Southbank’ – upmarket women– ‘Inspire’ – the market for men

• It’s only current music publication (NME) is categorized in ‘Inspire’• IPC previously published Melody Maker, Muzik, Uncut, Music Business,

Hi-Fi News & Record Review

KERRANG! (BAUER/EMAP)

• Began in 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds music newspaper, became weekly in 1987

• Focuses on rock and metal• Published by the Bauer Media Group, which

operates in 16 countries worldwide• Selling over 38 million copies of it’s magazines

every week worldwide, it is the UK’s biggest publishing company

• It mainly publishes women’s weeklies and TV magazines, but owns some of the biggest music titles including Kerrang! and Q