IPC To Close Melody Maker

IPC is to close the doors on its 73 year old NME and on nme.com.

The news comes just a week after Emap announced the closure of Select magazine, as changing music tastes take their toll on the indie magazine market (see Melody Maker‘s circulation has dipped to a point where we could also not sustain the costs of publishing.”

The group unveiled a radical new look for the title last year, ditching the broadsheet format in favour of an A4 to attract more younger readers (see Melody Maker Unveils Radical New Look) and the brand launched as a microsite earlier this year (see Melody Maker To Launch On The Internet). Circulations continued to fall however, the latest ABC report standing at 32,200 compared to 70,000 in 1990.

“The market has moved on and readers now have more choice than ever before, be it print online or on other platforms,” said Soutar. “We have therefore chosen to focus our efforts on developing the NME superbrand.”

Melody Maker‘s small ads service, Musician’s Classified Section, will transfer to NME and nme.com from January 2001. A number of editorial staff have already taken up new jobs at NME.

IPC Media: 020 7261 5000

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