Music Week

Last updated

Music Week
Music Week logo.svg
Music Week July 2021 cover.jpg
H.E.R. on the cover of the July 2021 edition of Music Week.
Head of ContentGeorge Garner [1]
Former editorsTom Pakinkis, Tim Ingham, David Dalton, Steve Redmond, Selina Webb, Ajax Scott, Martin Talbot, Paul Williams, Mark Sutherland [2]
CategoriesBusiness magazine
FrequencyMonthly from March 2021, previously weekly
Circulation Not publicly available since 2011
Publisher Future
Founded1959; 64 years ago [3]
CountryUnited Kingdom
Based inLondon
LanguageEnglish
Website www.musicweek.com
ISSN 0265-1548

Music Week is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future.

Contents

History

Founded in 1959 as Record Retailer , it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as Music Week. [4] On 17 January 1981, the title again changed, owing to the increasing importance of sell-through videos, to Music & Video Week. The rival Record Business, founded in 1978 by Brian Mulligan and Norman Garrod, was absorbed into Music Week in February 1983. Later that year, the offshoot Video Week launched and the title of the parent publication reverted to Music Week.

Since April 1991, Music Week has incorporated Record Mirror , initially as a 4 or 8-page chart supplement, later as a dance supplement of articles, reviews and charts. In the 1990s, several magazines and newsletters become part of the Music Week family: Music Business International (MBI), Promo, MIRO Future Hits, Tours Report, Fono, Green Sheet, ChartsPlus (published from May 1991 to November 1994), and Hit Music (September 1992 to May 2001). By May 2001, all newsletters (except Promo) closed.

In 2003, Music Week relaunched its website of daily news, features, record release listings and UK sales, airplay and club charts. In early 2006, a separate free-to-access site for the Music Week Directory listed 10,000 contacts in the UK music industry. In mid-2007, the magazine was redesigned by London company This Is Real Art. In October 2008, another redesign led to major changes.

In June 2011, Music Week was sold to Intent Media. [5] [6] [7] The package was sold for £2.4m [6] [7] and also contained titles Television Broadcast Europe, Pro Sound News, Installation Europe, and additional websites, newsletters, conferences, show dailies and awards events, which generated £5.4m of revenue in 2010. [7] As of issue 30 July 2011, UBM is still named as publisher, [8] as the new publisher Intent Media took over on 1 August 2011. [9] In the first edition under new ownership it was announced that the title would switch its day of publication Monday to Thursday with immediate effect. [10] NewBay Media acquired Intent Media in 2012. [11] Future acquired NewBay Media in 2018 and decided that the publication would go monthly from March 2021, in keeping with its Louder Sound publications such as Metal Hammer and Classic Rock magazine. [12] [13] [14] [15]

Charts

Music Week features these British charts: the Official Top 75 Singles of the month, the Official Top 75 Albums of the month (similar to charts used by Top of the Pops [16] in the early 1990s [16] and Absolute 80s on Sundays) [17] [18] and the Official Vinyl Charts. Specialist charts include the Official Top 20 Americana, the Official Top 20 Classical, the Official Top 20 Hip-Hop & R&B, the Official Top 20 Jazz, the Official Top 20 Country, the Official Top 20 Dance, the Official Top 20 Folk and the Official Top 20 Rock & Metal. Also found in Music Week are charts for streaming and various album compilations, whilst James Masterton's weekly Official UK chart analysis column can now only be accessed online by subscribers. [19] [14]

When the magazine was a weekly publication, it included Top 75 Singles, Top 75 Artist Albums, Top 20 Downloads, Top 20 Ringtones, Top 20 Compilation Albums, Top 50 Radio Airplay, Top 40 TV airplay, and a number of format and genre charts (Music DVD, Rock, Indie, etc.). It also included background on sales and airplay analysis from Alan Jones. Following a redesign in October 2008, the magazine introduced live charts based on Tixdaq data, a Box Office chart and predictive charts based on information from Amazon, Rakuten.co.uk, Shazam, HMV.com and Last.fm.[ citation needed ]

Music Week compiled and published weekly club charts from chart returns supplied by DJs in nightclubs; Upfront Club Top 40, Commercial Pop Top 30 and Urban Top 30. The magazine also published a weekly Cool Cuts chart compiled from DJ feedback and sales reports from independent record shops, which traced it roots back to James Hamilton's BPM section in Record Mirror (a publication which ended up as the middle dance music section of Music Week in 1991).

Music Week Charts Analysis

Even though the magazine is now a monthly publication, the website still posts weekly Charts Analysis pages for the UK Official Singles and Albums charts. Alan Jones was the writer of the section until he retired in March 2020, when Chart Watch UK writer James Masterton was hired to take over the role. [20] [21] [22] Masterton wrote two weekly Charts Analysis pages [23] [22] for the website (as the magazine now features charts compiled from monthly sales and streams) until 29 October 2021, when Music Week staff performed the role. After Andre Paine and Ben Homewood wrote one each of the Charts Analysis posts on 5 November 2021, [24] [25] Alan Jones resumed the role again, writing the 12 November overviews, with no explanation of why he returned (with the pages titled Charts analysis: ABBA's Voyage opens with huge sale of 204,000 for the albums and Charts analysis: Adele spends fourth week at summit ahead of album release for the singles). [26] [27]

Publishing details

Music Week is published monthly by Future (from the March 2021 edition), though previously it was a weekly magazine (50 editions p.a.). [28] It was available as a B4-sized printed magazine and a PDF digital edition. ISSN   0265-1548.

Editorial staff

As at July 2021 print edition

Circulation

The weekly print circulation in 1997/98 was 12,503, [31] but by the time the publication left the ABC scheme in 2011 it had fallen to around 5,000 weekly copies. [32] In October 2011, Music Week deregistered with ABC after 54 years of membership. [33]

The website musicweek.com had 63,904 monthly unique browsers for the audited period 1–31 October 2008. [34] By 2009, the website had been deregistered with ABC. [35]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Kerrang!</i> British rock, punk and heavy metal music magazine

Kerrang! is a British music webzine and quarterly magazine that primarily covers rock, punk and heavy metal music. Since 2017, the magazine has been published by Wasted Talent Ltd. The magazine was named onomatopoeically after the sound of a "guitar being struck with force".

James Masterton is a British music critic and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worked on air as a presenter at the Bradford independent local radio station the Pulse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UK Singles Downloads Chart</span> British music chart

The UK Singles Downloads Chart is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) on behalf of the music industry. Since July 2015, the chart week runs from Friday to Thursday, with the chart date given as the following Thursday.

Record Mirror was a British weekly music newspaper between 1954 and 1991 for pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after the NME, it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in Record Mirror in 1956, and during the 1980s it was the only consumer music paper to carry the official UK singles and UK albums charts used by the BBC for Radio 1 and Top of the Pops, as well as the US Billboard charts.

The Official Albums Chart, previously the UK Albums Chart, is a list of albums ranked by sales and audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts Company (OCC) on Fridays. It is broadcast on BBC Radio 1 and found on the OCC website as a Top 100 or on UKChartsPlus as a Top 200, with positions continuing until all sales have been tracked in data only available to industry insiders. However, even though number 100 was classed as a hit album in the 1980s until January 1989, since the compilations were removed, this definition was changed to Top 75 with follow-up books such as The Virgin Book of British Hit Albums book only including this data. As of 2021, the OCC still only tracks how many UK Top 75s album hits and how many weeks in Top 75 albums chart each artist has achieved.

Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything but the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as well as the compilation album Pillows & Prayers. In addition to releasing new music, Cherry Red also acts as an umbrella for individual imprints and catalogue specialists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UK Singles Chart</span> British singles sales chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-selling singles in the United Kingdom, based upon physical sales, paid-for downloads and streaming. The Official Chart, broadcast on BBC Radio 1 and MTV, is the UK music industry's recognised official measure of singles and albums popularity because it is the most comprehensive research panel of its kind, today surveying over 15,000 retailers and digital services daily, capturing 99.9% of all singles consumed in Britain across the week, and over 98% of albums. To be eligible for the chart, a single is currently defined by the Official Charts Company (OCC) as either a 'single bundle' having no more than four tracks and not lasting longer than 25 minutes or one digital audio track not longer than 15 minutes with a minimum sale price of 40 pence. The rules have changed many times as technology has developed, the most notable being the inclusion of digital downloads in 2005 and streaming in July 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Come On Home (Cyndi Lauper song)</span> 1995 single by Cyndi Lauper

"Come On Home" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper and released in August 1995 as the third and final single from her greatest hits album, Twelve Deadly Cyns...and Then Some (1994). Different versions of the song appears on the International and US releases of the album. For the single release, an edit of the US version with a runtime of 3:50 was used. It peaked at number 11 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, and was also a moderate hit in a few countries, where it charted in the top twenty or the top forty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">So Good (Eternal song)</span> 1994 single by Eternal

"So Good" is a song by English R&B girl group Eternal, released on 8 August 1994 as the fourth single from their debut album, Always & Forever (1993). It was their first single to miss the UK Singles Chart top 10, peaking at No. 13 on 21 August 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">So Good (Boyzone song)</span> 1995 single by Boyzone

"So Good" is a song recorded by Irish boyband Boyzone and released in July 1995 as the fourth single from the band's debut album, Said and Done (1995). The song became Boyzone's third consecutive No. 1 single in Ireland entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 3.

"Happy" is a song originally recorded by British funk band Hi-Tension in 1984, titled as "You Make Me Happy". In 1987, it was covered by Surface from their self-titled album. A hit single, Surface's version reached number 20 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 16 on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart. "Happy" was also featured on Surface's album Perfect 10 and was produced by Bernard Jackson, David "Pic" Conley and David Townsend.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Official Classical Singles Chart</span> Song chart in the United Kingdom

The Official Classical Singles Chart was a record chart based on downloads and streaming of classical music in the United Kingdom. Each week's chart was compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) and was first published on Monday afternoon on their official website. The chart ran for 140 weeks from 2012 to 2015, during which time a total of 23 singles by 22 artists reached number one. The most successful artist was the Italian pianist Ludovico Einaudi, who topped the chart with three singles for a total of 54 weeks, while the most successful record label was Decca Records, which spent 89 weeks at number one with six singles. Einaudi's track "I Giorni" from his album of the same name spent 51 weeks at number one, longer than any other single. In January 2013, following the release of Einaudi's album In a Time Lapse, singles by the pianist accounted for 13 of the Top 20 on the Official Classical Singles Chart. Martin Talbot, managing director of the OCC, described him as one of the chart's "biggest and most consistent stars".

<i>Sing</i> (Gary Barlow & The Commonwealth Band album) 2012 studio album by Gary Barlow & The Commonwealth Band

Sing is the third solo studio album released by British singer-songwriter Gary Barlow. The album was released through Decca Records on 25 May 2012 and features The Commonwealth Band which was created by Barlow to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II.

This is a summary of the year 2014 in British music charts.

<i>Blossoms</i> (album) 2016 studio album by Blossoms

Blossoms is the debut studio album by English rock band Blossoms. It was released in the United Kingdom on 5 August 2016, by Virgin EMI Records. The album was produced by James Skelly and Rich Turvey. It peaked at number 1 on the UK Albums Chart and number 12 on the Irish Albums Chart, reaching Silver certification in the UK in April 2017. Then in June 2017 it went Gold in the UK after surpassing 100,000 sales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">If You Only Let Me In</span> 1995 single by MN8

"If You Only Let Me In" is a song by British R&B group MN8, released in April 1995 as the second single from their debut album, To the Next Level (1995). It peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart and number three in New Zealand.

References

  1. "Our Writers". Music Week. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  2. "A message from Music Week". Music Week. 7 January 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  3. Frank Hoffmann (12 November 2004). Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound. Routledge. p. 2023. ISBN   978-1-135-94950-1 . Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  4. Simon Frith; Matt Brennan; Martin Cloonan, Emma Webster (9 March 2016). The History of Live Music in Britain, Volume I: 1950-1967: From Dance Hall to the 100 Club. Routledge. pp. 151–. ISBN   978-1-317-02887-1.
  5. "Intent Media acquires UBM titles for £2.4m". Intent Media. 27 June 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  6. 1 2 "UBM sells Music Week". thecmuwebsite. 27 June 2011. Archived from the original on 1 July 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  7. 1 2 3 "Intent Media acquires Music Week". Music Week. 27 June 2011. Archived from the original on 30 August 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  8. "Imprint" . Music Week. London: UBM (30 July 2011): 29. January 1996. ISBN   9781565073999.
  9. "Imprint". Music Week. London: Intent Media (6 August 2011): 25.
  10. Stuart Dinsey. "New owner, new publication date...a message to Music Week readers". Music Week. London: Intent Media (6 August 2011): 4.
  11. "NewBay Media Acquires Intent Media Limited | NewBay Media" . Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  12. "PennWell Corp. and NewBay Media Acquired By UK Firms". Folio. 4 April 2018. Archived from the original on 2 September 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  13. "Future acquires Music Week publisher NewBay Media". www.musicweek.com. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  14. 1 2 "The very first Monthly Official Singles and Albums Charts are coming to Music Week". OfficialCharts.com .
  15. "Together we're Louder | Louder".
  16. 1 2 "BBC One - Top of the Pops, 02/08/1990".
  17. "The Absolute 80s Album Chart on Absolute 80s".
  18. "Absolute 80s - Latest Show Schedule". Absolute 80s.
  19. "James Masterton's Chart Watch UK".
  20. "Archives: 2020".
  21. "Week Ending March 5th 2020".
  22. 1 2 "Analysis: Music Week".
  23. "Charts analysis: Elton John & Dua Lipa end Ed Sheeran's reign at summit". www.musicweek.com.
  24. "Charts analysis: Ed Sheeran scores biggest weekly sales since ÷ in 2017".
  25. "Charts analysis: Adele eases to the top of singles pile for a third week".
  26. "Charts analysis: ABBA's Voyage opens with huge sale of 204,000". www.musicweek.com.
  27. "Charts analysis: Adele spends fourth week at summit ahead of album release". www.musicweek.com.
  28. "UK trade paper Music Week ends 60-year run as a weekly publication; parent Future says it will continue as a monthly 'for the time being'". Music Business Worldwide. 20 November 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  29. Burrell, Ian (28 July 2015). "As Amazon moves into streaming, what difference does it make?". The Independent. Archived from the original on 6 February 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  30. Stassen, Murray (2 July 2015). "BMG acquires rights to Buddy Holly catalogue". Archived from the original on 9 July 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  31. Tobias Zywietz (27 April 2005). "British Chart Books Classified : BDC 2005" (PDF). www.zobbel.de. p. 22. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  32. "ABC Standard Certificate of Circulation (for the 51 issues distributed between 1st July 2009 and 30th June 2010)" (PDF). ABC. 22 August 2010. Retrieved 24 September 2010.
  33. "Product Page Music Week". ABC. 30 October 2011. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  34. "Online Property Certificate of Activity for the period 1 October 2008 – 31 October 2008" (PDF). ABC. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  35. "Music Week.com Product Page". ABC. Retrieved 22 February 2010.