New year, new Music Week.
For more than six decades, Music Week has attracted the biggest artists and executives and provided the most trusted, agenda-setting coverage of the music business world.
Last year our pages were filled with coverage of all sectors of the music industry adapting to the unprecedented challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic. In 2021 the time has come for Music Week to establish our own new normal.
As 2020 came to a close, the UK music industry lost some of its most respected music titles from news-stands. The tough economics of the marketplace during the pandemic – including reduced footfall in shops and a substantial hit in advertising revenue – affected us as it did so many others, making the cost of production of a weekly print title unsustainable. This, coupled with our having to pause our award-winning live events, has meant that the old ways of delivering our market leading coverage must now evolve.
Crucially, however, while Covid-19 has hastened this decision, changes in both reading habits and expectations in the digital age mean that our brand was always going to have to reimagine itself in a new iteration. The recurring key message of the music industry in recent years has been that embracing change is essential for survival in a world of ever-shifting consumption habits – it is no different for us at Music Week.
So it is that this year we are delighted to announce an all-new incarnation of Music Week.
A NEW MONTHLY PRINT EDITION
We are hugely excited to reveal that, starting this February, our print offering will now be brought to life in a deluxe 100-page monthly edition of Music Week magazine, comprising all the exclusive, forward-looking interviews with the biggest names in the business you are used to from our weekly format, bolstered with all-new and enhanced sections.
Our presentation of the OCC charts will still be delivered weekly online via our digital chart pack and our new print edition will instead focus on presenting charts and analysis offering an overview of the preceding month in music. This ensures that Music Week gives you even greater perspective on the charts than ever before.
ENHANCED ONLINE OFFERING
Our change in print frequency will be coupled with an enhanced online offering for subscribers.
In addition to our daily news updates, exclusive interviews and newsletters we will offer a weekly digital chart pack – containing all the main OCC charts and our own insightful analysis. Plus, starting in February we will be creating new weekly digital cover-features where you can expect to read interviews with the biggest movers and shakers in music. And there’s more in store… a brand new incarnation of Music Week’s website will launch later this year.
Full details of the various subscription packages will be coming very soon.
EVENTS
Our acclaimed live events will continue and grow, either in person or virtually, with the Music Week Awards, Tech Summit and Women In Music ceremonies all in the works for 2021. You’ll see more webinars like our hugely successful The Art of Video Game Music too.
While it will be business as usual online in January as we continue to deliver you exclusive news stories, analysis and coverage on a daily basis, all existing print subscriptions will be paused for the duration of one month while Music Week undertakes the necessary preparation to deliver its new digital and print offerings in February as outlined above.
Alongside these developments is a change in our staff line-up. We say a huge thank you to our brilliant departing editor Mark Sutherland, who leaves us after leading Music Week for the last five years, and to our terrific senior staff writer James Hanley. Mark and James have made a tremendous contribution to the growth of Music Week and we wish them the very best.
This is just the start of our evolution – we will be revealing more exciting developments over the coming months. At Music Week we have always believed that our voice is your voice. With the support of the industry we have served for over 60 years, we look forward to shining the spotlight ever brighter on the incredible stories and innovations driving the most exciting industry in the world.
The Music Week team
George Garner
head of content
Ben Homewood
features editor
Andre Paine
digital editor
Isabelle Nesmon
charts editor
Steve Newman
art editor
Stuart Williams
managing director
For subscriptions enquiries please contact: customerservice@futurenet.com
