By Ruth Addicott
Ten journalists have lost their jobs following the closure this week of IPC dance music title Muzik.
IPC said advertisement and copy sale revenues had declined in line with the sector, which saw the closure of Ministry of Sound’s title Ministry in 2000. Sales of Muzik fell 11 per cent to 36,089 in the latest ABCs. Mixmag also lost 34.7 per cent year-on-year. Despite rumours of a possible closure going back nearly three years, sources said the team were taken aback by the announcement. They understood the market pressures, but some felt Muzik could have turned a corner in the next six to nine months.
“There’s always a feeling they could have given it more time,” said one. “After Select closed, The Strokes became really big and if it had kept going, it would have jumped on the success of Kerrang! and NME. The same thing could happen in dance music.”
The closure leaves IPC with just two music titles, NME and Uncut.
Tim Brooks, managing director of IPC ignite!, told Press Gazette: “Consumer interest in that area of music was just dead. I genuinely don’t think there was anything else we could do.
“Malik [Meer] took over as editor last year and did a good job – it was not a product problem, it was the market. Advertising in that sector has evaporated, it isn’t there any more.”
Brooks said he was hopeful that four of the staff involved would take other roles at IPC. He said there were no further closures in the pipeline (“categorically not from ignite!”) and there were no immediate plans to substitute Muzik with a launch.
The last issue of Muzik will go on sale on 9 July.
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