Music Week is hoping to raise its profile by repositioning itself and championing more new British talent.
The move comes as the title unveils its biggest overhaul in more than 10 years in response to major changes sweeping the music industry.
The title wants to widen its presence among artists and companies in recorded music and publishing, radio and TV, focusing more on in-depth analysis of the challenges facing the music business and emerging trends.
It has also pledged to make more effort to promote new artists, tracking them from pre-signing through to the hit making process – including A&R, promotion, marketing and sales.
Instead of running four or five front-page stories, the cover now features just the splash and a picture. Inside there is more opinion and profiles, while the chart listings and data, previously spread throughout the magazine, has been moved to a new 13-page section at the back called Data File.
Editor-in-chief Ajax Scott said the coverage would be more “media relevant” for radio controllers and music critics, with articles on new revenue streams and the use of music in advertising. “There is a revival in UK music at the moment. There will be more of an edge to the news and more focus on bigger stories,” he told Press Gazette.
The overhaul also includes the launch of a website, musicweek.com. The subscriber-only site features the latest sales charts, an extended range of radio and TV airplay charts and playlists as well as info on new releases. It also contains a news archive from Music Week and access to the full database of 15,000 contacts featured in its annual directory.
By Ruth Addicott
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