Media

Speculation about future of Billboard, Music Week moves days

By | Published on Monday 8 August 2011

Billboard

How about some speculation about the future of US music industry trade mag Billboard? Digital Music News is citing various sources who claim the future of the trade title is looking increasingly uncertain, though it is unclear whether that is based on anything concrete, or just the usual speculation about the future of traditional trade publications in the digital age, especially where the budgets of the industry a title serves are being cut.

DMN notes that Billboard Pro, a subscription-based online service for unsigned and independent artists launched earlier this year, went on hold last week, though Billboard’s newish publishers Prometheus Media Group say that’s so the facility can be further developed, not because it’s about to by taken offline altogether.

The blog also notes that Richard Beckman, who seemingly played a key role in the purchase of Billboard, and some of its sister titles like The Hollywood Reporter, from the Nielsen Company late last year, has stepped back from managing the Prometheus company on a day to day basis.

None of this means Billboard will disappear imminently, though some do wonder if Prometheus will be forced to instigate some cost cutting in the near future, maybe even going as far as merging Billboard with the Reporter, now the music and movie industries are arguably closer aligned than they once were.

In the UK, as previously reported, the traditional music industry magazine here, Music Week, was recently acquired by Intent Media, which last week told readers in no uncertain terms “without us acquiring Music Week, it would have been closed”.

Intent, which already owns other entertainment industry trade titles making the company a logical home for Music Week, is expected to make a number of changes to safeguard the title’s future. The first is a change in publication day – the magazine will now come out on Thursday, instead of at the start of the week to coincide with the new chart. Readers wanting up to date chart news will be encouraged to use the Music Week website.



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