Categories | Music magazine |
---|---|
Frequency | Monthly |
Circulation | 44,050 (ABC Jul – Dec 2015)[1] Print and digital editions. |
Publisher | Bauer Media Group |
First issue | October 1986 |
Final issue | July 2020 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Based in | London |
Language | English |
Website | qthemusic |
ISSN | 0955-4955 |
Q was a popular music magazine. Originally published in print in the UK from 1986 to 2020, it was inactive from 2020 until 2023. In 2023, Q was revived as an online publication. It was founded in 1986 by broadcast journalists Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, who were presenters of the BBC television music series The Old Grey Whistle Test.[2] Q's final printed issue was published in July 2020, but began posting new articles to their website in 2023 before being fully relaunched in 2024.
Q was originally published by the EMAP media group and set itself apart from much of the other music press with monthly production and higher standards of photography and printing.[2] In the early years, the magazine was sub-titled "The modern guide to music and more". Originally it was to be called Cue (as in the sense of cueing a record, ready to play), but the name was changed so that it would not be mistaken for a snooker magazine. Another reason, cited in Q's 200th edition, is that a single-letter title would be more prominent on newsstands.
In January 2008, EMAP sold its consumer magazine titles, including Q, to the Bauer Media Group.[3][4] Bauer put the title up for sale in 2020, alongside Car Mechanic, Modern Classics, Your Horse, and Sea Angler.[5][6][7] However, publication ceased in July 2020 as Kelsey Media decided to buy a number of non-music titles from Bauer (Sea Angler, Car Mechanics and Your Horse),[8] making the 28 July 2020 issue (Q415) the last to be published.[9] The end of the print version of Q was blamed both on lower circulation and advertising revenue caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as being "a symptom of an expert-free internet age."[10]
Following the sale of the brand to Empire Media Group,[11] Q was soft launched as an online publication in November 2023, posting new content along with articles from their archive.[12] It was officially relaunched in January 2024, with a new editorial team spearheaded by Los Angeles-based US Editor Andrew Barker and Oxford-based UK and Europe Editor, Dominic Utton.[11] In May 2024, the magazine ceased operations less than six months after its relaunch. Six full-time journalists were laid off.[13]