As if all the worries about the future of Fairfax Media weren’t enough, now the first casualty in the music media world of street press has fallen victim to the times.
The Music, the official website for Street Press Australia, has dropped a bombshell this afternoon with the news that its major competitor, National Street Press, have lost one of their major publications. Namely, their Brisbane-based Rave Magazine, which will be ceasing operations after printing nearly 1047 issues.
The publisher of the Brisbane street press, Colin Rankin, made the announcement via a press statement that the weekly paper would be folding, “Rave Magazine has now ceased publication of the weekly print edition of its magazines.” Rankin also noted that Rave‘s future, and in what format it may continue, was still undecided.
Rankin added that, “currently our financial advisors are investigating options with regard to the sale of the magazine and its associated digital assets.” Though he did give a specific reason for the publication’s closure, it seems to have faced financial difficulties which made its weekly publication untenable.
Rave Magazine, much like its other state-based brethren, currently runs as a weekly printed newspaper as well as website off the back of a small paid staff and a team of contributors. Rankin also thanked the commitment of staff and contributors who had helped keep the magazine running for the 21 years it has been in operation and confirmed that all employees would be receiving full entitlements.
The Brisbane street press is networked to National Street Press, who is responsible for all of Australia’s major capital cities – specifically Melbourne’s Beat, Sydney’s Brag, Perth’s X-Press and Adelaide’s dB. They have yet to comment on the future of their other city-syndicated publications.
