UK music mags tune in to radio's power

By Mark Sutherland

LONDON (Billboard) - Hold the front page: Two of Britain's biggest music magazines are getting into the radio business.

First was Bauer-owned monthly magazine Q, Britain's biggest-selling music magazine with a circulation of 131,330, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC). On June 2, it relaunched its Q Radio service -- previously a DJ-free automated playout service -- on DAB digital radio in London, digital TV platforms nationwide and online.

On June 24, IPC Media-owned music weekly NME (circulation 64,033) will launch NME Radio on similar platforms, with additional temporary FM availability via limited local licenses.

Both stations will adhere loosely to the modern rock format and are being keenly anticipated by labels.

"The potential for both is huge, because both brands are known worldwide," says Parlophone U.K. head of radio Kevin McCabe, who plugs acts including Radiohead and Coldplay. "If you sit in a record company meeting anywhere in the world, ears prick up when you say you've got the cover of either."

Nonetheless, the new stations face a fight to win audiences in the keenly contested U.K. modern rock sector, currently dominated by FM/digital network Xfm (which had 1.03 million listeners in the first quarter, according to RAJAR) and digital-only BBC 6 Music (520,000).

Q Radio programming director Ric Blaxill, a former BBC 6 Music head of programs, says his station will initially feature just one live show, a daily evening program hosted by former Xfm DJ Samanthi, but also feature prerecorded "unique content" from the likes of Coldplay and R.E.M. at launch. Blaxill says his ambition is to increase Q's audience from the 282,000 listeners the automated service had in Q1, although he declined to name a target figure.

NME Radio is produced under license by London-based DX Media, headed by managing director/programming director Sammy Jacob, the man who launched Xfm London in 1997. His station will feature live programming from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., live sessions and regular news updates from the NME editorial staff. A show by high-profile British comedian Ricky Gervais features in test transmissions that began June 2, but he won't be part of the regular air lineup.

Jacob is targeting 300,000-plus listeners in year one, saying, "This will be the station for true fans of indie-alternative music."

"There are a lot of people making a play for the U.K. alternative music market," NME editor Conor McNicholas says. "But I don't think anybody's had a runaway success with it. Brand-wise, they don't really register, whereas we bring almost 60 years of brand heritage."

McNicholas' counterpart at Q, Paul Rees, believes his station's "broader outlook" and Bauer's track record for launching such magazine brands as Kerrang as radio stations will give it the edge.

Both stations plan to work closely with magazine editorial teams and leverage the power of their print arms to secure content, with Q Radio's Coldplay and R.E.M. interviews coming off the back of cover features. McCabe admits that this has the potential to "put people's noses out of joint, because (every station) wants exclusives," but adds, "The one-stop shop idea is an attractive proposition when you've got a band whose time is really precious."

Meanwhile, Xfm head of music Mike Walsh remains sanguine about the threat to his stations.

"We have the enormous advantage of being on FM and of being first mover," he says. "If (NME and Q) feel the strength of their radio proposition isn't engaging enough for the labels that they have to leverage the magazine, good luck to them, but I don't foresee us losing out as a result."

Reuters/Billboard