Q Magazine is closing after 34 years.
The news was confirmed today (July 20) via Twitter by editor Ted Kessler, who shared a picture of the cover of the final issue, as well as his editor’s letter which will be featured inside the issue.
"I have some bad news about Q Magazine," Kessler wrote on Twitter. "The issue that comes out on 28 July will be our last. The pandemic did [it] for us and there was nothing more to it than that."
Kessler’s editor’s letter says that the problems that a music magazine like Q has already faced in a declining market for print titles has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We’ve been a lean operation for all of my tenure, employing a variety of ways to help keep our head above water in an extremely challenging print market," he wrote. "COVID-19 wiped all that out."
Thanking all of the staff that he’s worked alongside during his tenure at Q, Kessler added: "I must apologise profusely for my failure to keep Q afloat."
Q‘s owner Bauer Media revealed last month that the magazine’s future was in doubt as the company looked to save costs due to the financial hit of the coronavirus pandemic. Q was one of a number of high-profile titles that were placed on a probation period while Bauer made its decisions.
It was also announced last month that another of the UK’s most high profile music magazines, Mixmag, which is owned by Wasted Talent, was taking a break from publishing its print magazine for the rest of 2020. The decision led to a number of layoffs amongst its staff base.
