- Music
- 05 Sep 06
Hot Press is again among the big winners in the latest JNRS results, with an increase of over 50% in readers over the past twelve months making it the best performing magazine in the survey for the second period in a row. This is the sixth six-month period running that Hot Press has increased its reach.
The magazine's readership per issue now stands at 65,000 in the Republic of Ireland, and is over 80,000 including Northern Ireland (not included in the JNRS).
"Naturally, we are really pleased with the results," says Hot Press new media director, Duan Stokes. "The increase is further confirmation of the importance of Hot Press in the Irish market. The magazine is getting stronger and stronger. We¹re all on a bit of a high, getting this news when we¹re just back from the sell-out Electric Picnic, where the Hot Press Chat Room featured full-house public interviews with The Frames, DJ Shadow, New Order, Josh Ritter and many more."
The Chat Room is just one of a number of recent innovations, aimed at further building the profile of the magazine and the Hot Press brand, which have driven the increase in readership.
"There is a constant process of change and innovation at Hot Press," Hot Press editor Niall Stokes says. "When you¹re talking about a highly educated, media savvy audience of the type that reads Hot Press, you have to stay exciting and relevant. You have to deliver a strong magazine editorially and to give readers added value at every opportunity. We've been doing that in all sorts of different ways.
"We recently released The Lost Recordings by Philip Lynott as a free CD. This was a world exclusive it was a huge success, with a record number of sell-outs. That was followed by a 10 track Electric Picnic sampler CD, featuring great, hip acts like Hot Chip, Bloc Party, Semifinalists. And our new issue, which hits the streets on Thursday, contains an exclusive 'behind the scenes' signed poster featuring Ireland's biggest act of 2006, Snow Patrol as well as a special 16 page student supplement.
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"With our 30th anniversary on the horizon, and lots of interesting things planned for that, we¹re continuing to drive forward with more purpose than ever. This latest success is a great tribute to the team at Hot Press, which is really firing on all cylinders. In every area of the magazine, they¹re doing a wonderful job."
Hot Press has also been promoting strongly in colleges. A major campaign to cover the start of the academic year will roll out over the next few weeks.
"We have a very high readership among students, but this is something that we are building on all the time," says Hot Press marketing manager, Mark Hogan. "We are aiming to keep the upward momentum going and to push Hot Press' readership to new record heights over the next 12 months. We will continue to set ourselves very ambitious targets, that¹s for certain."
Hot Press has shown the highest percentage increase in readership of any publication over the past 12 months.