Gig Acquires Musician List

GIG MAGAZINE HAS purchased the 22,000-name active subscriber list of its former rival, Musician.

Musician, owned by BPI Communications, published its last issue in April.

“It’s obviously a very big deal for us in terms of straight circulation numbers,” says Bill Evans, editor of Gig.

The acquisition has an ironic twist: Musician had acquired Gig’s subscriber list when Gig went out of business after its first incarnation in 1989.

Gig’s advertising has grown “steadily” in the two years since its relaunch, says Evans. The magazine now has a circulation of 80,000.

According to Evans, “Musician has a long and very proud history. There was nobody that did better artist interviews. But as the market changed, what musicians needed was hands-on practical advice like Gig provides. We now have the opportunity to turn former Musician readers into part of our Gig family.”