Ministry Magazine Australia Shuts Down

Ministry of Sound's fledgling Australian edition of Ministry has shut down 'temporarily', just months after launching in a blaze of hype and publicity. According to reports on inthemix.com, the closure has been prompted by changes within the UK edition of the lifestyle mag, which Ministry bosses hope to introduce to Australians. "Ministry Magazine is a very important part of our brand portfolio and the new look magazine in the UK is fantastic and underlines its position as the leading Dance magazine in the world," said Richard Mergler, the Commercial Brand Director for the superclub corporation. "We want to make a big impact here in Australia with the Magazine and the plans we are working on are very exciting".

Since its launch, Ministry's Australian edition has had to compete with the country's highly developed street magazines including 3D World, Zebra (Perth and Melbourne) and Onion, all of whom have been publishing in their respective cities for over 5 years (Sydney's 3d World is over ten years old and is a serious contender for being the world's oldest dance magazine). All of the street magazines are available for free in local bars and shops, unlike Ministry which attempted to persuade clubbers to buy their magazine in newsagents.

"Australia is a great market for dance music and Ministry of Sound has a comprehensive media and recording strategy for Australia which will deliver dance fans the very best coverage of the world's fastest growing music genre", Mergler continued, adding that the new version should be out 'in a month or so'.

Jonty Adderley

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