The sad news came earlier this week that News Corp would be axing their mX newspapers, which they’ve been distributing for free in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane since 2001, in a matter of weeks.
As Nine News reports, the company announced the decision to staff earlier this week, with CEO Julian Clarke citing a “swift shift to mobile” of its “young commuter audience” as motivating the call.
Meanwhile, a spokesman has told Mumbrella that the decision was “a reflection of the changing reading habits of commuters who now turn to their mobile phones and tablets on their way to and from work”.
It’s understood that the final edition of the free publication will go out on 12th June and with it legions of commuters will be left without a way to find out what the Kardashians wore or who wants to meet them for coffee after spotting them at South Yarra station.
However, one aspect of mX’s cancellation that has not been touched upon by much of the media is the impact it could have on the live music scenes in the respective cities where it was distributed.
Avid MX readers will know that the paper was a strong supporter of local entertainment, particularly music, and shared gig listings and updates on all the live music happening in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane each week, in addition to profiling local bands and artists.
“We were so sad to learn the news of mX, what a massive hole in the market they’ll leave,” On The Map PR Director Emily Cheung said in a statement to Tone Deaf. “mX have always been huge supporters of local up and coming talent.”
“They are such a fun, quirky media outlet with a great audience and reach and they know their audience and have catered to them perfectly all these years. Being a commuter paper, plenty of uni students read it on their journeys to and from.
“mX lapped this up and in our case, supported a stack of our indie bands, offering heaps of coverage for our artists, which would noticeably add to our gig sales. Not to mention, it’s often a thrill for indie acts to have their own unique photoshoot and see themselves in a major paper.”
“And it isn’t just indie music they support, it’s the arts, food and drink, and everything local. Saying goodbye to mX will be an enormous loss for the whole community. To all our talented mates at mX, thanks for all the fun times and the love, you lot.”
According to Mumbrella, the end of mX will affect around 30 full time journalistic roles, with the publisher to try and redeploy as many of them as possible. The company would not comment on how it will affect the jobs of their distribution staff.
