BMA Magazine"
| Type | Street press |
|---|---|
| Format | Bi-weekly |
| Owner(s) | Scott Layne and Allan Sko |
| Publisher | Radar Media |
| Founded | 1992 |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters | Canberra, ACT, Australia |
| Circulation | Ten thousand print, ten thousand download |
| Website | www.BMAMag.com |
BMA Magazine is an Australia street press and music magazine focusing on popular music, concerts, live events and popular culture in Canberra and surrounding areas.[1] It is published fortnightly and is an independent publication.
Profile
BMA is an acronym for Bands Music Action. It is available free to readers in both print format and as a web download. The magazine estimates print readership to be around 35 thousand and generates around 10 thousand downloads per issue. The content includes a cover story, regular columns, interviews, band profile, a comprehensive gig guide of forthcoming tours or events in and around Canberra, reviews of singles, albums, live events, theatre and films.[2] The magazine has a full color layout, whereas initially it was printed black and white. At the moment, it is the only music magazine local to Canberra.[3] Some of the notable cover stories on BMA were on Sonic Youth, Midnight Juggernaughts, Silverchair and Powderfinger, Steely Dan, John Butler, INXS, Stonefest, Trackside, Hilltop Hoods, Clare Bowditch, Deep Purple, The Presidents of the United States of America, Wolfmother, Grinspoon, Grandmaster Flash, Chemical Brothers, Cypress Hill and James Blunt.
History
The magazine was founded in 1992 by Lisa Howdin and Peter Spicer after Blitz magazine folded. The first edition of BMA came out in February 1992, it was tabloid in size and the cover featured Tex Perkins. The first editors were Vanessa Bowden and Melanie Sheridan. A small office (3m x 3m) was established upstairs at Gorman House where often both editors and contributors worked simultaneously. The first advertising and marketing rep was Vicki Anderson who later went on to join The Brag in Sydney and then street press in London. Key contributors included Cathy Sexton, Andrew Collins, Dan Etheridge, Emily Robertson, Ryan Sheridan, Jason Richardson, Shawn Stanley, Anna Sarris, Geoff Chaplin, Chris, Emina Redzic, Telia Neville, Simon Hobbs, Chris Doyle, Tim, Benn, Chris Fresh, Roger Ramjet, Sull-e & Nicole.
A full set of the magazine can be found at the Canberra Library and at the National Library of Australia.