KERRANG! Is Europe's Biggest Print Rock Magazine

Chris Tryhorn of MediaGuardian.co.uk reports that rock magazine Kerrang! has overtaken its weekly music rival New Musical Express and opened up a gap of nearly 6,000 copies between them.

Kerrang!, which has just celebrated its 25th birthday, sold an average of 80,186 copies in the six months between January and June this year, up 5.3% on the second half of 2005, or 24.2% year on year.

Meanwhile, IPC-owned NME dropped 3.4% compared with the previous ABC period, to 74,206, taking it below the Emap-owned Kerrang! for the first time.

Kerrang!'s publisher Stuart Williams put the magazine's success down to the cross-promotion enjoyed by the brand across Emap's TV, radio, internet, and other magazine outlets.

"Kerrang! readers are also some of the highest users of things like MySpace," he said. "But this hasn't stopped them reading the magazine, because the magazine can do things the internet can't."

ABC figures (average circulation per issue):

Kerrang!:

Second Half 2005: 76,165
First Half 2006: 80,186

NME:

Second Half 2005: 76,792
First Half 2006: 74,206

Classic Rock:

Second Half 2005: 50,027
First Half 2006: 56,037

Metal Hammer:

Second Half 2005: 44,047
First Half 2006: 45,359

Rock Sound:

Second Half 2005: 23,027
First Half 2006: 23,254