The Brag Media has acquired Australia’s longest running music trade title The Music Network.
The publication was founded 27 years ago by artist manager John Woodruff. Since then, the paper has gone through multiple transformations, beginning as a black and white tip sheet for radio programmers in 1994, before maturing into a weekly glossy colour magazine for the industry, and shifting to digital in 2013.
The Music Network’s publisher and editor Jake Challenor, who purchased The Music Network in 2017, will join The Brag Media as executive editor, B2B. He will be responsible for the editorial direction of The Industry Observer, The Music Network, and future trade titles.
“If you can’t beat them, join them,” Challenor says.
“Luke, Joel and Poppy have built a formidable business. I’ve been so impressed by The Brag Media’s meteoric rise, that it made the decision to sell The Music Network and join the team an easy one for me.
“The Music Network has been independent since day one, unapologetically telling the stories that matter most to its readers. That same ethos will continue across The Brag Media’s trade titles with two seasoned and fearless journalists that I admire greatly in Lars and Viv.”
The Brag Media has also promoted managing editor Poppy Reid to editor-in-chief.
Everything we have achieved at The Brag Media has happened under Poppy’s leadership - she has an incredible ability to take insane and ambitious ideas and turn them into a reality,” says Luke Girgis, The Brag Media CEO.
“Poppy is a Bragger to her core making this promotion absolutely reflective of all her work every day at The Brag Media.”
From March, The Music Network will remain focussed on the business of music, while The Industry Observer will double down on its coverage of the Australian live sector.
The Brag Media’s acquisition of The Music Network follows its recent purchase of gaming and anime network Epic Digital.
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