Future US, Inc. Acquires Revolver Magazine From Harris Publications
March 6, 2006
Joins Music Division Portfolio of
Guitar World, Guitar One, Future Music and Others
South San Francisco, CA/New York, NY (March 6, 2006) – Future US, a leading US publisher of enthusiast magazines, today announced the acquisition of hard rock/heavy metal consumer music magazine Revolver from Harris Publications, according to Future president Jonathan Simpson-Bint.
Revolver, which has a distribution of 150,000, will become part of Future’s thriving music division, overseen by group publishing director Steve Aaron, which includes Guitar World, Guitar One, Guitar World Acoustic, Guitar World Bass Guitar, Guitar World Legends, Guitar One and Future Music magazines. Guitar World and its offshoots were acquired from Harris Publications in September 2003. Editor-in-chief Tom Beaujour and associate publisher Judd Silver will take their respective Revolver staffs and move to Future’s expanding New York City offices on Fifth Avenue.
Revolver, which calls itself “the world’s loudest rock magazine,” is a thematic compliment to the music division titles: “Revolver’s readers are passionate about their music and want to know everything about it,” explains Aaron. “The magazine is ripe for brand extensions such as DVD’s, poster-zines, and broadcast television and radio opportunities. This strategic acquisition will open up opportunities for Revolver’s current advertisers across all of our existing music titles and visa versa.”
The acquisition also reunites Revolver with Future music division editorial director Brad Tolinski, who helped launch the magazine when he worked at Harris.
Future’s acquisition comes after a very successful and transitional year at the company, with a name change from Future Network USA to Future US, a move to new bigger headquarters in South San Francisco, the launches of Future Snowboarding and Scrapbook Answers, and the acquisitions of Snowboard Journal and six lifestyle titles from Highbury House plc.
“Revolver is a great magazine which meets our standards of reader interactivity and connectedness very well,” says Simpson-Bint. “It’s exactly what a good music magazine should be. Narrow in its focus but deep and rich in its appeal. Revolver sits perfectly with our successful and profitable music titles and we look forward to seeing it grow under Future's stewardship.”
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About Future
Future US is the leading US publisher of cutting-edge games, computing, action sports and musician magazines, which sell in excess of 2.5 million copies per month. Future’s publications reach a young, active, affluent audience and rank 11th among audited newsstand publishers in gross newsstand revenue. Its market-leading titles include Official Xbox Magazine, PSM: 100% Independent PlayStation 2 Magazine, PC Gamer, Maximum PC, MacAddict, Scrapbook Answers, Future Snowboarding Magazine, Snowboard Journal, Snowboard Trade News, Skateboard Trade News, Skateboard Buyer’s Guide, Guitar World, Guitar One, Future Music, Guitar World Acoustic, Bass Guitar, Guitar World Legends, Pregnancy, House DIY, Decorating Spaces, Women’s Health Fitness and Men’s Edge. Future also publishes Cheat Planet.com, the third largest games information destination online, as well Next Generation, the leading US game-industry news website. Future is based in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices in New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles and San Diego.
(www.futureus-inc.com)
About Future plc
Future plc is an international special-interest media group with offices in the UK, US, France and Italy. Founded in 1985 with one UK magazine, today it creates over 150 special-interest publications, websites and events with strong portfolios in the computing, games, music, automotive, sports, crafts and leisure sectors. Future employs over 1,500 people worldwide. It is the sixth largest magazine publisher in the UK and the 11th largest US magazine publisher at newsstand by retail sales value. Over 100 international editions of Future's magazines are also published under licence in 30 other countries across the world. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange (symbol FUTR).
