UK music publication Kerrang! has announced that they will be shutting down production on their physical magazine for three months. The magazine expects to start back up on July 8. 

“Following a period of unprecedented turmoil within the music industry and beyond, we are temporarily suspending the publication of Kerrang! magazine for three months,” writes the publication in a statement on their website.

“The magazine will return on Wednesday July 8 and we will continue to publish it every week from that point onwards.”

Kerrang! has been in publication since 1981, first as a monthly hard rock and metal magazine, then moving to fortnightly (every two weeks) and finally weekly back in 1987. The magazine has been a constant on newsstands ever since.

The magazine is citing the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason for the interruption, specifically the lockdown.

“Our decision is based on the fact that during this period of national lockdown it has become virtually impossible to distribute a weekly magazine effectively.”

“The closure of several local newsagents and the decrease of sales at travel points in the last fortnight have both affected what we do, along with the understandable decision taken by supermarkets to prioritise the delivery of groceries. Equally, the idea of telling our audience to visit a shop during a period of high contagion seems irresponsible.”

A lack of big events to report on was also part of the decision.

“The widespread cancellation and/or postponement of major festivals, tours and album releases also means that we are unable to deliver key pieces of coverage in May and June.”

Despite the physical magazine going away, Kerrang! will continue to publish stories on their website.

“That said, we will continue to serve you and to keep you informed on what’s happening in the scene that we all love by delivering the best rock content on the planet through our website kerrang.com, as well as through all of our digital channels.”

The magazine is also teasing some big content plans for the coming weeks.

“We also have number of exciting plans that we will unveil in the next week or so that will provide you with further entertainment during these turbulent times.”

Subscribers of the physical magazine will be getting a three-month extension on their subscriptions to make up for the loss.

The magazine concludes their statement:

“We look forward to welcoming you back to the magazine then. Until that point, thank you for your continued support of Kerrang! – we really appreciate it.”

“Stay home. Stay safe. Stay clean.”