South Australian music publication Rip It Up has announced that it will be closing after 27 years in operation.
It was founded in 1989 and became a go-to source for all things related to Adelaide’s music scene, covering local and national bands as they passed through town.
They moved from a print format to online-only in 2014 but unfortunately a lack of digital advertising revenue means the site will go offline at the end of June.
“Rip It Up’s publisher Opinion Media will continue to serve our audience in South Australia and beyond through The Adelaide Review, Clique Mag and events such as A Night Of Fashion and Hot 100 Wines SA, which this year celebrates its 10th anniversary,” online editor Walter Marsh wrote in a statement.
“Moving forward, we’ll be incorporating our continuing coverage of the state’s music and arts scene into adelaidereview.com.au and cliquemag.com.au, and over the next month will reveal the new online home of the much-loved gig guide that started it all.”
Marsh finished by thanking everybody who has been involved in Rip It Up including the readers, “who for nearly three decades have sought Rip It Up out in pubs, cafés or more recently on their smartphones.”
Opinion Media managing director Manuel Ortigosa spoke to ABC further saying that they had made a substantial investment taking the publication online but readers didn’t want to pay.
“It’s an interesting sort of market where I think people still resist that sort of spend online,” he said.
“It creates a very difficult business environment.”
