BILLBOARD BUYING RIVAL PUBLICATION RADIO & RECORDS Chris Morris - Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Billboard magazine was expected to announce Thursday (July 6) the acquisition of Radio & Records, its 33-year-old Los Angeles-based competitor, sources said.
The future now appears uncertain for R&R, the venerable music trade publication that has always maintained a strong focus on the radio side of the business. Billboard operates its own radio-driven publication, Billboard Radio Monitor.
Billboard and R&R both publish their own airplay charts, which are created using data from competing airplay monitoring firms -- respectively, Nielsen SoundScan's BDS (owned by VNU, parent company of Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter) and Mediabase.
Calls and e-mails to senior management at Billboard and VNU Business Media were not returned at press time.
Founded in 1973 by Bob Wilson, Radio & Records has witnessed several ownership changes; at one point in the late 1980s and early '90s, the publication was owned by radio chain Westwood One. The magazine was purchased by Perry Capital in 1994. |