Music magazine Blunt to relaunch in 2020 under new owners
Music magazine Blunt, which covered the Australian music industry as a magazine and digital presence for 15 years, will relaunch in 2020, with new owners at the helm.
The Complaints Department has purchased the rights for the brand and website from Nextmedia and will bring it back to the market three years after it left in 2017.
The new entity will be led by journalist and The Neversphere co-founder Mike Hohnen and writer Peyton Bernhardt. The new venture will start with a soft launch in early 2020.
Blunt covered the alternative music scene, featuring heavy releases from Australia and around the globe. Its departure from the Australian market preceded that of Rolling Stone Australia and music festivals including Soundwave and Big Day Out.
Its return comes after the launch of NME and the announcement of Rolling Stone Australia’s return to the market. Blunt have promised the relaunch will come with the iconic Blunt poster magazine.
Hohnen said Blunt is more than just a title.
“Blunt was always so much more than a music publication. It explored, emboldened and honoured the alternative culture. We can’t wait to bring that energy back and reinstate Blunt as a home for the heavy, and heavy-adjacent, community.”
Nextmedia managing director Hamish Bayliss said: “I am pleased to see Blunt find a new home with passionate owners to reinvigorate the brand.”
Blunt’s new head of editorial Bernhardt said the launch would, ‘usher in a revival in quality coverage across the alternative music scene in Australia’.
