''Beat'' is a free monthly tabloid-sized music magazine (

street press Street press is a type of publishing, between zines and magazines/newspapers in terms of distribution, content and audience. They are particularly prolific in Australia, especially music street press, although there are also some examples from Eu ...

) published and distributed in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia. It was Melbourne's longest running street press, and one of the earliest street press after TAGG. ''Beat'' paused its print edition between March 2020-May 2022.

History

The magazine changes its name from ''Beat'' to ''Beat Magazine'' in 1989, reverted to ''Beat'' in 2000, and continues to refer to itself as ''Beat Magazine'' on their website. The magazine was founded as a weekly street press by Rob Furst and was printed by his company Furst Media. Between 1994 and 1998 a Sydney edition was printed, known as ''Beat : Sydney listings bible''. The magazines and their online component were published each Wednesday, with the printed magazines distributed to nearly 1,000 locations in 1997. By 2020 the Melbourne edition was distributed to over 3,200 locations. ''Beat'''s main competitor was ''

Inpress ''Inpress'' was a free weekly tabloid-sized music magazine (street press) that was published in Melbourne, and was released in the Geelong and Mornington Peninsula areas of Victoria, Australia. The magazine was published by Street Press Austr ...

'', a Melbourne-based street press which was co-created by Rowena Sladdin in 1988 after she had left ''Beat''. In May 2012, 35,000 of the magazine copies were printed and distributed with a cartoon drawing of a naked man on its cover. The text "Sayonara, Bitches! It's been real" were written above the man's genitalia and many feared this would be ''Beat'' final issue. ''Beat'' explained on their website that the cover was meant to feature English band

Kaiser Chiefs Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who formed in 2000 as Parva, releasing one studio album, ''22'', in 2003, before renaming and establishing themselves in their current name that same year. Since their formation the band h ...

, but the cover had been swapped out by their typesetter on his last day of work as a prank. ''Beat'' announced in 2019 they would begin publishing fortnightly, starting with issue #1673. Both the magazine and Beat's website were also redesigned at this time. The subject of the magazine also expanded beyond music, and now included video games, film, and television. The print issue of ''Beat'' was suspended after issue #1695, published on 11 March 2020. The website has continued to be updated, and sends out a regular email newsletter to subscribers. In May 2022 editor Lucas Radbourne announced the print issue had returned, and was available freely again as a monthly magazine.

References

External links

Official website

Digital archive of issues
(2012-2020) {{Authority control Visual arts magazines Music magazines published in Australia Defunct magazines published in Australia 1986 establishments in Australia Magazines established in 1986 Magazines disestablished in 2020 Magazines published in Melbourne Weekly magazines published in Australia Free magazines