Musikmarkt was a magazine of the music industry in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, based in Munich.[1] Die Welt, a German newspaper, described the magazine as the music industry’s thermometer.[2]
Musikmarkt was established by publisher Josef Keller Verlag in 1959.[3][4][5] Uwe Lencher served as the editor-in-chief of the magazine for 23 years from 1973 to his death in April 1996.[6] The magazine had its headquarters in Munich.[1] The magazine was started as a bi-monthly publication.[5] Then it was published weekly until 2014 when its frequency was switched to monthly.[2]
Musikmarkt determined the official German charts from its start in 1959 to the 1970s when Media Control assumed the responsibility.[7] The magazine also contained the weekly Top 100 charts for singles and albums when it was published on a weekly basis.[4][8] The magazine and its website were both closed down in July 2016.[2][4] Stefan Zarges was the last editor of the magazine.[2]
Under the editorship of Uwe Lencher the circulation of Musikmarkt was nearly 12,000 copies, making it a significant publication for German entertainment industry.[6] It was 4,370 copies when it was shut down in 2016.[7]