Real Groove (magazine)

Real Groove was a New Zealand monthly music and pop culture magazine that operated from 1993 to 2010.[1] Based in Auckland, the publication began as a free newsletter distributed through Real Groovy Records.[2] It became a newsstand title in the late 1990s and was subsequently owned by Tangible Media.[2] In 2003, a survey by Nielsen Media Research showed a monthly readership comparable to Rip It Up, New Zealand's leading music magazine.[3]

Real Groove was first edited by John Dix, author of Stranded in Paradise: New Zealand Rock'n'Roll, 1955–1988.[4] Subsequent editors included Nick Bollinger,[4] John Russell, Brock Oliver,[5] Duncan Greive and Sam Wicks.[6] Among the other writers whose work appeared in the magazine are Chris Bourke,[1] Gary Steel,[7] Graham Reid,[8] former Creem music critic Richard Riegel,[9] and Russell Brown.[10]

The 196th and final issue of Real Groove, dated October 2010, featured Leonard Cohen on the cover.[2] The magazine had tried to focus on its online presence and, according to Wicks, the closure was due to "the lack of demand for physical publications".[11] Among local media, its demise coincided with that of Pulp magazine, MTV's withdrawal from New Zealand, and Back2Basics merging with Rip It Up.[7]

Real Groove was amalgamated into The Groove Guide, a free weekly magazine owned by Tangible Media.[2][11] That title was similarly closed down, in May 2011.[12]