Poptastic teen music mag Smash Hits will publish its last edition on February 13 - killed by a mass reader-migration to the internet which has caused sales to slump from a 500k high to 120,000.

Marcus Rich, MD of the magazine's publisher Emap Metro, explained to Reuters: "Smash Hits revolutionised the world of teen publishing when it was launched in 1978. But 28 years later, the world is a very different place and the magazine's role and relevance on the newsstand changed.

"The audience for the magazine was getting younger, predominantly pre-teen, as teenagers migrated to new platforms to satisfy their interest in music. The closure of the magazine allows us to concentrate our resources on developing the Smash Hits brand on these emerging platforms."

Specifically, the Smash Hits name will live on as a "digital radio station, music television channel and website", according to Emap.

Of course, there have been a few tears shed for this pop institution. Former editor Kate Thornton, who moved on to present TV's X-Factor, said: "It's a real shame - the end of an era. I can't believe it has closed, but times have changed and there is a lot more competition now." ®

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