AS Media - Evaluation

Q3 - What kind of media institutions might distribute your media product and why?

There are many media institutions that I could use to distribute my magazine but there are two main ones that would be best suited for my music magazine. These are Bauer and IPC Media and they are some of the biggest media institutions out there. First, there is Bauer. Bauer Media Group is a multinational media company headquartered in Hamburg, Germany which operates in 16 countries worldwide. Since the company was founded in 1875, it has been privately owned and under management by the Bauer family. It was formerly called Heinrich Bauer Verlag KG, abbreviated to HBV and usually shortened toH. Bauer. Worldwide circulation of Bauer Media Group's magazine titles amounts to 38 million magazines a week.

Bauer Verlagsgruppe has been managed by four generations of the Bauer family. Originally a small printing house, The Bauer Publishing Group has grown into a worldwide publishing and media company. The Bauer Publishing Group comprises 300 magazines worldwide in 15 countries, as well as TV and radio stations. Bauer started in the UK with the launch of Bella magazine in 1987 and as H Bauer Publishing became Britain's third largest publisher. Bauer further expanded in the UK with the purchase of Emap Consumer Media and Emap Radio in 2008 to become the UK's biggest publishing group. The group acquired Australia's largest magazine publisher, ACP Magazines from private equity firm, CVC in 2012, increasing the company’s value to more than €2 billion. H Bauer brands include women's weekly and TV listings magazines; namely Bella, Take a Break, that's life! TVChoice and Total TVGuide as well as a number of puzzle magazines.

Q started out as a music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. Originally it was to be called Cue (named after the act of cueing a record to play), but the name was changed so that it wouldn't be mistaken for a snooker magazine. Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth felt the music press of the time ignored a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology — from artists such as Paul Simon, Level 42, and Dire Straits. Modeled after Rolling Stone, Q was first published in 1986, setting itself apart from much of the other music press with monthly production and higher standards of photography and printing, with an emphasis on style. Kerrang! is a brand that specialises in Rock Music. It originally began as a magazine and in 2004 Kerrang Radio was launched  A Kerrang TV channel also exists and as of 2005, all of its programme content is music videos, the majority of which is open scheduled, for text requests from their playlist.

The other media institution that I could use is IPC Media. IPC are another media institution that are massively popular. IPC distribute other magazines that are simile o my own, this would make me more likely to choose IPC. They distribute Kerrang and NME, both magazines are very similar to my own. The only worries that there may be is that because the magazines are similar, my magazine wouldn't stand out enough, especially with the competition just within IPC. However, my magazine cover uses illustrations which gives it a unique look and would help it stand out.