Q3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product

and why?

What publishing house might own your magazine?

The publishing houses that I would consider to publish my own magazine would be either Conde Nast or IPC. Since Conde Nast is the publisher of magazines such as Vogue, it would be geared towards more females, which is the demographic I am more inclined to represent. Conde Nast do publish GQ magazine also, however, it isn’t too concerned with music magazines with more associations with fashion magazines that music- for example Teen Vogue, Glamour, Allure, etc., so for that reason I will also consider IPC.

IPC are the publishers for NME, and so this might be a more appropriate publishing house to consider. They have a broad focus in the magazines they publish, and aren't as fixated on a particular type of magazine they publish in comparison to Conde Nast. IPC publish magazines ranging from lifestyle to luxury, so this could be a better publishing house for me.

Where might your magazine be distributed?

My magazine would be sold in WHSmiths or in a clothing store such as Dr. Martens, since they are known for often having magazines such as The Fly magazine or DIY magazine at the front of their store, free for people to pick up. Most of their clothes are worn by popular indie rock artists, so this would be appropriate as a marketing tool for a clothing store like this.

How frequently will the magazine be circulated? Will it be available through subscription?

My magazine will be circulated monthly, as is indicated at the front of my magazine. My magazine could be available through subscription, but it is not a compul-sory option exclusive to the online site (Newwave.co.uk)

What data have you got on magazine sales in your chosen genre- are magazines in your genre selling well?

The circulation figures for indie rock magazines as a whole are average, selling at normal rates, however it is NME magazine that seems to be affected more than any other indie rock magazine. For the first time in it’s history, NME narrowly avoided dropping below the 15,000 mark which means that this magazine in particular isn’t selling very well. However, Mojo remains the biggest seller with sales of 70,693, just ahead of Team Rock’s Classic Rock with 53,935 (including 2,853 digital).

In the past, music magazines such as The Fly have seen major set backs which resulted in them having to stop publishing their magazine altogether. The collapse of the HMV chain has caused indie magazine The Fly to lose its place as the biggest-read music magazine in Britain. Since the closure of 81 HMV stores earlier in 2013, the free monthly magazine which relied on the retailer to distribute the magazines monthly– saw its circulation almost halve. Though stores like Dr. Martens stocked them, they simply couldn't recover.

Luckily, no other music magazine has seen itself in that position yet, and so most music magazines are in a safe place in terms of sales and circulation.

What is the magazine website like? How popular is it? Is the material in the magazine exclusive ot the printed version?

The magazine’s website is easy to navigate and very minimal and simplistic. It is quite popular and the number of those visiting the site are growing day by day. The material in the magazine is not exclusive t the printed version, and there are online versions you can read- so in many ways, it is similar to the way DIY produce their magazines online.