Evaluation 3 draft

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

The institution that would publish my magazine would have to be a large, experienced institution able to help the magazine develop. It was also has to have experience with successful music magazines however this publications cannot be of a similar genre to the one portrayed in my magazine otherwise there would be no gap in the market and my magazine wouldn't be unique enough to justify purchase. The media institution would also have full control over the magazines editorial position as well as final quality control. The media institution plays a huge role in the overall magazines commercial success and so the magazine must be pitched and publicised by the right institution in order to reach maximum profitability and success. The publisher will have full control over what is included inside the magazine. This makes choosing the right publisher important because a institution with little experience with music magazines will not know what to include or what is relevant to the genre of music inside my magazine.

The institution I would choose to publish my magazine would be the subsidiary of Time Inc, Time Inc.UK. Time Inc.UK was formally known as ICP Media until it formally became Time Inc. UK in September 2014. Time Inc.UK is a large media publishing institution that has ownership other a large range of magazines selling over 350 million copies annually. This means the publisher will have the size and scope to be able to effectively publish and distribute my magazine across the UK. The publisher holds ownership over a large number of well known brands in a large range of magazine genres. Within the music magazine genre Time Inc. UK owns NME and Uncut which are both very successful magazines that reach a large audience. This shows this institution has years of experience with magazine publishing and publishing successful music magazines. The genres featured and depicted in these magazines however are different from the genre in my magazine. This leaves a gap in the market for my magazine, meaning the magazine won't be just another generic magazine about mainstream music genres. This gives my magazine the opportunity to stand out from other magazines published by Time Inc, increasing my magazines brand image and prestige. UK as well as other magazine publishers competing with Time Inc.UK. I would attract the attention of Time Inc.UK by at first starting small, selling the magazine on a small, limited scale at gigs, festivals and shops associated with the genre. This would allow me to get initial sales figures on a small scale as well as receive audience feedback. I would then pitch the magazine to Time Inc.UK, using the initial sales figures and audience feedback as well as other market research in order to convince the publisher the magazine has potential within the magazine and media industry. The publisher would have financial control over the magazine, selling the magazine through subscriptions and sales at gigs, festivals and stores associated with the Indie/emo genre. However the publisher may decided to make changes to the magazine that may dramatically change it from how it was when the magazine was originally pitched. They may decide to change the magazines layout and graphic design as well as the artists or even genre of music featured in the article. This may be done to appeal to a larger audience so the magazine will make more profit and achieve more commercial success. They may also choose to change the magazine to a web based publication to reach a large audience while also keeping the cost of the magazine low. However a good compromise with this would be to run a smaller version of the magazine as a web based platform. This would appeal to the target social groups as social media and other media platforms are able to reach a large audience. The publisher will be able to make profit from advertising revenue while also drawing in more subscriptions to the printed, full version of the magazine.

Institutions that understand the genre inside my magazine would probably be small, limiting distribution and sales of the magazine. A large institution that already has experience with music magazines, just not the indie/Midwest emo/pop punk genre would have the money to hire a team of writers and editors with expertise on these genres while the institution itself will still have the size to distribute on a larger scale, maximising profits from  the magazine. The publishing institution would also have control on how much funding the magazine gets, which can effect the quality of the overall magazine. They also control the prize and pricing strategy as well as how regularly it is issued. They could also make the choice to take the magazine online to save money on printing and distribution, dramatically changing the magazine and it's direction. Control over advertising is the publications responsibility. They can market and advertise the magazine themselves or sell space to advertising agencies in order to create a larger public image of the magazine, drawing in readers and improving the magazines total circulation. This is central to the magazines overall success, if the magazine isn't advertised to the target demographic and isn't distributed effectively the magazine will quickly cause the publication to loose money and the magazine will be discontinued.The publication will need to be able to distribute the magazine on a large scale on multiple platforms. These platforms include distribution at shops and other vendors associated with the target social groups for the magazine as well as a small web release and online presence of the magazine