Question 3 answer

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

2. • The media institutions which are most common
amongst popular music magazines are Time Inc.
UK (NME), Bauer Media, Editions Freeway and
TeamRock.
• The magazines which my product is most similar
to are Rocksound and Kerrang. Rocksound is
published by a French institution called Editions
Freeway. Kerrang is published by an institution
called Bauer Media. After researching the other
similar institutions, I decided that Bauer would
be the most effective for my product.

3. auer Media claims to be the ‘UK’s most
influential media brand network’. This means
they know they are a powerful institution and
so want to use this in a way which will benefit
their audiences the most.
They also publish on a variety of platforms, as shown above. This means that there is
potential for my product to grow and therefore appeal to wider audiences. Some
members of my chosen demographic will be very technology-based and therefore may
be opposed or less likely to buy a physical copy of a magazine.
Bauer Media also publish Q and Kerrang magazines. These are
both incredibly popular music magazines that appeal to
different target audiences. Kerrang is very much aimed at a
youthful demographic whereas Q is aimed at people aged 20 –
30. It is much more serious and sophisticated. I believe that my
product would provide a middle-ground for the institution
because my target audience is aged between 15 and 25.

4. Bauer’s Aims
• Bauer Media’s mission statement is:
Their website also states that
This is a message that I want my product to convey; therefore the
ethics of my product and this institution are very similar. I have tried
to promote a sense of gender equality throughout my product by
using artists who are both male and female. This would hopefully
inspire female members of my target audience to not be afraid of
getting involved in music if it is something they want to do.

5. Why Bauer would be the best
publisher for RockTime
This is a double page spread from a main feature in
an article in Kerrang. The band featured in this
article is Blink-182, an American pop-punk band.
Although my magazine is very much focussed on the
pop-punk genre, RockTime does mainly focus on
upcoming, British bands rather than large, American
bands such as Blink-182.
As well as this, we can see from this Kerrang contents page that
all of the bands they write about are very much focussed on the
heavier side of the rock genre (e.g. Amon Amarth, Bring me the
Horizon and August Burns Red). RockTime includes content
specifically in the pop-punk and indie rock genre – therefore
creating a difference in content to Kerrang. RockTime also
includes features about musical equipment (Vic Firth
announcement), meaning that it will appeal to a musically
talented audience who could be looking to engage with smaller,
up and coming bands.

6. • Although there are several similarities between RockTime and
Kerrang, the difference in genre and content will make RockTime
considerably different to Kerrang. This means that Bauer would not
be publishing two magazines which are more or less identical and
provide competition for each other.
• As well as this, my product would provide a middle ground for
people who don’t enjoy reading Kerrang but find Q too
sophisticated. Bauer would be able to recognise the success of their
existing magazines and could consider publishing a third because it
would mean that they are providing music magazines for a much
larger audience than they would have been before.
• My target audience may differ from Kerrang’s to a degree because
of the inclusion of information about musical equipment and how
my magazine typically focuses more on upcoming, British bands.