IPC Media would be the most appropriate distributor for the magazine because they have a diverse portfolio of magazines targeting different genres and demographics. As a large and profitable company, IPC Media could invest in a more niche magazine like PopHeart, which targets young female adults aged 16-25 with pop music content. Similar to PopHeart, IPC Media's NME magazine has a niche audience of 16-24 year olds focused on indie/pop music. IPC Media is also adapting to changes in the industry by developing magazine apps to engage digital audiences.
1. 3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I think that the most appropriate distributor for my magazine would be IPC Media. This is because they already
have a vast portfolio of magazines that range from different genres. This means that they have good profitable
revenue so could invest in a magazine like PopHeart because it appeals to a more niche market yet still has a
profitable wide target audience of young female adults aged 16-25. It also means that it will not be a financial
risk to the magazine company. This is because their wide range of magazines such as 'NME' and 'Woman'
suggests that IPC is a profitable company and can invest in new niche magazines. IPC Media is also
a subsidiary company of Time Inc. (Time Warner) which has a large net income and so can invest in new ideas
in order to expand their brand even more. Similar to my magazine, IPC Media publishes 'NME' which also has
their own individual niche market of a young audience 16-24 and has a specific genre they focus their music
magazine on which is Indie/Pop. My magazine would have similar components but be aimed at the majority of
female ratio, young adults between 16-24 with a lesser male majority and focuses on Pop music as well as past
music and its impact on modern day music. This focus on both present day and past would be its unique selling
point and would captivate their target audience and will retain a regular readership this way. When observing
magazines that IPC Media distribute such as ‘NME’ and gossip magazine ‘Pick Me Up’ I noticed that each
magazine has either male or female majority appeal. This was clear when I looked at ‘Q’ magazine where
males bought the magazine at a greater 70% majority. Therefore I decided that it would be more marketable if
my magazine to a specific gender and chose that females were most appropriate for the genre of pop music
that my magazine would be based on. The current music magazine industry is now moving changes to using
technology to distribute their magazines. This is evident not only with the musical genre but the overall
magazine industry too as readers look for quick and fast ways to source their information. IPC Media is moving
at a moderate pace with these changes by incorporating apps relating their magazine or brands, for example
the NME App for all Apple products. This will enable their audience to not only share an interest in their web
based information, which targets the younger population of 16-40, but to then hopefully entice them into
buying the magazines too or vice versa.