What media distribution might publish your media product and why?

What media distribution might publish your media product and why?

 



 

There are many pro's and con's of a media institution distributing your media products. They are often able to help you with the cost and financing of your product until it becomes successful. These institutions are also able to make deals with many other large companies such as bookstores like WHSmith who will be able to advertise and sell the magazine. This will increase awareness and profit of your media products. As your product is brand new to the media institution you will need time to establish and make a name for yourself. Allowing a media institution to distribute your magazine will allow you time to do this and can be seen as a major advantage. However setbacks from taking this route to publish your magazine are that these media institutions have significant power and control over your media products. This may therefor allow them to have an influence on how your product appears and is represented within the media and as a consequence may not be the initial product in which you desired to be published and distributed to the public. Another disadvantage to include is that they also have control over time. They decide when and how long for they are going to allow your media product time to take off and establish itself with their institution. If they do not feel your magazine is a success within a limited amount of time in which they have agreed, they can pull the plug so to speak. The second option is to be placed with a major, medium or small independent publisher. Advantages of this route are that you as the creator of your media products are able to have almost complete control over every aspect of the distribution of your magazine. A downfall is that you are not supported in the same way with funding and finance with an independent publisher and therefor it may be rather difficult to breakthrough into the industry. This idea could however be challenged by the independent publisher Clash which in some ways is more successful than NME which is published by IPC.

 

When looking at the media institution which could potentially distribute my media product, the company i would chose would be between either Bauer or IPC. These two companies are large publishing houses and i feel the advantages of this route to publish my magazine would outweigh the advantages of the independent publishing way. My magazine genre is based on a mix of rock and indie music. Bauer media publishes the magazine Kerrang which is a well-known rock magazine and also publishes many other rock based magazines. IPC on the other hand publishes the magazine NME which is more indie based music however does not publish any other kind of music magazine. Taking these factors into account i would more likely be inclined to have my media product published and distributed by IPC MEDIA as i feel these is more of a gap in the market for my type of media product, and with NME as an exception would have very little competition with other brands represented by this publishing house. This will also allow my magazine to have the possibility to enter into other companies such as ASDA, WHSmith and other major retail companies.

Within my magazine i have also offered the opportunity to distribute my magazine through monthly subscriptions. This will encourage a consistent relationship and is also another way to publish my magazine. Another possibility is to use digital distribution such as online through websites. Opportunities could arise such as tying in with iTunes or spotify and this would really boost the publishing and awareness of this new magazine. The more opportunities my magazine is given the more likely it will become a success within the industry. This will be a struggle as many new magazines do not manage to make it within the first 3 years of being published, therefor it is imperative to consider every option possible.