Evaluation Question 3. What kind of media institutions might distribute your media product and why?

The media institution that would distribute my magazine is BAUER Media Group. Bauer Media Group is a large European-based media company, headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. They manage a portfolio of more than 600 magazines, over 400 digital products and 50 radio and TV stations around the world. The portfolio extends to include print shops, postal, distribution and marketing services. Bauer Media Group has a workforce of approximately 11,000 employees in 17 countries. Below you can see that they published magazines such as Q, Kerrang and Mojo; magazines that I based my own upon. I have taken their colour schemes into consideration but with a wider genre range of artists so that my magazine is more original.
Q is the UK's biggest selling music monthly magazine, at the heart of a cross-platform brand that celebrates the biggest stars in rock and roll. The Q brand has developed a worldwide reputation as a trusted and premium quality voice of musical authority amongst fans, musicians and the music industry alike, world-beating exclusives and outstanding production values. This is extended through radio, online and events such as the Q Awards.
BAUER also own 4 Music and Kiss FM, this could be another way to advertise my product. Mentioning my magazine on TV or the Radio will spread the world, especially to an audience interested in the Indie genre. If people hear an artist's music then find out they can read more about them in my magazine, they will be more inclined to buy it.

BAUER Media Group's Brands

After researching how BAUER Media Group distribute their products, I found the information below on their website. This shows that their management company is one of the largest in the world - the largest in Australia. Also the production services manage all inputs from the editorial, advertising and creative through the print production process. This means that i would be working with a team for the best possible outcome.

I would like BAUER to distribute my magazine as they are one of the most popular magazine distributors and are currently distributing magazines in Rock and Pop, this works with my genre (Indie-rock & Indie-pop). They have prior knowledge of these genres which means they are well experienced for my magazine to succeed. I also know that they will be distributing my magazine to a mass audience rather than a niche audience, which means that it will be more global and recognised. This is bringing a smaller genre to a wider audience. As my genre is all about independent music, there will be more people interested in a wider range of music rather than simple 'metal' or 'RnB'. A good thing about distributing with this institution is that they are very weathly, this means I can include better, more expensive prizes and giveaways which could further the stretch of an audience. BAUER can also attract a bigger audience through the use of synergy, compromising with other magazines, TV channels and Radio stations where they can promote my magazine.

With BAUER I will distribute my magazine through stores such as HMV and newsagents, also big supermarkets such as Tesco's, Asda's and Morrison's. This gives me the opportunity to spread the magazine to a mass amount of consumers, young adults go shopping as they will be living on their own, also teenagers go to look at magazines with their friends meaning they are likely to buy it if they associate with the genre. I will have an app with the name 'Waves Magazine' and it will be distributed under the 'Mapp' section (shown below). Apps are more accessible for the younger audience as they are the most common to have iPads and phones that include apps, they also have a lot of free time to read magazines. The app will be free so they can find out more information about the magazine before they decide to read it. I will advertise a subscription fee or they can pay separately per issue by filling in payment details on the app, the prices will be the ones included on my magazine - £2.49 per issue and £4.79 per month subscription.

BAUER would also create a website all about the magazine, it will include smaller versions of the feature stories (I wouldn't want to expose the entire magazine so people would read more), photos from concerts, links to artists and their merchandise and gossip, also about the previous issues. This will also advertise the magazine as the website informs globally reaching a mass audience. An example of an existing magazine's website is shown below, this is also the same genre.

However there are disadvantages of distributing my product through this institution. BAUER publishing group is a large organisation that publishes over 300 magazines. This vast number means that the promotion BAUER could give my magazine over it's other brands will be limited and the magazine may not get enough recognition.

Overall we can see that because of digitisation there are more social media users now than ever, this is because mobiles and computers are now portable meaning we can access them anywhere. This means my magazine has a better chance of being successful if it is also published electronically, as well as building Waves' identity.