Question 3: What kind of media institution might distribute

your media product and why?

By Liam Wilkinson

What is an institution?A media institution is an establishment which distributes media products, produces

media products, controls the marketing for the media product and controls the publicising of the media product. Institutions usually have many brands they control and distribute for, this gives a full control over the brands distribution to the world through institution organisations.

For example one of the magazines I researched is Mixmag and that is distributed by Development Hell.

The second magazine I researched is DJ mag and it is distributed by Thrust Publicising.

Examples of media institutions

• Apple distributes their own products to stores and customers directly by themselves from their websites and their warehouses. ( Apple controls production, marketing and distribution)

• BBC – British Broadcasting Corporation BBC controls the shows they broadcast and the channels they own, BBC uses advertisement space to advertise back their own programs and channels. (BBC controls production, marketing , distribution and advertisements)

• Microsoft distribute their own products to retailers who then sell it on to customers. (Microsoft controls production, marketing, distribution and advertising)

• ITV broadcasts their shows and channels straight to the viewers.(ITV controls, production, marketing and distribution)

Who distributes the products you researched?

The magazines I have researched are Mixmag and DJ mag, the two leading electronic music magazines, Mixmag and Dj mag. When I researched Mixmag I found out it is a British magazine which is now 31 years old, being formed in 1983. The Mixmag editor is Nick Decosemo. Mixmag is the first electronic music magazine and has been the number 1 electronic music magazine in the world ever since it started. Development Hell has been distributing Mixmag ever since the start of Mixmag on February the 1st 1983.

The second magazine I researched was DJ mag which is the second largest electronic music magazine and the rival of Mixmag. DJ mag was

created in 1991. DJ mag is distributed all around the world By Thrust Publicising. The editor of DJ mag is Ben Murphy.

Other distribution institutes

IPC IPC is a distribution company which has 350 million copies sold within

its portfolio. IPC’s parent company is Time, who are Time Warner and the owners of NME, a large magazine brand. IPC was created in 1968 in the United Kingdom and has headquarters based in London.

Bauer MediaBauer Media is a multinational media group which operates in 16 countries. Bauer Media publishes and Distributes a range of music magazines ranging from Q to Kerrang, this means they have a lot of experience in the music industry. Bauer was established in 1875 and its headquarters

are now in Hamburg, Germany.

Who I want to distribute my media product?

I would like Bauer to distribute my media product because firstly they have never offered an electronic music magazine into their range of 300 magazines, this means there is a whole new market for Bauer to dominate in and distribute to. Another reason why Bauer the institution I would like to distribute my media product is because Bauer owns TV and Radio stations, which allow for my magazine to be advertised on the television and on the radio offering more options for a wider audience to recognize what my magazine is. Bauer’s magazines are very large including Q and Kerrang which are featured in many countries around the world and Kerrang has its own music channel meaning that Bauer can create a channel for my magazine. The magazines also have social media and websites which offer even more publicity for the magazine and more opportunities to gain a larger audience. Bauer being a high revenue institution can afford to fund my magazine more than ICP and allow for more benefits such as mass publishing and a wider scale of advertising platforms.

How my product will be distributed and advertised

My media product can be advertised with festivals, TV, social media and radios. My music magazine “The Drop” can be advertised on the radio to gain more readers and to publicise the magazine to a larger audience. The magazine could sponsor a festival such as Ultra to gain a mass audience and get global readers on a large scale. The magazine could gain TV adverts to get a complete large scale audience of readers and become recognized easily, this gains more revenue and more publicity. Social media could be used for free to advertise the magazine to the largest audience in the world, the internet. My product could also be distributed to stores such as Tesco, ASDA, Morrison's, Boots and Wal-Mart. This allows for customers to get first hand notice of my magazines when they go to shop at stores, by seeing it on the shelf.