The Music Industry

Music Magazine Industry

A music magazine is a magazine dedicated to music and music culture. Such magazines

typically include music news, interviews, photo shoots, essays, record reviews, concert reviews

and occasionally have a cover mount with recorded music.

Bauer and IPC

The two conglomerate companies that

dominate the UK magazine market are

German multinational cross media

company Bauer and IPC Media (which is

part of the American Time Warner Group).

Institutional Context and Music Magazines

There is not one media institution that makes all

music magazines. As with all media texts like

films and tv programmes, they are made by a

number of different companies. Most

companies that make mainstream music

magazines are part of a conglomerate company.

‘Indies’

Only a few magazines are produced by

independent companies, and these tend to

be free/cheap publications or local fanzines,

such as Sandman Magazine in Sheffield,

founded and still run by two journalistic

entrepreneurs.

What are magazines for?

Magazines serve as a tool to bring advertisers to audiences.

In a music magazine, everything is an advert – it tries to sell you a brand persona of a band/artist, albums, singles, gig tickets, downloads, dvds, books, films.

Music magazines also advertise anything else that would appeal to its target readership (clothes, technology, cosmetics etc)

Ang’s ‘Imaginary Entity’

Ien Ang (1991) in her book Desperately Seeking The Audiencediscussed the manner in which media producers and institutions view audiences as an ‘imaginary entity’, as a mass rather than as a set of individuals. They will, however, often have a ‘typical’ audience member in mind when they produce texts.

Audience Targeting

Audiences are targeted by media

institutions based on demographic variables

such as gender, age, class, sexuality,

occupation, hobbies, where they live,

wealth etc.

In terms of magazines, the bigger the

readership the more the magazine can

charge for advertising.

Advertising

Advertisers still like advertising in magazines as they can reach very specific target markets.

Most music magazines have a very specific target readership based on age and musical taste, rather than social class (unlike lifestyle magazines).

16 - 2425 - 34(and just to be confusing 16 - 34 as well)35 - 4445 - 54 and finally 55+

The term circulation means how many copies of each issue are sold.

The term readership means how many people actually read the copy (think of how many times you have bought a mag and your friend have read it ‘for free’).

The Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) is a non-profit circulation-auditing organization. It audits circulation, readership, and audience information for the magazines and newspapers.

Circulation Figures

ABC provides verified information critical to the media buying and selling process (advertising) by conducting independent, third-party audits of print circulation, readership and Web site activity.

This information is therefore vital for magazine companies to sell their product to advertisers, which is how magazines make money. Cover prices only cover production costs. ABC also maintains an electronic database of audited circulation and readership media.

www.abc.org.uk

Research Bauer http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/

Research IPC Media www.ipcmedia.com

Go to the ‘OUR BRANDS’ on both. Then answer the following:

1. List which music magazines they own.

2. What are their main sub-genres? How much do they cost?

3. Do they cater for mainstream or niche audiences? (demographic) Why do you think this?

4. Pick 3 and try to expand on their demographic readership and find circulation figures (ABCs). Detail how the magazine tries to target this demographic with reference to content (images/articles).

5. How do these magazines use the process of synergy to sell the brand (think about cross media products!!)? Give as many examples as you can.

Synergy

Synergy in media is the way in which

different elements of a media

conglomerate work together to promote

linked products across different media.

Eg: One Direction’s promotional products:

Music, Magazines, Websites, Books, Film,

Clothing, Toys– all produced and promoted by

subsidiary companys of Sony, thereby feeding

Sony’s dominance in the music industry.

Magazine’s roles in synergy

Promoting a band that is signed by the conglomerate’s record label/s.

Promoting a music news website that is owned by the conglomerate.

Offering free CDs promoting music produced by the conglomerate.

Synergy involves the production of numerous products that then promote an original product (it’s not just advertising across media)

Convergence

The use of multiple media platforms to promote a media product. Often convergence is the result of synergy between different elements of a media conglomerate.

Eg: Using music websites, printed media, radio, TV to promote a new album.

Synergy almost always involves media convergence