Information on magazine publishers

Information on magazine publishers

                                                                   Bauer

Heinz Bauer was the chairman of Bauer media group and his wealth is estimated at £1.1 billion. However, as he got older his daughter Yvonne Bauer is now the chief executive officer and has the majority control. Her sister, Saskia has spent time getting to know the magazine business.

As well as music magazines they publish a large variety of other magazines. These include: fashion, football, fitness, sport, car, gardening, fishing, walking, fish-keeping, movie, outdoor, motorcycle, baby, photography, rail, wildlife, golf, health and horse magazines, also magazines especially for men and woman. Some of their most popular magazines include: Q, Kerrang, closer, grazia and heat. Overall, Bauer offer over 300 magazines in 15 different countries.

Bauer media publish a wide range of different magazines so therefore it is aimed at many target audiences, mainly young- middle aged men and woman and also teenagers. Bauer covers a range of interests for woman such as celebrities, fashion, lifestyle and health. The main magazines that interest woman are heat, which covers all the latest on celebrity news and gossip, and other real life stories. Other magazines that are popular with females are heat and grazia which are mainly fashion based. For the older woman (around 50+) yours is very popular. For men popular magazines include FHM which is the UK’s biggest men’s lifestyle media brand. Also zoo and many sport magazines are aimed at males. A lot of the music and fashion magazines are popular with teenagers and they can find out about any upcoming gigs to go with friends or the latest celebrity gossip.

Bauer media has several multi- platform products. Including: print, digital, radio, TV, print houses, postal services, distribution and marketing services. Bauer Radio is a UK-based radio division of the Bauer Media Group. Bauer Media Group has a 50% stake in the British television company Box Television, the other half owned by Channel 4. Box Television produces several popular music television channels, which include: 4music, the box, heat, Kerrang!, kiss, magic and smash hits.

                                                                   BBC magazines

Immediate Media Company limited is a combined publishing house containing the former assets of origin publishing and BBC magazines. It was formed on November 1, 2011 and is owned by Exponent private equity. Tom Bureau is the chief executive officer of the immediate media company. 

It publishes over 34 magazine titles and over 50 websites. As well as music magazines the BBC also publish, history magazines, wildlife magazines, cooking magazines, gardening magazines, film/TV magazines and a lot more. The most popular magazines include: BBC focus, BBC history, BBC gardener’s world, BBC countryfile, BBC good food and BBC top gear.

BBC magazines offer to a large range of different target audiences. The adult magazines are all mostly aimed at male and females. Popular adult magazines include, radio times where you can get the TV and radio guide as well as listings, reviews and star interviews. Also BBC music which is more likely aimed at the older generation as it is about classical music. Top gear and the BBC match of the day are the main magazines that are aimed at the male audience, proven to be very popular and the craft, cooking and wedding magazines are more aimed at females.

The BBC also have a wide range for teenagers and pre-teens such as top of the pops, it’s hot, girl talk and the doctor who adventures. Furthermore educational and children’s magazines are published such as: learning is fun, cbeebies weekly, Charlie and Lola.

The BBC is very multi-platform. On TV there is BBC1, BBC2, BBC3, BBC4, cbeebies, cbbc, BBC news, BBC parliament and BBC Alba. A lot of these TV channels are very popular and are watched by millions per day. Also the BBC has lots of different radio stations. Radio 1 is incredibly popular with teenagers and young adults as it has all the current songs, most popular artists and it broadcasts to lots of people information on any upcoming gigs and events. There is also BBC radio 1 extra, BBC2 which is more popular with adults and older people as it plays a lot of old songs. BBC radio 3, BBC radio 4, BBC radio 5 live, BBC radio 5 live sports extra, BBC radio 6 music, BBC radio Wales, BBC radio cymru. There are many, many more channels that the BBC cover including a radio station for all the counties, such as: Bristol, Essex, Jersey, London, Norfolk, Suffolk etc. Also the BBC have magazines, books, BBC iplayer, podcasts, videos which are all multi-platform.

IPC Media

International Publishing Corporation (IPC Media) is now known as Time Inc. UK. It is a consumer magazine and a digital publisher in the United Kingdom with a large portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year. It is based in London and owned by Time Warner and Marcus Rich is the chief executive officer (CEO).

As well as publishing music magazines, time inc.UK also specialises in lots of other varieties of magazines. These include business and technology, entertainment, fashion and beauty, food and wine, home and design, luxury, new, music and TV, sports and fitness and travel. NME and Now are some of the most popular magazines published by Time inc.UK.

 New inc. UK does a range for both men and woman. The most popular magazines for woman include woman’s own which focuses on celebrity gossip, fashion and beauty, also now, Marie Clare and soap life. For the older woman is woman and home. Also there is a large choice for men cycling sport, rugby world and lots of sport and shooting magazines. For both men and woman magazines such as TV times are popular. Now and teen now are a magazine aimed at the teenage- young adult generation. The most read music magazines are NME which gives the audience information about gigs and concerts and articles on popular artists, also uncut which mainly features rock.

In 2010, Time Inc.UK published 50 newspapers and over 350 multi-platform products. Time inc. UK have their own website where they display lots of interesting and valuable information. Also you have the chance to subscribe to any of their magazines.    

Mood board analysis- Target Audience

Mood board analysis- Target Audience

 My target audience for my magazine is aimed at teenage girls around the age of 15-19. The pictures I showed to portray this were mainly makeup brands, popular female clothes shops and bands and artists that are well liked with the teenage generation. I also used the colour pink, as this is traditionally a female colour, so therefore is likely to be aimed at girls.

For example the artists such as Rita Ora, Justin Bieber, Union J and Shawn Mendes are very popular within the younger generation and to advertise these sort of artists on a music magazine would make teenagers more likely to buy and appreciate it. I used pictures of makeup and perfume with popular brands such as mac, Chanel, Calvin Klein etc. as these would appeal to the young female audience.

The word ‘new’ has been used on my mood board to show that it is aimed at people who like and listen to new and current music, including songs from the top of the charts. I thought this would be relatable with the teenage female generation as lots of teenagers like to keep up to date with the latest music. Also, the genre of my magazine from my mood board proves that it is pop/indie related as a few images such as the bright lipsticks, the clothing that the five girls are wearing and the bright makeup on the mac model show that the magazine is partly pop as they all stand out due to their bright colours. However it is also proven to be indie by the pictures of flowers, the hair styles and the round sunglasses.

As well as my magazine being aimed at the young female generation it is also aimed at girls who are interested in fashion and makeup due to the many pictures and brands of makeup and the clothing brands and pictures. 

Overall, my mood board makes it really obvious and clear that my music and fashion/beauty magazine is aimed at teenage girls who are interested in pop/indie music and like to keep up to date with the latest tunes. 

Mood board analysis- Advertisers

Mood board analysis- Advertisers 

For my advertisers mood board I chose pictures that would advertise to my particular audience. Technology companies and social media sites are more aimed at the younger generation, around the age of 15-19 so the pictures fit my target audience of teenagers. I chose Tumblr as this site is mainly used by teenagers and therefore meets my target audience. Depop is another example of this as people can sell fashionable clothes aimed at people around the teenage generation. All the food/drink brands are aimed at a wider target audience, however Costa and Starbucks are more popular with teenagers as they provide them with drinks that they like. Sports brands such as Adidas, Nike and new balance are more often brought by people around the age of 15-19 as they are a popular trend for teenagers.

All the clothes shops/brands I have chosen sell the latest fashionable clothes which appeal to the younger generation, also they are mainly female shops, which is my target audience. The perfume brands also match the female target audience. The makeup brands make it very clear that it is aimed at females, also the brands I have chosen are more popular with the teenage target audience.

Many of the brands I have used would be suitable to advertise in my music magazine as this would make teenagers more likely to want to buy the magazine as brands/shops such as Topshop, Zara, River island, Adidas, benefit, Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs and Mac are favoured upon by females and the teenage generation.

Overall, my advertiser’s mood board is advertising brands that would be suitable for teenagers and mainly females, which is what my target audience is. 

Mood board- Audience

Mood board- Advertisers

Kerrang! analysis

Kerrang!analysis                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

The Kerrang! Music magazine was named after the onomatopoeic word that derives from the sound made when playing a power chord on a distorted electric guitar. The Kerrang! magazine was published by Hamburg based media group. It was published on June 6, 1981 and edited by Geoff Barton. It was initially only for a one-time supplement in the sounds newspaper which focused on the new wave of British heavy metal and the rise of other hard rock acts. After that it was launched as a monthly magazine, then it was released every fortnight until 1987 when it went weekly.  It has had 34 years of heritage which suggests that they are a trusted reliable magazine.

The median age for the kerrang! magazine is 22. Having a younger profile for the magazine means that the magazine will become more popular within the genre. Having it on social network sites has an advantage as it will more likely reach the younger generation. Also popular with this particular age group the magazine, as well as the main theme of music, also covers film and gaming which is more likely to interest the target audience.

The main music genre for the Kerrang! Magazine is rock. Initially the magazine was devoted to British heavy metal and the rise of hard rock. People don’t only buy the magazine because it contains rock bands but also it is considered essential to rock music fans. It contains a variety of rock as this creates diversity within the rock genre, and therefore draws in a larger target audience and not just fans that are only interested in a specific area of rock. The genre is also emphasised by the visual style on the front cover of the magazine. The images and fonts used come across as violent and aggressive, as they are the kind of images associated with the rock genre. For example, the artists on the magazine are often covered in tattoos, wearing all black and are often wearing heavy makeup. 

The Kerrang! Magazine is very multi-platform. In 2000, the EMAP (a British media company standing for East Midland Allied Press) launched Kerrang! as a digital radio station across the UK. It was principally a ‘jukebox’ station, playing back-to-back sequence of rock and alternative music. On June 10, 2004 it was launched as a regional radio station in Birmingham with an advertising campaign by London based creative agency ODD. The radio had a number of specialist programmes dedicated to the many subgenres of rock music. The radio output included interviews with those affecting popular culture and society as well as those involved with music.  It stopped broadcasting on FM as of 14 June 2013 and again became a digital station, with listeners able to tune in from the DAB or the Kerrang! radio app. With this broadcasting change came a move in Kerrang! radio offices from Birmingham to London. 

As well as Kerrang! being a radio station, in 2001 EMAP, the same media company who launched the radio station, launched Kerrang! TV. The television channel covers the more mainstream of rock music as well as classical rock bands, such as Aerosmith and AC/DC and classical heavy metal bands such as Guns N’ Roses  and Metallica. Kerrang! TV is now a joint venture between Bauer media group and channel 4.   

Kerrang! Also have their own website www.kerrang.com which was launched in the summer of 2001 by Dan Silver. Having their own website improves the popularity within the target audience as having it on social media more suits the young age group. The aim of the website is to give more information to do with the magazine and also recent information in current rock bands and upcoming events. The website has Kerrang’s online shop, podcasts, message boards, TV and radio segments to encourage the target audience to be interested in the magazine.

Kerrang! Has also done in January 2012 a tour of rock music in the UK. They have also had their own official rock chart. The charts are every Saturday morning and feature 20 tracks.

Since 1993, Kerrang! has held an annual awards ceremony to mark the most influential bands to their readers. The event is hosted by major music celebrities.