Evaluation: Q3) What kind of institution might distribute your media product and why?

The institution company I chose to distribute my magazine would be one that doesn’t yet distribute a magazine of my genre or style. I believe that this is mandatory so that it can enhance the magazine’s audience who read similar magazines. I would not choose a company such as IPC Media or Bauer Media, who distribute hugely successful magazines such as Q, Kerrang!, NME and. This is because my magazine is centred on these magazines therefore it’s too similar to use, when the distributors would want something different to produce to their readers.

In contrast to these distributors, Future PLC distributes magazines that fit within my genre therefore my magazine would appeal to their audience. This portrays that there is consistency within their magazines that they choose to distribute, as all of the magazines follow the typical stereotypes and demographics of a male audience aged within 16-24; producing magazines about guitars and bass which are hugely popular within the indie genre, as well as brands such as Xbox and Playstation – which is generally the same target audience that I aim to reach out to. I feel like this is the most appropriate distributor to go for as they would do a successful job of publishing my magazine and put it on the pedestal of music magazines – it wouldn’t go unnoticed. Future PLC has great experience in publishing and distributing music magazines as well as involving itself with brands appropriate to the target audience, so it is almost guaranteed that my magazine will be successful with this distributor.

Some examples of magazines that Future PLC have published are Guitarist, Total Guitar, Musicradar (an online magazine) and Rhythm. Although some of these magazines are not necessarily well-known to some readers, they all fit within the same genre of my magazine therefore this would enhance my magazine’s readership and circulation as even just mentioning the genre of ‘indie’ would interest a lot more readers of whom read the other magazines as they all have similar attributes and qualities; this would interest Future PLC as they would feel intrigued to try out my magazine as they are aware of the previous success from the other magazines that they have published.

Another reason that I have chosen to use Future PLC as my distributor is because they were named ‘Best Digital Publisher’ at the AOP awards in 2011. Although having a print magazine is very significant, my magazine is going to be a hit online as well therefore a distributor that can maximise the success of my online magazine is essential, especially to beat other successful magazines such as Q. As the new media is currently taking over the traditional, print media, it is necessary that I create both of these types of magazines as I want my magazine to appeal to as much of the audience that I can. I believe that Future PLC will be able to take full advantage of my magazine and, with combined efforts, my magazine will be able to knock our competition right off the scales.