What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

My magazine is similar to Kerrang! (K!) in the direct, bold, informal style in which it speaks to its readers. It has attitude, and that's what attracts the readers each week.

In terms of music style, my magazine is more genre specific than K!. 5th Avenue features MetalCore, Alternative and Hardcore music, with bands such as Parkway Drive, The Devil Wears Prada, Protest The Hero etc. Whereas, K! covers a wider range of music styles going from Pop-Rock to Heavy Metal, and Punk to Emo.

The layout of my magazine is also similar to K!'s style. The messy look suits the style of music. It shows that it has "balls" and attitude, and that it doesn't all need to be prim and proper to look good. It also makes it interesting to look at. If the visual style of a magazine suits the content then it can clearly target a specific audience.

I would want my magazine to be distributed in shops like WH Smiths and supermarkets, but also in small newsagents too. Magazines such as Front and Rock Sound are sold in places such as these. My magazine's style is a bit more select than most other magazines, being genre specific, so a small of medium sized distribution would suit it. Readers can also subscribe to the magazine too. This means that they get the magazine to their front door a few days before it's released, for a slightly cheaper price than in shops and you get a free gift. Most magazines have a subscription service, such as Metal Hammer and Total Guitar. Financially, this guarantees a more regular stream of income for the magazine.
Eventually, if my magazine and the styles of music were to get bigger and become more popular, I would want develop a radio station specifically for the music, charts, gig/tour and album release news etc. Only large magazines such as Kerrang! and Q have radio stations, so a station for 5th Avenue would be a big step.

I would definitely have a website running for the magazine from the very beginning. Most if not all magazines have websites showing band and tour news, features of the magazine each week/Fortnight/Month and usually have a subscription service available on site.


In order to accomplish my planned distribution, synergies with cross media products and ongoing financial stability of 5th Avenue I would need the help of a large publisher. Maybe at first I would have to prove that the magazine targeted a specific audience and could attract advertising to it so I would probably have to publish it at a loss at first but as soon as I was able to, I would try to get one of the big publishers to take it on. Bauer is the largest publisher of consumer magazines in the UK and second is IPC. Bauer publishes K! so it would not be interested in 5th Avenue as it is too similar. Therefore I would try to get IPC interested in it. IPC is owned by Time Warner so the opportunities for synergy within the corporation are immense.