Research and Planning: Distribution

There is a fair distinction between distribution strategies employed by major and independent magazine companies. Companies such as ‘Bauer’ distribute their magazines on an incredibly large scale, selling millions of copies every week and fulfilling their goal to earn a vast amount of money. They do this by producing magazines which are fairly mainstream and will appeal to the majority of the population. They make use of convergence in the media industry, distributing their product over a variety of media. For example, ‘Kerrang Magazine’ is broadcasted on radio and television, as well as being a popular magazine. Magazines such as this are available from popular outlet stores such as ‘Tesco’ and ‘WHSmith’, so it is easily accessible to the public ensuring that a maximum profit is earned. Weekly magazines such as “Bella” and “Take a Break” feature an audience profile which would apply to a large scale of people, making their distribution rates a lot higher. This differentiates immensely to independent magazine companies such as “Vice”, whose aim is to appeal to a quirky, niche fan base as apposed to making a great deal of money. Their distribution relies on a “pick-me-up” strategy and is not stocked in mainstream stores such as “Tesco”. As a result of this, fans will have to visit the niche stores that supply the magazine. This adds to the general image of the magazine, making it quirky and interesting which continues to appeal to the target audience.After researching major and independent magazine companies, I have concluded that my magazine would be distributed through fairly mainstream stores such as "WHSmith" and would appeal to a fairly wide audience. Although the music featured in the magazine would mostly consist of indie-rock, this genre of music appeals to quite a vast amount of people and would therefore be fairly successful as a mainstream magazine. It would have a multi-platform strategy; therefore fans could read the magazine and also learn more about the music featured on the internet and radio. The ideal audience would have lots of individual ideas, and would enjoy spending their time at festivals and gigs. They would most likely be radicals and aspirers, and would possibly enjoy making music themselves.