IPC has published magazines targeting a wide variety of audiences over the years, from upper-class males to middle-class women. In the 1800s, their newspaper targeted educated middle-class males. Later magazines focused on activities like yachting and horseback riding for wealthy audiences. In the 1900s, they published magazines about hobbies like boating and birds targeted at older, upper-class males. From the 1920s-1940s, they shifted to targeting women's magazines at middle-class women. IPC would be an appropriate publisher for a new music magazine because of their experience targeting diverse audiences and genres over many decades of magazine publishing.
1. Task 4A
research into music industries and
institutions
Matt Hodgetts
2. What types of magazine and target audiences
and target audiences has IPC been associated
with over the years?
In the early 1800s, they published a newspaper called The Field (the largest newspaper in the
Europe). The target audiences for this would be middle class males who are well educated .
In the late 1800, the niche market changes and so does the subjects, topics and genre. they
started to make magazines that where aimed at male adults between the ages of 20 and 40.
some examples of these magazines are Yachting World and Horse & Hound. These would be
aimed at upper class working people only the rich would own a yacht or a horse.
The types of magazines that IPC have published in the 1900’s where Yachting Monthly, Cage Birds
and Motor Boat. The target audience for these types of magazines would be adults over the age
of 30. This is because that younger people would find this type of magazine boring and would
take no interest in reading this type of magazine. Older people would prefer to read this because
this could be related to their hobbies. They would be targeted at upper class males. This is
because these magazines are about expensive items that only people that own lots of money are
able to afford. Other types of magazines made where Women's weekly and Homes and Gardens.
The target audience for these are women of lower or middle class. This is because they are not
advertising anything expensive. This shows that the IPC have developed there magazines to be
targeted at the two different genders.
From 1920 to 1940 the magazines they created where all directed at women of a middle class.
Some of the magazines made where Ideal home, Women and home, women’s own.
3. This shows that perhaps the female magazines where selling better than the male ones so they
made more targeted at females so that they can make more money.
In the 1950s they had only made 2 magazines. TV times and New musical express. The target
audience for these are all genders and all ages. This is because nearly everyone watches tv and
listens to music. This shows that IPC are reaching out to all gender and ages and there is no
specific audience that they target.
In the 1960s the main magazines that they made where sport related. This could be because this
was the decade that England had won the world cup fort he first time so people where interested
to read about them. The main audience for this are football fans and people who enjoy football.
4. Why might IPC be an appropriate publisher for a
new music magazine?
IPC would be an appropriate publisher because they have shown that they can publish
magazines that show a variety of topics and target different audiences. They have also shown
that they can produce a wide variety of different of these topics. For example, with sports
magazines, gthey didn’t just do one, they made 3(rugby world, world soccer and shoot). This was
because if one didn’t do well then the others miht and they will still gain money. This will be ideal
for music magazines because they would create more than one so sell and more target audiences
are approached.
Thay have also got lot of experience as they have been around since the 1800s. Because of his
they have seen how magazines have been developed and seen what everyone likes and wants to
see. Since then, they ceated magazines that everyone will enjoy from sports to gardening. This
means that they would be perfect would music magazines because they have shown that they
can approach any niche market with any sort of magazine.
5. What sorts of genres of music/types of
magazines might they be likely to publish?
As this is new to them and they havnt made a music magazine before, I thinnk that thy would go
for something that is popular at this moment in time that everyone enjoys. An easy magazine to
make would be a rock one as there are plenty examples to look at and is one the most popular
types of music oput there at the moment.
They should target the magazines at teenagers to begin with as they are more likely to look at the
magazines and buy them. This fits in well with producing a rok magazine because teenagers the
more into that than any other age.