task 4 questions 1-3

1. Task 4 - Research Into Music Industries And Institutions
Questions 1 – 3
Times Inc. first began as a newspaper in 1853 (formerly named IPC) and soon began the largest
newspaper in Europe, showing IPC to be well recognised and very successful already. It then started
publishing lifestyle magazines, aimed at white middle class men who have special interests in activities
such as yachting, hunting and cycling. This would be affordable for men of upper class who have
disposable income to spend on these lifestyle activities.
IPC introduced prizes to magazines in 1889, showing how they are willing to invest and give out free
incentives in order to draw in a bigger target audience, white is still white middle class males at the
point.
In the 1920s 1PC began to branch out into women’s lifestyle magazines, such as ‘Ideal Home’, aimed at
white women who have a disposable income. During the 1920s, women were seen as a nurturing and
domesticated housewife figure in a patriarchal society, therefore IPC show how they take risks by
subverting the stereotype and shifting the target audience to females, rather than the dominating
males to gain a wider target audience. Free cover-mount gifts were given to women’s lifestyle
magazines in the 1930s, showing that IPS is committed to making its magazines unique and engaging
for the target audience of women by promoting branding for magazines.
In the 1950s IPC branched out again and started the ‘NME’ music magazine and so opened up its target
audience further to working class men and women as well as middle class. This portrays how IPC are
not just innovative, but are in sync with the progressions of society, which at this point, had taken a
particular large interest in chart music and its artists. Also, it highlights the risks that IPC are willing to
make to become more successful, as they continuously branch out and introduce different genres that
would appeal to a variety of target audiences.

2. The 1960s saw IPC to bring together three rival magazine companies, therefore reinforcing
the motivation to gain a wider target audience of a mixture of gender, class, age and
ethnicities (due to the variety of target audiences between these three magazines). The
1960s introduced the sports magazine genre, for example, the popular football magazine
‘Shoot!’ Again, this shows the commitment to taking risks to gain the attention of a target
audience interested in different lifestyle activities such as sports, which would appeal to
those men and women in all social classes.
IPC joined The Reed Group in 1970 to form the global cooperation and in 1976, IPC made
other announcements that they had created the IPC World Video Division, portraying how
the company is progressing with the advancements in technology, therefore proving that
they are up to date and always finding new ways to interact and interest their target
audience and progress further. Furthermore, IPC show how they find ways to ensure they
are more accessible to people across the nation, which in turn allows their magazines to be
read by a larger population. Due to the Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip becoming involved
with IPC lifestyle magazines, such as ‘Horse and Hound’ and ‘Yachting Monthly’, this shows
that the class of the target audience had risen to middle class once more.

3. In the 1980s, IPC announced the formation of the European magazines, showing their
progression to reaching a target audience in numerous countries across not just Britain, but
in countries with the likes of France. IPC also conveyed their hard work towards making their
magazines of excellent standard in order to appeal and sell to more people by introducing
the IPC Editorial Awards, handing out rewards to the committed and well recognised
magazines. Not only this but IPC’S magazine ‘Essentials’ became a sell-out after just six
issues, showing how IPC makes their magazines known to the nation, and liked by the target
audience, causing them to sell out and therefore carrying a message of success to those
magazines who choose to publish with IPC.
The target audience became working class again in the 1990s, when they branched out and
started publishing the TV Listings genre magazine, aimed at all ages (in the mass population,
who watch television and were interested in what is going to be on TV). The TV listing genre
became very popular and still has the title of the UK’s best-selling magazine, showing the
devotion and commitment IPC have to their magazines.
The 2000s marked a new beginning for IPC Magazines as they changed their name to IPC
Media in 2000, further promoting branding by giving the magazines they publish for an
identity with an original publisher. IPC showed progression alongside the media in the 2000s
such as developing new digital media brands to fit with the fast-moving technology which
became more visibly dominant through this decade. Therefore, when IPC acquired
‘Mousebreaker’, the gaming site, in 2008, it showed that they are willing to widen the target
audience further to younger children specifically, who have been brought up with the
internet and technology.

4. The target audience shifted to men, mass market women and up-market women in 2010,
showing that IPC are focussed on producing the very best work to appeal to their target
audience, which influences their magazines to become well-recognised and popular. IPC
introduced real gift prizes to mums in particular on Feel Good games, creating new incentives
and appealing more to a specific target audience, drawing them in and taking more risks by
again subverting the stereotype of a typical mum being the house-wife figure, rather than a
gamer, which is what IPC were encouraging.
Finally, in 2014, IPC changed their name to Times Inc., which they are still called today.
I think Times Inc. would be likely to publish a music magazine, probably in the sub-rock
genre, such as NME, which would be aimed at men and women, of all social classes, due
to how successful NME was as a magazine when it first began. Also, this magazine genre
will appeal to wide target audience due to how many different people are interested in
music and how many different music artists there are today that could feature in
magazines, in order for them to capture the target audience’s attention and sell
successfully.