1. AS Media Studies
G322 Key Media Concepts Exam
G322 Section B
Case Study Into
The Music Magazine Industry
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2. AS Media Studies
G322 Key Media Concepts Exam
Case Study Support
To succeed in this section of the Key Media Concepts exam you need to develop a case
study on a particular magazine published by an institution within the contemporary
magazine industry and distributed in the UK. The focus will be on how this magazine is
produced, distributed (promoted and sold in print format and online) exhibited and
consumed (subscribed to, purchased or downloaded). The importance of advertising will be
a major feature. (Julian McDougall, Examiner)
IPC Media and Future PLC
1. Who are they? Research into a brief history about them.
2. Are they a national/international company (British/European/American), who do
they distribute their products to (countries)?
3. State some of the other magazines they produce (try to pick out the variety of
genres)?
4. What other media products do they produce, if any (for example radio)?
5. What is their mission statement?
6. Has IPC Media or Future PLC won any awards? What does this suggest about them?
7. Consider the use of NMT (New Media technology); how does the institution (IPC
Media/Future PLC) communicate with their audiences’ through the use of the
internet/mobile phone apps etc.
8. How important might your magazine be in the IPC Media/Future PLC portfolio?
9. How important is the relationship between the advertisers and the magazine
institution?
10. What have the institutions done to create and develop their brands (specifically NME
and MH); what synergies have they created to take away their reliance on
advertising revenue (consider award shows etc.)?
11. What are the challenges of the magazine industry? You must also be able to state
what you think the future of the magazine market is. Do they have a future as a
tangible product or are they going to have to move completely online? How
important is it for magazine institutions to reflect the ever changing and fragmenting
market?
12. How important is convergence for your institution?
13. How has the proliferation of technology allowed these institutions to find out more
about their target audience?
14. What is the impact of globalisation on these institutions?
15. What statements have these companies made about the current climate and their
future?
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3. AS Media Studies
G322 Key Media Concepts Exam
Research into Production and Distribution
1. What information can you find out about their production and distribution process?
(Some information can be found on their interim report). You should consider the
process of production and distribution for both print and online magazines
a. Here you need to consider the process for magazines in general; you may not
be able to find specific information about each magazine or their publisher
b. Consider the cost, use of digital technology, printing technology, cost of
distribution as well as time? You should also consider the
development/advancements of the printing process and distribution etc.
2. Create a positive and negative list comparing print to online production and
distribution.
Magazine Regulation
16. How are magazines regulated? The Press Complaints Commission (PCC)/ The
Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) /Teenage Magazine Arbitration Panel (TMAP),
Interesting debate -
http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/News/EmailThisArticle/207463/Editorial-Teen-
magazines-regulated-enough .
17. Many newspaper and magazine websites and NMT’s now include UGC (User
Generated Content) such as blogs, videos or forums, which falls out of the
jurisdiction of the PCC. What is the impact of these changes on regulation?
18. Consider the impact of unregulated content (consider freedom of speech and
democracy and how this might provide the potential for a democratic postmodern public
sphere)
Analyse Advertising
1. Consider magazines and online adverts; are audiences more likely to respond to
internet advertising or magazine advertising? Can you find some research into this
area to support your answer? (Refer here to the AIDA model: Attention, Interest,
Desire, Action (Strong, 1925) Vs AISAS: Attention, Interest, Search, Action, Share ) -
http://www.nikkeibp.com/adinfo/tips/PDF_01100114.pdf
2. How do the adverts in the magazine reflect the target audience?
3. What is the cost of advertising in the magazine?
4. What issues are there with online advertising and how might this impact on the
audience’s enjoyment of using the site?
5. How important is the relationship between the advertisers and the magazine
institution?
6. Can you find any statements from the companies about their advertising figures?
7. http://www.slideshare.net/belair1981/why-magazines-are-different - IPC research
into magazine advertising
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4. AS Media Studies
G322 Key Media Concepts Exam
NME and Metal Hammer
1. When were these titles both released? Research into a brief history about them.
2. Are they mass/mainstream or niche magazines? Consider how this might be a
positive and negative for them.
3. What kind of lifestyle does the magazine promote? What are its brand values?
4. What brand extensions have been employed?
5. How has the magazine responded to audience trends? Talk specifically about the
increased use of the Internet and how this has impact on the consumption of
magazines?
6. Consider the synergies of the whole brand of NME and MH; what synergies have
they developed? What makes them link together (colour, style, font choice, shared
lifestyle etc.)
7. What is the price of the magazines? Is this a competitive price (compare it to its
competitors?
8. Who are its competitors?
9. What does it offer that its competitors don’t…what is its USP?(Unique Selling Point)
10. What about UPB’S? What do the audience feel they are gaining from consuming the
magazine (here you can also link in the Uses and Gratifications Theory (Blumler &
Katz, 1974))
11. Convergence; why are these magazines so successful? Consider how their use of
convergences has allowed them to stay afloat in such a competitive market.
12. How have and how are these magazine responding to increased competition from
twitter, blogs, Facebook, Fanzines (these allow speedy updates of breaking news and
create communities)etc.
13. What impact has globalisation had on music magazine audiences (specifically those
who consume the magazines online)?
14. Consider the proliferation of marketing due to Web 2.0; how are the magazines
being marketed and exhibited to you?
15. Create a list of negatives and positives of the development of Web 2.0 and NMT for
the magazines.
16. What are its circulation and readership figures? (On most rate cards, the
organization will show its coverage area, demographics and circulation. Some
publications also list their readership. Circulation is the number of magazines that
are printed and distributed each day. Readership reflects the actual number of
people who read those magazines)
Analysis of Audience
1. Who is the CORE BUYER of your magazine (here you need statistics of age, gender
etc.)?
2. What is the audience demographic?
3. What is the audience profile (how long have they been purchasing the magazine? Do
they play music? Etc. What detailed information can you find out about them?)
4. What implications does this have on the way in which they consume the
magazine/what are their expectations of magazines?
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5. AS Media Studies
G322 Key Media Concepts Exam
5. What is the UPB (Unique Perceived Benefit) of the magazine? Can you also link in the
‘Uses and Gratifications theory (Blumler & Katz, 1974) (can you find any quotes
about what the target audience have said about each magazine)
6. How do they use the magazine? Consider if they subscribe, purchase from shops of
download from the Internet? How does this change the way in which they
use/consume the magazine?
7. What opportunities do the audience have and how might this satisfy
mainstreamers/succeeders etc.?
8. How does the magazine target their audience- through what techniques? You could
discuss here the ability that an NME audience can use their website to listen to their
radio station, whilst searching for clothes and following their favourite band and
applying for festival tickets as well as commenting on and talking with other
audiences
9. What it the mode of address? (“The way a media text speaks to its target audience in
order to encourage the audience to identify with it.” - the manner, tone and attitude
of the magazine) and how does this appeal to the target audience?
10. Consider how differently audiences will use magazines and online magazines; how
might this change their understanding of the magazine and or the institution?
11. Consider the increasing fragmentation of the market, how can magazines overcome
this issue?
12. What does each magazine offer the audience (consider UGC such as blogs, video
forums etc.)?
13. Many newspaper and magazine websites now include user-generated content, such
as blogs, videos or forums; how does this impact on the audience? How does this
engage audiences?
14. What are the circulation figures for each magazine? How has this changed over the
last two years?
15. How would the audience of NME/Metal Hammer describe the magazine?
16. What presuming opportunities does the magazine offer to its audience?
17. What is the impact of globalisation on these music magazine audiences?
18. Create a list of negatives and positives of the development of Web 2.0 and NMT for
these magazine audiences.
The Future of the Magazine Industry
1. Do they have a future both as a product as well as online?
2. How have audience habits changed when consuming media?
3. What has been the impact of this change on the magazine industry (production,
exhibition, distribution and consumption)?
4. How are audience’s habits going to change the way in which magazines are
consumed, produced, distributed today?
5. What do audiences think of magazines? (do they trust them? How do they use
them? What do they like/dislike about them?)
6. Have circulation figures dropped/increased?
7. What about the impact of advertising? (this is a fundamental aspect to the magazine
industry…how will advertising influence its future?)
8. In your opinion what is the future of the magazine industry?
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6. AS Media Studies
G322 Key Media Concepts Exam
Support Websites
- http://henleycollegetvdrama.blogspot.co.uk/search?updated-min=2011-01-
01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2011-11-16T01:24:00-08:00&max-
results=38&start=13&by-date=false - my blog
- www.slideshare.com – great site for prepared presentations often from professors
or other students – free to join
- http://www.alexa.com/ - collects data on internet browsing so this can be sent to
company so they can understand how their consumers are using their sites (time
spent on site etc)
- http://www.abc.org.uk/Data/ReportProductPicker.aspx?ttid=89 - will give you
circulation figures for your magazine
- http://www.nrs.co.uk/toplinereadership.html - will give you some great information
on demographic profiling of your magazine
- http://www.ipcmedia.com/ - IPC Media website
- http://www.futureplc.com/ - Future PLC website
- http://www.nme.com/ - NME website
- http://www.metalhammer.co.uk/ - Metal Hammer website
- http://www.mediaweek.co.uk/news/1013023/IPC-Media-opts-Pluck-social-media-
push/ - IPC and social media improvements
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/nme- NME news coverage from The Guardian
- http://henleycollegetvdrama.blogspot.co.uk/search?updated-max=2011-11-
16T01:24:00-08:00&max-results=7&start=7&by-date=false – Scroll down to find
information about Future PLC and Metal Hammer and IPC Media and NME
The Future of The magazine Industry
- http://www.slideshare.net/jdojc/how-magazines-can-survive-the-digital-age - How
can Magazines Survive the Digital Age?
- http://www.slideshare.net/samfarrand/teenage-magazine-market-overview
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jan/05/magazine-industry-publishing-
recession
- http://www.slideshare.net/jdojc/how-magazines-can-survive-the-digital-age - the
evolution of the magazine industry
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7. AS Media Studies
G322 Key Media Concepts Exam
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JefdzMQ4pws&feature=related – the future of the print
magazine?
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gel9C85vZWM&feature=related – Wired Magazine
developments online
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ppr9bd9TRfw – print Vs online magazines
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