The document discusses research into existing music publishing companies Revolver, NewBay Media, and Vibe. It summarizes key details about each publication, including founding dates, current owners, target audiences, and other magazines owned by their parent companies. The purpose of the research is to understand industry norms and conventions in order to design a print publication that complies with publishing rules and reaches its target demographic. Music is an essential part of human history and culture, making it an important topic area.

1. RESEARCH INTO EXISTING
PUBLISHING COMPANIES

2. INTRODUCTION
My Media Studies Foundation Portfolio main task will be researching the existing music
magazines and publishing companies . Main purpose of this task is to become familiar with
publishing industry acceptable norms and design conventions. In order to produce publication
that is aimed at specific target audience the main purpose of this research is to find out relevant
information that covers business side of print and publishing industry. Looking closely into
publishing companies structure and what publications they are producing I will critically analyze
their publishing strategies in regards to demographics and what other publication or mediums
they are producing in order to achieve cross-media convergence.
Through this research I will be able to have a clear understanding of how corporate publishing
industry functions and who are leading publisher of music industry. With close critical analysis of
the products as well as promotional strategies they are using I will be in a position to design and
make a print product which follows design norms and conventions and complies with publishing
rules and restrictions.
The reason that I have chosen to research about music magazines is that music has been a
part of world history and will be with it until the end. It is essential part of people’s lives, since
some people work in music industries, play or produce music. Music played a huge part in
history and will play a big part in the future.

3. REVOLVER RESEARCH
• The magazine was founded in year
2000, by 2006 it was bought by
Future Plc. who sold the magazine to
the current owner NewBay Media in
2012
• NewBay Media also publishes the
magazine, it is being published bi-
monthly, 6 times a year
• The magazine target audience is
rock and metal fans, as its content is
mostly focused on these two topics
• Other topics that the magazine
includes are some other types of
music genres, singers and the
unfortunate circumstances of some of
the most famous music idols

4. NEWBAY MEDIA RESEARCH
• NewBay Media was founded in 2006
• It publishes music magazines such as
Revolver, Guitar Player, Bass Player
•Next to music magazines, NewBay Media also
publishes magazines related to Education,
Gaming, Video & Broadcasting and Pro Audio
• In total in publishes over 40 different
magazines, these magazines are based on five
different topics that have been stated above
• The parenting company of NewBay Media is
The Wicks Group of Companies, this company
own most of the voting shares of NewBay Media

5. NEWBAY MEDIA PUBLICATION MAGAZINES

6. TARGETING THE AUDIENCE
 Revolver magazine mostly targets elder part of population,
since the content of the magazine contain vulgar images and
articles. There isn’t any specific age group that they target
since there are also articles for teenagers in it
 Also appeal to people who listen to new music, as they
publish important and crucial articles about it
 There is also a section for those who want to read about
instruments that they play and tips on how to improve their
skills
 They target generations who are used to reading on computer
by issuing online magazine and inform their readers what their
magazine is going to contain by posting about it on the
website
 They also interact with their audience though social websites
such as Facebook, Twitter, etc.

7. CROSS-MEDIA CONVERGENCE
Guitar Player
Guitar World
Bass Player
Electronic Musician
Keyboard Magazine
Music Week
Radio World
TWICE
TV Technology
Digital Signage
Broadcasting & Cable

8. VIBE RESEARCH
• Vibe magazine was founded in
1993 by producer Quincy Jones
• In 2009 the production of Vibe
was shut down until InterMedia
Partners invested funds in it and
started publishing again
• The company that publishes Vibe
is Spin Media
• In 2014 Vibe magazine moved to
being online-only magazine
• Vibe magazine mostly focuses on
R&B and hip-hop music, with some
articles on other genres of music

9. SPIN MEDIA RESEARCH
• Formerly known as Buzz Media, founded by Anthony Batt, Marc Brown,
Kevin Wooler and Steve Haldan under the name Buzznet
• In 1999 Batt and Brown started a blog and by 2006, Buzz Media was
created.
•By 2012 Buzz Media acquired Spin Media and in March 2013 it was
rebranded to Spin Media
•In April 2013, Spin Media acquired Vibe magazine which they now publish
•Their current chief executive is Stephen Blackwell
•Next to Vibe, Spin Media also publishes SPIN

10. SPIN MEDIA PUBLICATION MAGAZINES

11. TARGETING THE AUDIENCE
 Vibe magazines target demographic is young urban followers
of the Hip-Hop culture aged between 18-34
 Vibe magazine is aimed towards both genders. By having
both genders as the audience this means that the audience
for vibe would be larger than if it was only targeting male
population
 The magazine involves slang and not complex theories or
choice of words, which indicated that the target audience for
Vibe is not an educated one, but those who take interest in
music
 Apart of it having Hip-Hop part, Vibe also issues articles
regarding R&B, indicating that their target audience is even
greater

12. CROSS-MEDIA CONVERGENCE
• SPIN
• Idolator (website)
• BuzzNet (website)
• The Frisky (women website)
• Stereogum (internet publication)
• Vibe
• Death and Taxes (Indie music news)
• Absolute Punk (website)
• Celebuzz (website)
• Pure Volume (website)