Magazine Institution Research

As I am I designing my own music magazine I have decided to do some research into the main magazine institutions. The aim of me doing this exercise is to find out what type of institution may distribute my media product and why.

International Publishing Company
IPC is the United Kingdom's leading consumer magazine. It has a very large and impressive portfolio selling over 350 million magazines a year. Over 26 million people in the UK read a magazine distributed by IPC. IPC Media is split into five distinct publishing divisions: IPC Connect, IPC Inspire, IPC Ignite, IPC Southbank and IPC TX. Magazine's that IPC own include NME and Guitar & Bass.

Bauer Media Group
A large German publishing companies based in Hamburg, which operates in 15 countries and was founded in 1975. Bauer owns 282 magazines including Kerrang, Mojo and Q. All three of these magazines are advertised as men's magazines on the Bauer Media website.

Emap
Emap is the second largest magazine publisher in the UK. However in 2007 the company split, it was sold to Guardian Media Group and private equity form Apax -which owns incisive-for £1 billion. The new company is now called Incisive-Emap. Magazines they publich include, Kiss and Magic, which also have radio stations and music T.V channles.

Development Hell Ltd.
Based in South London and has a business plan to launch three magazines over six years. It is a new institution which was first launched in March 2003. They bought clubbing magazine "Mixmag" from Emap in November 2003.

Double Page Spread Analysis

I have decided to analyse two double page spread articles to get a better understanding of how they are written and presented for when I write my own article in my music magazine. This article comes from Q magazine which is not just targeted for indie/rock fans but includes a mixed genre of music. I have analysed an article on the R&B group N-Dubz .

The first thing i notice about this double page spread is that most of the article is taken up by a big low angled picture of the group. The group are dressed casually, especially the two boys "Dappy" and "Fazer" who are in tracksuits, trainers and caps. But they also show their unique style by wearing scarfs loose under their caps, this gives the feeling that there music also has uniqueness. The fact that all the members of N-Dubz are dressed casually tells the reader the article will also be wrote in a casual way, this creates an anchorage. The puff in the middle of the picture "The haters come at you to plunge a big metal ting into your leg or neck". This is to draw the reader’s attention, mostly what you find in articles in music magazines are the singers or group talking about their music. However in this article they are talking not just about their fans or music not also the people who don't appreciate them and how they react to N-Dubz.

The main headline of this article is "Who the hell do N-DUBZ think they are?" The headline is in bold black text for "N-DUBZ" which is in a blue colour. This is so the name of the group will stand out and therefore fans of the ban will see their name be attracted to buying the magazine. The headline also relates to Cohen's Moral Panic. This is when a condition or a person emerges as a threat to societal values and interests. The headline is quite aggressive and therefore appeals to the moral panic, the folk devil being the person who is saying this headline. Under the headline there is a kind of sell line for the article "The sound of young Britain. “Init?" This gives an idea of the type of language this group uses and what young Britain really is like by using the words "Init".

As usual the article starts with a drop capital again this is to break up the text and make it look more interesting. The article begins with telling us how hectic N-Dubz lifestyle is and using a younger form of language. For example the word "buzzing" which is onomatopoeia is used as a verb. The hectic lifestyles of the N-Dubz would also appeal to the younger generation. The personality of the group is also brought out in the article by using quotes from the members, such as, "Alright, bruv!" and "S'appening?" This also brings across the friendly and relaxed atmosphere around the N-Dubz. However although many quotes are used which are in an informal language the mode of address is actually very formal and almost seems as though it is targeted at a older generation. For example, "He is dressed in an oversized hoodie, low-slung jeans and old-school Adidas trainers. He says 'S'appening?' again, several times in fact, but never seems to require an answer."

The colours used in this article are kept very simple and professional. No bright colours are used behind the text of the article and the only puff which is used is on a white border on the picture of N-Dubz. The mis-en-scene of the article is white and the writing formally set out with two columns and one wide gutter, to again break down the text. This layout is a traditional house-style design of a Q Magazine and even includes the red "Q" logo on the bottom left hand corner of the page next to the page number.