Media Institutions

Magazine Publishers

Magazines are produced by institutions which are companies that produce, market and distribute texts. The two main music magazine publishers in the UK are Bauer and IPC Media

Bauer Media Group is a multinational media company headquartered in Hamburg in Germany. Since the company was founded in 1875, it has been managed by four generations of the Bauer family. Originally a small printing house, The Bauer Publishing Group has grown into a worldwide publishing and media company. The Bauer Publishing Group comprises 300 magazines worldwide in 15 countries, as well as TV and radio stations. Bauer started in the UK with the launch of Bella magazine in 1987 and as H Bauer Publishing became Britain's third largest publisher, Bauer further expanded in the UK with the purchases of Emap Consumer media and Emap Radio in 2008 to then become the UK's biggest publishing group. Bauer media brands include; Kerrang! a rock music magazine which originally began as a magazine then later in 2004 Kerrang radio was launched. Also, Q was first published in 1986, setting itself apart from much of the other music press with monthly production and higher standards of photography and printing, with an emphasis on style. Lastly Mojo

IPC Media which stands for International Publishing Corporation Media was founded in 1958. IPC Media publishes music magazines such as NME a weekly pop/rock music magazine published in March 1952, also, Uncut, a monthly magazine that mainly focusses on music, but also includes film and books sections.

Independent Publishing Alternatives

If a magazine is likely to have a narrow, specialist appeal it may be published by an independent publisher.

Although the sales might be lower, the magazine producer can also focus on an area that would not be covered by major publishers.

Shindig! is an example of a independent publishing alternative. Not only does Shindig! focus on music, it covers art, fashion, architecture, film and TV. According to the latest survey, 82% of Shindig! readers are in the ABC1 category which shows it has a wide range of different people buying it, however, men make up 83% of the readership where women take up 17%.