Evaluation. Question 3

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

I think the kind of media institution best suited to distribute my magazine would be IPC Media; the distribution company that publishes NME magazine. I think this because I feel NME is targeting the most similar social group to my magazine. I think the magazine would work best in the Connect division of the corporation as this is targeted at women. It is also a British corporation and has a large portfolio of trusted magazines; so I feel this would be beneficial for my magazine. The Connect division does not currently have a music magazine designed for a more female market; meaning there is a definite opportunity for the publisher to take on something new and with experience from NME they would have the right knowledge to make the magazine successful. 

I could distribute the magazine in several ways including postage for subscribers and on magazine stands in shops. I could also consider looking into publishing the magazine online as this has become more popular recently making it more accessible to readers; particularly as my audience targets a age group familiar with the technology in which to achieve this.  

Of the three types of circulation, I think paid circulation would be the type I would choose for my magazine as this is what the majority of other music magazines such as NME do. This would mean a fixed price for each magazine as well as making it available for subscription which I think would be the most beneficial. If I was to go with free circulation, I think the people who normally buy the magazine would be more hesitant to if they think it is simply available to anyone by charging nothing; as I think my 'indie scenester' social group would be more keen to buy a magazine they know the be of value and therefore worth their time to read. However I think controlled circulation is too far in the opposite direction as younger people would not be keen on having to 'qualify' for the magazine as they would simply see this as too much effort just to get a magazine when they have much easier access to others on a news stand for example. 

Looking at the type of magazines IPC Media deals with, I would most likely make the publication of the magazine weekly with a fixed price, that would possibly be cheaper if the reader was to subscribe for a longer period of time.