MAIN TASK

Researching the market place              

I looked on the two main magazine publishing websites; IPC Media and Bauer Publications to find and research music magazines.                    

      

I looked at Q magazine as this would be a competitor to my magazine. The price of Q magazine is £3.90. The frequency of the publication is monthly. The issue size of Q differs slightly on each issue but they all seem to be around 115-132 pages. Usual features include The Q50, were the magazine lists the top 50 essential tracks of the month; Cash for Questions, in which a famous celeb/band answers question sent in by readers - who win £25 if their question is printed; Ten Commandments, were a particular singer creates their very own ten commandments by which to live and Rewind, in which they take us back in time through the history of music via archive issues of Q. Its regulars consist of new music releases, reissues (music), music compilations, film and live concert reviews, as well as radio and television reviews. Q's publisher is Bauer.

http://www.qthemusic.com/ 

Another magazine that would be a competitor to mine is NME. The price of NME is £2.30. The frequency of publication is weekly and is out every Wednesday. The issue size of NME is generally around 70 pages. The regulars in NME are generally pretty similar to Q magazine and other music magazines as they consist of: new music releases, film, live concert reviews and radio and television reviews. Feature articles consist of famous, widely known bands each week on their new single or album. The magazine also contains posters of these bands which acts as a puff to give the magazine something extra to help with it's selling point. NME's publisher is IPC media.

http://www.nme.com/

I also looked at the magazine UNCUT. The price of this magazine is £4.60. The frequency of publication for UNCUT is monthly, hence the price. UNCUT's issue size is generally around 149 pages. The feature articles that appear in UNCUT are: on old albums, interviews with film directors, music and film news, and reviews of all major new album, film and DVD releases. Its music features tend to focus on genres such as Americana, rock and alternative country. Regular content consists of: music releases and film information. UNCUT's publisher is IPC media.

http://www.uncut.co.uk/

A further music magazine that I researched was MOJO. The price of MOJO is £4.30. The frequency of the publication is monthly. I could not find the issue size for MOJO magazine, however as it is a monthly magazine I can estimate that there will be a similar amount of pages as Q and UNCUT, around 140. Feature articles in the magazine inclue; band interviews which are also regulars as there are several intwerviews in each issue. Other feature articles inclue competitions. Mojo regularly includes a covermount CD which ties in with a current magazine article or them. There are frequent coverage of classic rock acts such as The Beatles and Bob Dylan, it has nevertheless featured many newer acts. MOJO's publisher is Bauer.

http://www.mojo4music.com/blog/features/