Evaluation question 3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

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

There are many different modern magazine publishers which publish country music magazines. There are some publisher who publish country music magazines alongside very well-known publications such as American Media Inc., others supply a niche market with only country relating magazines, and some others even only publish that one country music magazine. The scope of interest in country music is vast therefore the types of media institutions who publish them are also vast.

Modern West Media Inc. is one such media institution, it is in an extremely small company who focus on the niche market of young women whom are interested in fashion and country music. They only produce and distribute COWGIRL magazine to entertain this audience. They are based in Cave Creek, Arizona as this is where the audience they are attempting to please are based. It is distributed to a range of book stores, supermarkets and country styled fashion stores. The fact that this magazine is targeted at three different types of store shows that its scope of distribution is wide enough to find as many people as possible within its audience. It was founded in April 2009 which also means that it will now be well established, and have the appropriate production and distribution methods to an effective level. Overall, this small media institution seeks out its audience appropriately however it is a relatively new and a small institution.

The USFR Media Group is a slightly bigger media institution based in Houston, Texas. This once again is a prime location as Texas is within the deep south of America where country music is extremely popular. It has an annual income between 10 and 20 million dollars which is relatively small for a publishing company yet the fact that it publishes only two magazines means that this moderate amount is not a sign of a bad media institution. It publishes the magazine Cowboys & Indians as well as Western & English Today which are both country magazines, the benefit of it publishing only country style magazines means that it will know the niche market extremely well. Therefore, it will be able to distribute my magazine effectively as it can use the experience of the other country magazines. USFR Media Group is small yet it understands the market for country magazines well so will be able to distribute my magazine to the level it deserves and requires to make it a success.

There is also American Media Inc. (AMI) which is a large well known American media institution which has the top return of sales from the top ten publishing companies in the US. AMI produces a large quantity of magazines such as OK!, STAR and muscle and fitness. It is the US’s leading celebrity media publisher, which means it is a very successful media institution therefore it will have the time and resources require to make my magazine a success through effective distribution and marketing. It has an annual income of 1.6 billion dollars which is a huge sum and shows clearly how successful this company is. However, the fact that it is such a large company can be a draw back as they may not devote enough time to my magazine and it may get lost amongst the other more established magazines. The fact that they only have one country devoted magazine whereas all the other target markets have at least two magazines targeted at them may also show that this company does not feel confident with the country sector. American Media Inc. is a huge company with a huge annual income however the fact that it is so large may mean that enough time and energy is not put into making it a success as AMI already have many successes.

American Media Inc. may have the most income and publish some well-known magazines however it does not specialize or understand the market of youthful country magazine. Modern West Inc. may publish COWGIRL which is a magazine very similar to my own, however they only publish this one magazine therefore they are not well known and cannot distribute my magazine in a way I would like. This means that my desired institution to publish my magazine is USFR media Inc.