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

By Jason K. Balogun

Gold Magazine

Gold Magazine is a music magazine dedicated to strictly urban music besides urban culture. Relevant information regarding rap, hip-hop, R&B and soul is the style of content that would feature within this monthly magazine. It is a magazine that primarily targeted at the urban community, which includes Black African, Caribbean and Caucasian audiences. Gold Magazine has two main competitors within the market, therefore there is room for another urban music powerhouse.

What Media Institution Is Best For Gold Magazine?

Spin Media

Spin Media is the publishing institution for VIBE magazine which is also a music magazine dedicated to urban music. The magazine is published on a fought monthly basis.

VIBE Magazine was bought by Spin Media in 2007 due to the fact that previous owners were not able to meet the costs of the magazine.

Spin media would not be an ideal publications company to publish Gold Magazine due to having a magazine of the same content on the market.

Harris Publications

Harris Publications is the parent and publishing company for XXL magazine. Harris Publications publish 6 issues of the magazine a year. XXL joins VIBE Magazine as the top 2 urban music magazine powerhouses.

Harris Publications would not be suitable reason being that they currently publish a magazine similar to GOLD Magazine.

Why No to Harris Publications & Spin Media?

For both of these magazine institutions, publishing more than one magazine of the same type of content would not be a smart decision for them. This is due to the fact that publishing magazine entails high cost in terms of printing. For example VIBE Magazine nearly went bust in 2007 because they were unable to cover the cost of magazine.

So What Media Institution Is Suitable?

Johnson Publishing Company Inc. (JPC)

JPC is the largest African American owned publishing firm in the world. They are the publishers of both JET Magazine & EBONY Magazine, which are both urban magazines marketed towards largely black communities. Both magazines contain information regarding areas such as health, lifestyle, relationships, fashion, entertainment besides many more.

EBONY Magazine

EBONY Magazine was the first of the two magazines to be published by JPC. The first issue was published back in 1945. Since then JPC have continued to publish urban information concerning various topics.

Due to growing demand for the magazine in the UK, JPC have started to distribute the magazine within the UK since late 2008.

EBONY Magazine is a magazine that is published on a monthly basis around the world.

Jet Magazine

JET Magazine is an American weekly magazine that is marketed mainly towards the black community.

It is the sister magazine of EBONY Magazine however unlike EBONY, JET is published on a weekly basis to provide readers with new and recent information.

UK Market

Publishing and distributing GOLD Magazine from the UK would further enhance JPC presence within the Magazine Industry.

GOLD would become their first UK based magazine. The urban community within the UK is strong which is a clear reason as to why GOLD should be published by JPC.

By publishing GOLD Magazine it would also benefit JPC as it increases the brand awareness for both of their existing magazines, here in the UK.

Why is JPC Ideal for GOLD Magazine?

JPC currently do not have an urban magazine strictly dedicated to music. GOLD Magazine is ideal for JPC as it also a urban magazine alike JET & EBONY however the content is regarding music. Therefore this allows JPC to reach out to a wider audience of those interested in urban music.

GOLD Magazine is a magazine that has the same exact target audience as both JET & EBONY magazine, this make things so much easier with regards to distributing the magazine to the correct audiences by utilizing similar logistics used for the other magazines.

Publishing GOLD allows room for JPC to compete with both Harris Publication and Spin Media in the market for urban music magazine. Healthy competition could result to the firm generating more income from GOLD Magazine.

Having a music magazine enables JPC to provide their existing regular customers of EBONY & JET Magazine a brand new service by producing a magazine subscription package that entails JET, EBONY & GOLD Magazine within that package.

GOLD would become JPC’s first magazine to be published out of the UK which opens the gate to more business opportunities.

What Would Be Used To Distribute GOLD

Magazine: This would be the main line of distribution. A monthly issue would be distributed across the United

Kingdom, primarily, and also across the states.

E-zines: Along with the magazine, an electronic format would be created in order for those with electronic

devices can also easily access the monthly issue of the magazine.

Smart Phone Apps: Due to the increasing demands of smart phones it is relevant that we constantly remain within

societies current trends. Information would be regularly updated throughout the day so that current information is provided to readers at the time of the event.

Twitter/Instagram/Facebook/Website: Social networking sites as well as our very own website would also be used on a day to day basis due

to the fact that our targeted audiences are provided with relevant and current information instantly.