The music magazine industry is volatile; you never know what
will sell and what will not. Bauer, IPC, BBC Magazines and Hearst in Britain are
some of the major magazine publishers. The biggest is Bauer and it owns Kerrang, Q and Mojo, which are three
of the most popular music magazines. IPC own NME and Uncut, which are
also big sellers in the music magazine world. IPC is the second biggest
magazine publisher. BBC magazines own Music,
a magazine made specifically by the BBC Franchise. Hearst however does not sell
music magazines.
There aren’t many
music magazines available because publishers don’t want to publish a magazine
that is similar to a current popular one. This also shows how harsh the industry
can be. Recently music magazines have been able to expand to online versions
which can be more popular amongst younger generations. Online magazines are more
affordable to run, a lot easier to create and often give smaller brands opportunity
to advertise, especially if they appeal to a younger audience. Although the
classic magazine does give you a physical copy and it's portable, it has no
interactivity and unlike an online magazine you can't hear the music. Online
magazines seem to have a lot more content readily available to the reader
whilst continuing to create income from advertisers. Advances in technology
have had a positive effect on the magazine world however there are still a few
disadvantages; the reader needs to have an electronic device to read it on and internet
connection, which isn’t always available. Whereas with paper versions, you can
take and read them anywhere, therefore traditional magazines are much more practical.
