Institution

The magazine industry is controlled by the four main firms that are Bauer, IPC Media, Hearst and Conde Nast. These firms produce magazines such as Kerrang, Q, NME, Now, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Vogue and Vanity Fair. All of these magazines are still widely popular but they all produce a similar outcome. This is becoming to make individual/unique magazines more popular because audience members like something new and different.

‘The magazine industry represents a hybrid structure. The top tier has an oligopolistic structure, with four firms controlling the majority of revenues in the industry. The remaining lower tier, however, resembles a monopolistic competitive market structure. Remember that in this type of structure, thee are many sellers offering products that are similar but are not perfect substitutes for one another. Numerous publishing companies vie for a share at this end of the market. The large number of individual publishers suggests that there will be several titles geared towards specific interests, yet each is somewhat unique in its presentation. Overall, the prices paid for magazines indicate more of a monopolistic competitive structure. If the entire magazine industry operated as an oligopoly prices would be similar across the industry.’ Alan B. Albarran

This quote above backs up what I was originally that the magazine industry is controlled by four major firms. It also states that these firms are all creating similar products that don’t perfectly fit their purpose. Although this quote does state that individual quotes are beginning to come into the industry it doesn’t really cover how much of an impact these types of magazines are creating. One of the main things I can pick out from this quote is that these four major firms control the majority of revenue produced in this institution. Of course this is true due to the clear fact of how many magazines these firms produce. But in the case of IPC Media a firm that owns magazines such as NME, Marie Claire, Look and Now which are some of the biggest generic magazines in the UK, which clearly shows their industry power. However in 2011 they shed 14.2% of their circulation year on year because of the declines sales of music magazines NME an Uncut. This shows that even though this firm has major institution power they are starting to lose revenue through the generic magazines they produce. This again reinforces the point that individual magazines are starting to become more successful.

One area of individual magazines that is becoming popular is regional magazines as people like reading something that is directly for them. It shows something they can relate to and people like the idea of reading what is going on where they are. As of this the publishing group Northcliffe Media now encompass 84 newspapers/magazines across the UK with 5.8 million readers, these magazines include ‘This is Cornwall’. The interesting thing about Northcliffe media is that it is owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust which is a British media conglomerate and is one of the largest in Europe. This goes even further than Albarran’s quote as there it only states about the four major firms that control the magazine institution. While the magazine of ‘This is Cornwall’which seems as though it may be produced individually away from a major firm is actually controlled by one of the biggest conglomerate powers that we have in Britain. This shows that although individual magazines are becoming more popular they still aren’t making it by themselves as the major revenue is still being made by these companies. With Daily Mail and General Trust’s accounted revenue in 2011 coming in at £1989.8 million.

Another regional magazine that has become highly successful is 24/7 which was launched for 18-30 year olds living and working in Devon and Cornwall. Although it has now grown to become the most popular free magazine for music and lifestyle, with the content now including Bristol, Bath, South Wales, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Somerset. You can get a copy free from over 1500 retail outlets or download a copy from the website. The thing about 24/7 magazine is that it is an individual magazine that controls all it’s contents and look itself but just uses Out Of Hand Ltd for print production. As this has no conglomerate or major firm power yet it’s still successful it shows that magazines don’t need this power to give them the ideas simply the funding. But the intriguing thing is that none of these firms are involved with 24/7 even though it’s doing well so maybe this is because it’s free. It shows a point that maybe these companies only control the revenue due to the simple point that gaining this revenue is all they are interested in rather than the actual creativity of the piece. But with 24/7 as an example it shows that the audience are just as interested in pieces that aren’t generically popular but more about the content.