Task 4 questions 1-3
- 1. Task 4 - Research Into Music Industries And Institutions Questions 1 – 3 Times Inc. first began as a newspaper in 1853 (formerly named IPC) and soon began the largest newspaper in Europe, showing IPC to be well recognised and very successful already. It then started publishing lifestyle magazines, aimed at white middle class men who have special interests in activities such as yachting, hunting and cycling. This would be affordable for men of upper class who have disposable income to spend on these lifestyle activities. IPC introduced prizes to magazines in 1889, showing how they are willing to invest and give out free incentives in order to draw in a bigger target audience, white is still white middle class males at the point. In the 1920s 1PC began to branch out into women’s lifestyle magazines, such as ‘Ideal Home’, aimed at white women who have a disposable income. During the 1920s, women were seen as a nurturing and domesticated housewife figure in a patriarchal society, therefore IPC show how they take risks by subverting the stereotype and shifting the target audience to females, rather than the dominating males to gain a wider target audience. Free cover-mount gifts were given to women’s lifestyle magazines in the 1930s, showing that IPS is committed to making its magazines unique and engaging for the target audience of women by promoting branding for magazines. In the 1950s IPC branched out again and started the ‘NME’ music magazine and so opened up its target audience further to working class men and women as well as middle class. This portrays how IPC are not just innovative, but are in sync with the progressions of society, which at this point, had taken a particular large interest in chart music and its artists. Also, it highlights the risks that IPC are willing to make to become more successful, as they continuously branch out and introduce different genres that would appeal to a variety of target audiences.
- 2. The 1960s saw IPC to bring together three rival magazine companies, therefore reinforcing the motivation to gain a wider target audience of a mixture of gender, class, age and ethnicities (due to the variety of target audiences between these three magazines). The 1960s introduced the sports magazine genre, for example, the popular football magazine ‘Shoot!’ Again, this shows the commitment to taking risks to gain the attention of a target audience interested in different lifestyle activities such as sports, which would appeal to those men and women in all social classes. IPC joined The Reed Group in 1970 to form the global cooperation and in 1976, IPC made other announcements that they had created the IPC World Video Division, portraying how the company is progressing with the advancements in technology, therefore proving that they are up to date and always finding new ways to interact and interest their target audience and progress further. Furthermore, IPC show how they find ways to ensure they are more accessible to people across the nation, which in turn allows their magazines to be read by a larger population. Due to the Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip becoming involved with IPC lifestyle magazines, such as ‘Horse and Hound’ and ‘Yachting Monthly’, this shows that the class of the target audience had risen to middle class once more.
- 3. In the 1980s, IPC announced the formation of the European magazines, showing their progression to reaching a target audience in numerous countries across not just Britain, but in countries with the likes of France. IPC also conveyed their hard work towards making their magazines of excellent standard in order to appeal and sell to more people by introducing the IPC Editorial Awards, handing out rewards to the committed and well recognised magazines. Not only this but IPC’S magazine ‘Essentials’ became a sell-out after just six issues, showing how IPC makes their magazines known to the nation, and liked by the target audience, causing them to sell out and therefore carrying a message of success to those magazines who choose to publish with IPC. The target audience became working class again in the 1990s, when they branched out and started publishing the TV Listings genre magazine, aimed at all ages (in the mass population, who watch television and were interested in what is going to be on TV). The TV listing genre became very popular and still has the title of the UK’s best-selling magazine, showing the devotion and commitment IPC have to their magazines. The 2000s marked a new beginning for IPC Magazines as they changed their name to IPC Media in 2000, further promoting branding by giving the magazines they publish for an identity with an original publisher. IPC showed progression alongside the media in the 2000s such as developing new digital media brands to fit with the fast-moving technology which became more visibly dominant through this decade. Therefore, when IPC acquired ‘Mousebreaker’, the gaming site, in 2008, it showed that they are willing to widen the target audience further to younger children specifically, who have been brought up with the internet and technology.
- 4. The target audience shifted to men, mass market women and up-market women in 2010, showing that IPC are focussed on producing the very best work to appeal to their target audience, which influences their magazines to become well-recognised and popular. IPC introduced real gift prizes to mums in particular on Feel Good games, creating new incentives and appealing more to a specific target audience, drawing them in and taking more risks by again subverting the stereotype of a typical mum being the house-wife figure, rather than a gamer, which is what IPC were encouraging. Finally, in 2014, IPC changed their name to Times Inc., which they are still called today. I think Times Inc. would be likely to publish a music magazine, probably in the sub-rock genre, such as NME, which would be aimed at men and women, of all social classes, due to how successful NME was as a magazine when it first began. Also, this magazine genre will appeal to wide target audience due to how many different people are interested in music and how many different music artists there are today that could feature in magazines, in order for them to capture the target audience’s attention and sell successfully.