Industrial context- medium research

 Industrial context- medium research

September 18th 1663- the first magazine was invented

1710- the first modern magazine

1855- the first coloured magazine

1870- learning to read and write was made compulsory in England

1880- magazines grew in popularity

1892- vogue was founded

1899- national geographic created and football clubs produce programmes and magazines

1910- development of two and three colour printing processes

1923- time magazine created

1954- sports illustrated created

1967- rolling stone created  

Despite a number of high-profile takeovers and buyouts, the magazine industry still remains more diverse than newspapers. In terms of consumer magazines, Bauer Media, Immediate Media Company and Future Plc – controlled an estimated 37% of circulation in 2020. Other forms of magazine such as the business to business sector are even more diverse. This allows for more plurality in the media rather than the repeated ideologies from the same large media conglomerates. In the magazine industry, niche magazines are more likely to survive and not become swallowed in mainstream media. 

British publisher Future stands out for having almost doubled its number of publications from 17 to 30 between 2019 and 2020, driven by an ambiguous growth strategy. Last year the company completed its £140m takeover of TI Media, with brands including Country Life, Wallpaper and Cycling Weekly. This positively affected the company as their revenue has quadrupled between 2016 and 2019 to reach £221.5 million and then in 2020 revenue was at £339.6 million. Other companies have succeeded as much, for example, Hearst and Conde Nast, which recently were forced to cut costs and make redundancies due to the decline in circulation.

Bauer media dominates circulation of consumer magazines with a total of 126.08 million. EMPIRE, owned by Bauer media is also the most popular film magazine.

Magazine companies are generally funded in a number of ways, advertising, purchase price and pre-paid subscriptions. Advertising is usually the primary source of revenue but relying solely on this form can be regarded as risky and tactical so companies tend to use a combination. Digital magazines are becoming increasingly popular due to declines in circulation for print copies, in this instance, its easier to distribute the digital magazine. It can be advertised in social medias and available on the companies website for readers to download. This allows for a ease of accessibility which is desired and useful to readers. Otherwise, for print magazines, depending on the brand they are sold in a number of ways. The Big Issue is infamous for having street sellers, other companies may adopt this technique which is convenient for passers-by. Magazines can also be sold in shops and convenience stores. Gaining more readers and interest typically relies on word of mouth, another reader recommending the product or it being advertised on social media.

The ways in which audiences access magazines has recently become more diverse because of technological advances and a shift in consumer habits. Before people primarily bought paper copies from local shops, but now you can access magazines through digital downloads and smartphone apps.