Future magazines.

Future magazine presentation

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Question.

What significance does the continuity development of digital media technology have for media instituions and audiences? 
Convergence(accesibility, portability, mobile phone apps, web 2.0(massivly impacted on the media institutions) NME have got there radio and website multi platform)
Synergy (award shows, application on i phone). 
UGC, (podcasts, forums, photographs, metal hammer allow you to upload music videos of your band, ugc ables us to be prosumers)
Significance, we expect more from big comopnays, they are under pressure to meet our new demanding needs, if you give your audience the chance to be prosumers they will be more loyal, NME want to be the biggest best magazine because of the advancements of media technology fans are rebelling against big magazines and creating there own, fanzines websites are now competition for music magazines.
How sales have increased of deacreased since digital technology has developed. 
How media is changing the way people look at things. 
How music mags are printed, distrubuted, produced etc.
What digital technology is available.
They can create synergy with facebook etc once clicked turned to convergence, twitter is a huge rival.
Proliteration of all diffrent websites, what is NME AND METALHAMMERS usp that then links to the user profital benefit.
Future and what you think.
Rupert murdox quote.

Homework due wednesday.

Revise terminology.
Add examples /statistics for your future posts.
EAA, example analysis,argument.
EX, example.
T, teminology.

In recent times the media industry has witnessed meteoric rise in new technologies.  The advancement of the internet, for example, as it entered its second phase enables consumers to access media in new and unparalleled ways.  For the magazine industry, this has presented both challenges and opportunities.

Print media is mostly in decline, a worry of course for producers of magazines.  Therefore they must assess just how important technological convergence is for helping their magazine to survive in the long run.

The Future Plc title Metal Hammer is a monthly rock and metal magazine, that has existed since 1994. In that time, Metal Hammer has built a reputation as a bible of both modern and traditional metal music. It’s publisher, Future, is an independent company with a portfolio of magazines aimed at niche market sectors.  As a whole, Future, has performed well in a declining market, with Metal Hammer and Classic Rock reporting increases in circulation, with Metal Hammer reaching a circulation of 50,269 and classic rock 70, 188 (ABC, Dec 08).  Perhaps Futures strategies involving technological convergence have something to do with this success.  One of their ‘pillars’ of business strategies  is to implore upon their existing convergences in order to further appeal to prosumers.  This is important; Future defines ‘prosumers’ as “young men or young-at-heart men (Future licensing.com). In general this demographic will be one of the most technologically involved, in the know about the latest technologies.  They are also, incidentally the most valuable demographics for advertisers.  In this respect, convergence is extremely important for Future and indeed Metal Hammer in retaining advertising revenue.  Advertising revenue has already fallen for Future, as they already saw a 15% drop in advertising from December 08-March 09 (futurelicensing.com, 2009).  It is therefore, vital that they use technological convergences to remain advanced enough to attract advertisers.

Metal Hammer’s target audience is a young audience, interested in music, “converging adults”, according to futurelicensing.com The National Readership survey 08, the latest available, shows Metal Hammer readers to be 64% male, average age 22.  Again, this is an audience that will be interested in many forms of media. So for Metal Hammer to maintain their loyalty they must fulfil their newly evolving needs (Uses and Gratifications, McQuail).

The Metal Hammer website is a demonstration of convergence, and has proved popular with nearly 60,000 individual visitors since starting (futurelicensing.com).  Alex’s web traffic analysis suggests that visitors are mostly male, aged between 18 and 24 and spend around 2.7 minutes on Metal Hammer.co.uk. Therefore the website has apparently targeted the right audience for Metal Hammer.  Users can interact, voting in polls such as “who has the best slipknot mask?”, giving users the sense that they are contributing to a community. They are also educated and entertained with video exclusives, Metallica Live, and Opeth on tour.  In this way convergence maintains interest in the Metal Hammer brand.  Web 2.0 allows users to submit and generate a content, so Metal Hammer has competition in that users can go elsewhere for such videos .  It is up to Convergence in order to provide the best service for users.

Metal Hammer has also had successful synergies created as a result of convergence.  On 2008, Metal hammer.co.uk encourages users to send in photos taken on their mobiles of them playing “Guitar Heroes”, combining the internet with mobile technology.  The guitar hero synergy  combined with a party sponsored by Metal Hammer at the O2 (Metal Hammer.co.uk), Podcasts have allowed content to be sent faster than ever to multi-media formats.

Indeed, distribution is an interesting issue to consider for the magazines industry.  The internet, podcasts and video channels allow readers to access their wanted content within seconds.  Where as hard copies of a magazine must be ordered or brought from a shop. Indeed it could be suggested that the gathering of content from the internet or mobile has replaced the need for buying the magazine itself, as subscriptions for Metal Hammer rose 8% from Dec-march 09 (futurelicensing.co.uk) suggesting there is not the same novelty when buying a magazine. 

However, whilst technological convergence is important for the magazine industry, publishers must consider that the extra content offered to consumers via convergences in technology, could replace the magazine itself.  IPC’s NME is an example of this as circulation dropped 24.1%, whilst its website has been praised for the amount of content on offer.  Metal Hammer has a unique community created by the interacting mode of address; ‘Join the Crusade’ and writing style filled with expletives ‘F*** You!’, readers of Metal Hammer feel a string sense of unrivalled community within the magazine.  The magazine sticks close to its ideologies of anti-establishment , avant-garde by  featuring adverts appropriate to his such as Attitude Clothing and HMV Metal, whilst the website has adverts by O2, Orange and T-mobile.

Overall techno convergence is important as consumers needs alter and change but for the magazine industry to survive they must make any technological advancements not a replacement for the hard copy of the magazine as Future have so far successfully done.  As online advertising reached 18% for future it is important.

Terminology.

•Web 1.0 was the first version of the Internet – a one way communication, from the sender to the receiver

•Web 2.0 is what we know the Internet to be now – a two way communication between the sender and the receiver, has allowed magazines to become better.

 
 

•A ‘prosumer’  is a combination of the words:

–Producer

–Consumer

•With the advancements of technology it is possible for us all to be film producers and distributors (Youtube)…because of this we ask more and expect more from media texts…

 

•Technological Convergence:
Convergence of technology occurs when multiple products come together to form one product with the advantages of all of them.

•Magazine Example: NME website; you cannot only read articles from the physical magazine (which have converged onto the internet) but you can also listen to NME Radio station (this is a multiplatform approach).

 

•Media Convergence:

When old and new media intersect in such a way that the way in which media producers and media consumers interact changes.

•Magazine Example: ‘Communities’ have been created on websites to share tips, stories, reviews and experiences of music and upload photographs. Consumers can become prosumers and actuall y be part of the construction of the magazine

 

•Synergy:

The interaction of two or more forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects.

In the context of the media it can be the promotion and sale of a product (and all its versions) throughout the various subsidiaries of a media conglomerate. For example, films, soundtracks or video games. To give a detailed example the Spider-Man films had toys of webshooters and figures of the characters made, as well as posters and videogames, this resulted in the creation of more revenue for the creators of the Spider-Man franchise than if they had just released the one film.

•Magazine example: NME Radio Station/sponsorship of festivals and events = synergised marketing

•The advancement of technologies has also allowed for greater synergy.  For NME, the tweets and Facebook updates and RSS feeds encourage listeners of the podcast. The podcast drives subscribers to the website. The website drives fans to the free information. The links among all these activities become the synergy where activity in one area improves the entire experience.  

e.g. macdonalds toys and childrens cinema films.

Viral Marketing
Definition: A marketing technique aiming at reproducing "word of mouth", usually on the internet and through existing social networks.

 

Guerrilla Marketing
Definition: The use of unconventional and low cost marketing strategies to raise awareness of a product.
E.g. Putting up ‘wanted’ posters/commissioning works of graffiti

•UGC – USER GENERATED CONTENT

Content that has been generated be the user/consumer.

Magazine example: music reviews; forums; vlogging; podcastin

 •Unique Selling Point

Making a product different from a competitor/another product in the same market; making it unique

                    

•Point of Difference

Differentiating a product from another; making it unique; the actual way in which a product is different from another in the same market

Example sentence; the USP and perhaps the POD of NME compared to Metal Hammer is that they offer a multi-platform website that allows consumers to surf their site; whilst listening to their radio station and watching their TV channel.

•Loyal Consumers/Brand loyalty:

Consumer commitment to re-purchase the same brand/the same magazine; NME consumers are extremely loyal and trust the brand to be truthful and to meet their needs

•Proliferation

Definition: A rapid increase in the number of a certain type of product.

•Multi-platform

A multi-platform series is a form of entertainment where the story is told over a range of media platforms; such as magazines, radio station, videos, podcasts

•Vertical Integration

Absorption of several firms into a single firm involved in all aspects of a product's manufacture from raw materials to distribution. For example; Rockstar Games have become a vertically integrated company by buying developers they have previously worked with, such as DMA Design who became Rockstar North and Angel Studios who became Rockstar San Diego. By doing this Rockstar have control over development, funding and marketing of their products.

Magazine institution

Two music magazines, prepare two case studys.
We will be learning about the institution, how there produced, distrubted, exhibted and consumed in the UK.
mainstream=IPC MEDIA, NME. 
niche=FUTURE PLC, metal hammer.

Representation of sexuality.

Homosexual male:
Feminine, higher pitched voice, camp characteristics, tight clothing, clean shaved, bright clothing, more daring, wine or cocktails, hairdressers, make up artists, designers, bitchy gossipy, love a gay bestfriend,

Heterosexual male:
Builder, fireman, business, sporty, solider, muscly, handsome, suits, less clean shaved, gym, office, pub, home with family.

Homosexual female:
Short hair, baggy clothes, trousers, either no make up or lots of make up, butch, bus driver, security guards.

Heterosexual female:
Long hair, smell nice, flowery fruit smells, lots of make up, beauticion, caring jobs, tight clothing, cleaners, positioned in the home with kids/ 

P.E.E

Point, your comment about the area of representation.
e.g. youth is represented through diegetic sound.
Evidence, your micro element/s that tells us this.
e.g. the dialogue is colloquial.
Explain, link the two.
e.g. this conforms to a stereotypical view of young teenagers, that they are rebelious and speaking in there own language.