The Process of Magazine Distribution

Information taken from here

Following on from my blog post regarding Magazine production I am now going to be looking into the stage following production, distribution. Similar to production there are many different aspects to the distribution of the magazine. The distribution is how the product goes from the production line to the hands of the magazine reader.

Magazine Producers
The magazine producers are the people behind the magazine we read, for example NME is produced by NME themselves. Magazine producers have the main control of the way the product is distributed because after all, the magazine is produced by them. Some magazines are produced by the same magazine producers in some situations. Depending on the magazine producers the way in which the product is distributed may differ. NME as mentioned above are a popular music magazine which has a large following of readers who purchase their magazine each week and also subscribers who pay upfront for their magazines. Due to this NME has a much larger budget and power to spend on the distribution of their magazine than say a regional magazine such as my own. Due to the budget they have they can use extensive distributing techniques such as having their magazines in all major supermarkets and post offices, also they now have the ability to host a digital version of their magazine. Smaller low budget magazine producers like the ones who normally create local regional magazines would not be able to do this distribution technique and would probably rely on much smaller distribution methods such as limited copies left in certain post offices.

Publishing Houses
Publishing houses are behind any last minute changes before the magazine is printed. An example of a publishing house is the IPC. The IPC help make sure the magazines are all printed correctly and make sure there aren't any issues with the printing of them. They also help target the different markets included with the magazine being printed.

Advertising Agencies
These are the people who take control of the advertising aspects of the distribution of the magazine.  Advertising agencies are only particularly used by larger magazine companies who create magazines for a profit as they can be quite costly for amateur regional magazine creators. Advertising agencies will from the magazine and target audience given to them begin to research into the market and find the best possible advertising opportunities for that particular audience. They will be in charge of the creation of adverts and other advertising methods, these adverts obviously have to be approved by the magazine producers however. Advertising agencies would not be a good idea for my magazine as it is only a regional magazine and therefore does not have the resources required. However I can do my own research into the target audience and devise adverts of my own.

Retail Outlets
These are the shops and stores where the magazine will be sold. These can be from supermarkets such as Tesco to small village post offices. Retail Outlets are very important to magazines as they are the place where the magazine will be purchased, without them it is unlikely that the magazine will sell. These stores will be paid by the magazine produces to place their magazine in their store. Due to this payment most regional magazines do not do this as they are a free magazine and therefore having their magazine in Tesco would not be an appropriate business plan. In their situation regional magazines often ask small local stores and post offices to place their magazines within their store and will not pay them.