What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

I am competing against NME magazine, so IPC is not an option as they publish NME and the magazines would be too similar. I would need a large publisher that would be able to compete with IPC, such as Kerrang publishers Bauer. Bauer and IPC are rivals.  

The advantage of going with a big company such as IPC or Bauer is they are a well-known and respected publisher; they also have good resources and are in contact with retailers that stock magazines. They publish many different magazines, and it is unlikely that they will be short of money, and so could spend a lot of money advertising a new magazine.

The disadvantage of being a large company is one particular magazine may be ignored compared to others, the most successful magazines will receive all attention and focus, but limited work will be put in to improve less popular magazines. Also, it may affect my magazines editorial independence, and the focus of my magazine will be less on the audience, and more on advertisers to maximise profits.

It is important for my magazine to both promote itself, and to work in synergy with other brands. For example, my magazine could work in synergy with iTunes and produce updates from celebrity ‘Ping’ accounts to its readers, and inform iTunes of upcoming bands/artists.