COMM 130 Study Guide - Final Guide: Irving Thalberg, Slingbox, Warner Music Group
1
The Development of Magazines
Themes:
1. The modern magazine did not arrive in a flash as a result of one inventor’s grand change
2. The magazine as a medium of communication developed as a result of social and legal
responses to the technology during different periods
3. The magazine as a medium of communication existed long before the existence of the
magazines industry
Brand - a name and image associated with a particular product
An Overview of the Modern Magazine Industry
Five Major Types of Magazines
● Business or trade magazines
● Consumer magazines
● Literary reviews and academic journals
● Newsletters
● Comic Books
Business-to-Business Magazines/Trade Magazines - Focuses on topics related to a particular
occupation, profession, or industry
Consumer Magazines - Aimed at the general public
Literary Reviews and Academic Journals - (literary reviews) periodicals about literature and
related topics. (academic journals) periodicals about scholarly topics, with articles typically
edited and written by professors and/or other university affiliated researchers.
Newsletters - small-circulation periodical, typically four to eight pages long, that is composed
and printed in a simple style
Comic Books - a periodical that tells a story through pictures as well as words
Graphic Novel - an illustrated story that aims to be longer and more developed than a
comic book
Financing Magazine Publishing
Controlled Circulation Magazines - a magazine whose production and mailing is supported
not by charging readers, but through advertising revenues; the publisher, rather than the reader,
decides who gets the magazine.
● Custom Magazine - a controlled circulation magazine that is typically created for a
company with the goal of reaching out to a specific audience that the company wants to
impress
Paid Circulation Magazines - a magazine that supports its production and mailing by charging
readers money either for a subscription or for a single copy.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
2
● Circulation - the number of units of the magazine sold or distributed free to individuals
in one publishing cycle
● Media kits - databases compiled by magazines that tell potential advertisers attractive
key facts about their readers
Market Segmentation
● Segments - portions of a magazine’s readership that an advertiser wants to reach
● example from class: Cosmo // Redbook // Good Housekeeping are all under Hearst
Digital Circulation
Production in the Magazine Industry
● Magazine Publisher - the chief executive of a magazine who is in charge of its financial
health
Magazine Production Goals
● Draws an attractive audience
● Draws an audience that is loyal to the content and personality of the magazine (brand)
● Provides an environment conducive to the sale of the advertisers’ products
● Provides this audience and environment at an efficient price
● Provides a way for advertisers to associate with the magazine’s brand and audience
beyond the magazine’s pages to a variety of platforms’
Drawing an Attractive Audience
● Upscale readers - upper-middle-class or upper-class people with substantial disposable
income
Producing the Magazine as a Branded Event
Distribution in the Magazine Industry
Magazine Distribution - the channel through which a magazine reaches its exhibition point
Subscription
Single-Copy Sales
RECORD INDUSTRY (CH. 10)
The Rise of Records
Principles:
1. “oud o audio eodigs did ot aie i a flash as a esult of oe ietos gad
change
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
3
2. Audio recordings as a medium of communication developed as a result of social, legal
responses to the technology during different periods
3. The recording industry developed and changed as a result of struggles to control audio
recordings and their relation to audiences
An Overview of the Modern Recording Industry
1. Its ownership is international
2. Its production is dispersed
3. Its distribution is concentrated
Features of the Recording Industry Audience
● 2011 was the first year that digital recordings exceeded physical sales (50.3% > 49.7%)
●
US Sales: Singles vs Albums
Changing Media Platforms
● oeiall sold usi → a edia
○ CDs, CD singles, vinyl records
● physical singles < 1% of sales
○ not priced competitively with albums
● digital singles priced at $1.29, $0.89, $0.69
● digital downloads shot up from 4% to 40% (2004 to 2009)
○ note that the iphone came out in 2007
● in 2014:
○ 37% digital downloads
○ 32% physical
○ 27% streaming: Rhapsody, Spotify
○ 3% Synchronization - radio station listen value
○ 1% ringtones and ringbacks
● iteet adio: iHeat‘adio, Padoa → pe-chosen music streams based on genres, free
with commercials
● catalog releases have declined
● mass market chain record stores have declined
● streaming made up for losses
Diverse Music Genres
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Brand - a name and image associated with a particular product. Business-to-business magazines/trade magazines - focuses on topics related to a particular occupation, profession, or industry. Consumer magazines - aimed at the general public. Literary reviews and academic journals - (literary reviews) periodicals about literature and related topics. (academic journals) periodicals about scholarly topics, with articles typically edited and written by professors and/or other university affiliated researchers. Newsletters - small-circulation periodical, typically four to eight pages long, that is composed and printed in a simple style. Comic books - a periodical that tells a story through pictures as well as words comic book. Controlled circulation magazines - a magazine whose production and mailing is supported not by charging readers, but through advertising revenues; the publisher, rather than the reader, decides who gets the magazine. Graphic novel - an illustrated story that aims to be longer and more developed than a.
