INITIAL IDEAS

Magazine Name Ideas:
-Sound
-Electric Bass
-Fortnight Flash

Cover:
-Two of the three magazines I analysed had their mastheads behind the main image which I think I will incorporate into my own magazine.
-I will also have anchorage on the cover to add meaning to the image.
-I am planning to have the main feature (double page spread) advertised on the front by making the band it is about the main image.

Main Image Ideas:
-A band sat around a recording studio looking relaxed and fun.
-A band stood in a car park with the camera looking up at them to make them seem powerful.
-A band sat around with their instruments as if they are about to play a concert.

Band Name Ideas:
-Truth or Dare
-Doll House
-Purple X

Contents:
-The magazines I analysed used different colours for the page titles to their descriptions which I think I will also do.
-I plan to have two columns and some images of other artists at angles around the text.

Image Ideas:
-Headshots/Band Images of artists.

Double Page Spread:
-The magazines I analysed used one main image and then also used smaller less important pictures which I plan to do also.
-I also plan to split the text into columns so the readers can find it easier to read.

Image Ideas:
-One main image of all band members.
-Littler pictures (headshots) of the individual members.

PRICE

The price of my magazine will be £2.50 and will be released once every two weeks.

I chose to publish it fornightly because my target audience might not be able to afford it every week, but in this case, they have two weeks to get the money together.

AUDIENCE

When audiences are classified, they are known as niche audiences which catagorise people die to their needs. These catagories are:

<15
15-24
24-35
35-55
55>

They are also classified into social groups. These are:

A - Higher manegerial, administrative or profesional.

B - Intermediate mangerial, administrative or professional.

C1 - Supervisory or clerical, junior manegerial, administrative or professional.

C2 - Semi skilled manual workers.

D - Semi skilled and unskilled manual workers.

E - Casual labourers, unemployed, state pensioners.

There are also groups that differ due to what they are driven by:

Groups driven by needs - survivors and sustainers.

Groups who are outerdirected - belongers, emulators and acheivers.

Groups who are inner-directed - i-am-me, experimentals, socially concious.

Groups who are outer and inner-directed - intergrated.

The target audience for my magazine will be for 15-24 year olds in the E or D category who are outer and inner-directed.

MUSIC GENRE and ANALYSIS

For my music magazine I will focus on the genre of Alternative Rock.

Existing magazines that focus on this genre are:

Alternative Press

   

Information:
-An American magazine based in Cleveland, Ohio.
-It provides readers with band interviews, upcoming releases, music charts and photos.
-It has an 'unsigned bands of the month' section which I think is a good idea and may incorporate into my own magazine.

Cover Page Analysis:
-The main image is of American pop-punk group, Paramore.
-The anchorage 'The new Kingpins' and 'After a near split, they're back to rolling strikes' is vital to the image as without it, the image would not make much sense. The group are dressed as if a bowling team which reflects the 'split' and 'strikes'. Hayley Williams is also holding a trophy which suggests they are the best group there is.
-They are all wearing the same coloured clothing which shows that they are all together.
-'Paramore' is a banner headline which draws the attention of people.
-Conventions of this cover include barcode, issue number, anchorage and main image.

Contents Page Analysis: (I was unable to include the contents page for AP Magazine because I could not find it online and do not have it in print form and so this is the contents page from Q Magazine)
-There one main image that the main column is next to.
-There is only one column but this is split into two by subheadings 'Features' and 'Every Month'.
-There is also a section of page numbers for reviews under the main image.
-The issue number, date and website are in the top right corner.

Feature Analysis:
-The Feature is an article that spreads over a few pages and is an interview with Paramore.
-A double page is used for one picture to introduce the interview.
-The text is split into columns so that it is easier to read.
-There is also a section in which there is separate information on new member, Taylor York.

Big Cheese

  

Information:

-A monthly British magazine which specialises in alternative music which covers rock, punk and metal.

-It provides readers with band interviews, upcoming releases, music charts and photos.

Cover Page Analysis:
-It uses the band's own font as to promote them.
-The band are all wearing the same jacket and similar clothing to show that they are all part of the same group.
-There is a list of artists down the side of the cover to make people who like those bands read it.
-The barcode is not in the place that it usually is on other magazines.
-The readers are also enticed by a free CD although it is not stated what the CD is so people might be curious to see what it is.

Contents Page Analysis:
-The text on the contents page is in only one column but the main title of each page is in a different colour to make it stand out from the description of it.
-The text is surrounded my images of some of the features included in the magazine.
-The house style is continues as the font of the contents title is the same as the name of the magazine on the cover. The colours are also continued - Red, white and black.

Feature Analysis:
-The feature is 6 things that the magazine recommend are worth doing in the current month.
-The house style is slightly altered as the colours orange and yellow is introduced, but as the colours on the other pages are red, this still fits in with the 'hot' theme.
-For each of the recommended things, there is a picture that helps to tie down the text.

Kerrang!

Information:
-A weekly British magazine that focuses on the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and other heavy rock groups.
-The name is onomatopoeic as it is supposed to sound the way an electric guitar does when a power chord is played.

Cover Page Analysis:
-The main image is of Jared Leto, the front man of 30 Seconds To Mars.
-There is a house style of red and black which is shown through the text and the clothing that he is wearing.
-There are pictures of the other bands featured in the magazine to get people to read it if they like them.
-The anchorage "I could be your worst enemy" and "Jared Leto's dark side exposed!" reflects the picture as he looks like he is up to something.

Contents Page Analysis:
-The contents page is very 'busy' with a lot of text and a few pictures. There is one main image which draws the readers attention to find out what that particular feature is.
-Like Big Cheese, the main feature names are a different colour to their descriptions.
-There is also a quote from a member of Metallica which tells the readers that the magazine means something to bands and might therefore make them want to read it more.
-The house style is altered from the cover page as there is no red on it, whereas on the cover, red is one of the predominant colours.

Feature Analysis:
-The feature is an article on My Chemical Romance.
-The pictures all share a similar colour scheme of sepia which makes them look like they belong to the same article.
-The pictures are of the group during performance which makes them look the way their fans like to see them.
-The house style of the magazine is continued as the text is red, black and white, as it is on the cover.

LIIAR INTERPRETATION OF THE BREIF

L

Cover Page Conventions:
-Masthead
-Anchorage (Text that ties down the meaning of images)
-Banner Headline (Across the cover)
-Direct Mode of Address (Calls audience 'You')
-House Style (Set of Fonts and colours used throughout)
-Synergy (Using the magazine to sell another product)
-Puff (Promotional advert for another service)
-Logo
-Slogan
-Issue Date/s
-Price

Contents Page Conventions:
-Page numbers
-Columns
-Images
-Continued House Style
-Features (Between 8 and 10 that the reader will be interested in)

Double Page Spread Conventions:
-Main Image
-Smalled Images
-Headline
-Page Number
-Column Layout
-Continued House Style

Camera Angles:
Cover Page:
-Depending on how the band is to be represented, the camera angle will alter eg. if the band was being portrayed to look powerful, the camera would be looking up at them to make them look bigger.
-A wide angle shot of the band would be the most effective because a mid shot shows them just as they are but in a wide angle shot, things can be added to mise-en-scene to represent the band.
Contents Page:
-A range of different camera techniques would look good on the contents page to add to the diversity of the magazine.
Double Page Spread:
-There should be a range of pictures of the actual band to let the reader know what they are reading.
-A range of different camera techniques would look good to add to the diversity of the magazine.

Colour Schemes:
-Every magazine should have colour schemes to keep it's housestyle constant.
-I think I may use the theme of red, white and blue in my magazine.

I

Publishers:
There are a few currently a few major magazine publishers that my magazine could be produced by. These are:

IPC Media:
-Based in the UK.
-Produces over 85 media brands.
-Sells over 350 million copies of it's magazines every year.
-Online brands get 20 million users a month.
-Produces magazine such as Look, Now, NME, Marie Claire and InStyle.

Bauer Media:
-Based in Hamburg, Germany.
-Operates in 15 countries worldwide.
-Publishes 252 magazines worldwide.
-Sells 38 million magazines a week worldwide.
-Publishes magazines such as Bella, Q and Kerrang!

Conde Nast:
-Main offices located in New York, Chicago, Miami, Madrid, Milan, Tokyo, London and Paris.
-Produces over 25 maagzines.
-Produces magazines such as Vogue, Glamour, GQ and Tatler.

Bauer media seems the most appropriate publisher to have my magazine published by as it is the only one who published major music magazines.

I

Every magazine should have a message/morals that needs to be portrayed in the planned way when deisgning and releasing the magazine. The way this is done depends on the genre of music they are trying to promote. eg. Heavy meatal music is not going to be portayed as appealing to pensioners (picture of them playing dominos or something) but in a way that influences fans to purchase it (in appropriate clothing etc.).

A

The target audience needs to be clearly addressed when selling a magazine. This can be done in the text, the pictures, the features and the advertisements.

Audiences are classified into different age categories. These are:

<15
15-24
24-35
35-55
55>

They are also classified into social groups. These are:

A - Higher manegerial, administrative or profesional.

B - Intermediate mangerial, administrative or professional.

C1 - Supervisory or clerical, junior manegerial, administrative or professional.

C2 - Semi skilled manual workers.

D - Semi skilled and unskilled manual workers.

E - Casual labourers, unemployed, state pensioners.

There are also groups that differ due to what they are driven by:

Groups driven by needs - survivors and sustainers.

Groups who are outerdirected - belongers, emulators and acheivers.

Groups who are inner-directed - i-am-me, experimentals, socially concious.

Groups who are outer and inner-directed - intergrated.

The target audience for my magazine will be for 15-24 year olds in the E or D category who are outer and inner-directed.

R

The artist/s on the cover of magazines need to be represented in a specific way to appeal to the target audience.

I plan to portray the artists in a positive way with some stereotypical apects to it to draw in the usual customer.

MUSIC MAGAZINE BRIEF

Produce the front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine. All images and text used must be original, produced by you - minumum of four images.