Prices/ publishing of music magazine

Price and Publishing

From researching similar music magazines I have decided to sell my magazine at £2.50 and publish it monthly. This is cheaper than most monthly magazines but will still cover the cost of printing. I am also going to publish my magazine monthly as this is the most common way of publishing and I would be able to include more information in each magazine. As the target audience is quite young (teens to early twenties) this may mean that many of them are not employed or are still in education and therefore they will not have large amounts of money to buy expensive magazines weekly. So, I think that keeping my magazine price down will allow more of my target audience to buy it and create a more successful magazine overall. Another reason for my low price is that most other music magazines are more expensive and when people look at magazines they will usually go for the cheapest price they can get that still accommodates for their needs.

Price/Publishing of Magazines I have researched:

• 'NME' = £2.20 (weekly)
• 'Clash' = £3.80 (monthly)
• 'Q' = £3.50 (monthly)

Target Audience of Music Magazine

Target Audience

 

Age: 15-25


The age of my target audience for my music magazine will be 15-25. From researching and analysing other music magazines of similar style to how I would like to create mine, I have found that the most common target ages are from teen years to early twenties. For example, NME’s average audience age is 25.

Gender: male/female


I believe that my music magazine should target both male and female as indie music is enjoyed by both audiences. By not designing the magazine to suit one gender this should increase in the number sold.

Class: C2/D/E

When looking at social classes I believe that my target audience is mainly the D and E classes. This is as most young people are unemployed due to being in education or further education and only being semiskilled. I believe I am targeting inner directed groups of people as I think that the indie style is quite unique and people who follow its fashion stand out in their own way. However, some of my audience may be outer-directed as they long to be part of the indie style and may follow friends and buy the magazine due to ‘fitting in with the crowd’. 

Music Magazine Analysis 2 Q

Q Magazine Analysis (Prezi)

I have used prezi to present my analysis of 'Q' magazine

Magazine Analysis 1 NME

NME (New Musical Express) Magazine

• Popular Music magazine
• Published in the UK weekly (since 1952)
• First began as a music newspaper and later changed to a magazine
• Became the best selling music magazine (UK) in the 1970s
• Publishing company: IPC Media (Time Inc.)
• http://www.nme.com/

Front cover (October 2011)



Language

 

The Masthead

The masthead is designed on this magazine to stand out to the viewer. The main aim of the masthead is to show the title/logo of the magazine company and this is used in every issue published. The size of the logo stays the same whereas the colour varies from issue to issue. This allows the ‘NME’ logo to continue to stand out in every issue against the main image. For example: in this particular issue the ‘NME’ logo is in the colour blue so that it stands out against the white background used. The masthead is important for a magazine as it allows the company to be recognisable to the audience.

Main Image

The main image is used to attract the audiences’ immediate attention. This is the main part of the magazine that is most likely to gain attention for a number of reasons. For example: In every issue of ‘NME’ a celebrity icon is the subject of the image and nearly always is a medium close up shot (sometimes a long shot for members of a band). Eye contact is also important and as you can see from this issue the majority of the band members of The Vaccines are looking directly into the camera, which personally involves the viewer. Using a celebrity in the main image may attract fans to read the magazine.

The banner headline used ‘THE VACCINES’ links to the image to show the audience who the image includes and also the sub-text used underneath/ on top of this text ‘CLEAN UP!' shows what the audience is going to find out about inside the magazine (usually the main article of the magazine relates to the main image)


Only two thumbnail images are used on this cover but the idea of these are to give more information and sneak peeks into what the content of the magazine includes. This draws the viewer in to read the rest of the magazine.

Coverlines

There are 3 coverlines on this cover which relate to other articles inside the magazine. They support the colour scheme (blue, white, black)

Colour Scheme

The colours used on this cover are mainly nblue, black and white. The blue text stands out from the background as the main piece of information. The use of the same colours on the front cover helps to make the information stand out but also keeps it simple (easy to read) and less distracted (+ attractive to look at).

Other

Essential information is also placed on the cover but smaller. For example: barcode/ price/ date/ issue number etc.
Teasing contents- These are used along the bottom of the magazine to give further insight into what is in the magazine. There are no teasing contents on this cover but in other NME editions the text has sometimes been ‘PLUS…’ and then gives a list of other bands and artists that are also included in the magazine. However, they do have a list of bands which are placed near the bottom on this cover that could be thought of as teasing contents.

Institution

The company that produces the magazine NME is IPC Media (Time Inc.)

Ideology/ Audience

I believe NME magazine's audience is from teenagers to people in their early twenties. This is because of the genre of music and the type of content the magazine portrays. NME covers different genres however the main ones that stand out to me are alternative/indie and rock. This style of music is mainly enjoyed by the younger generation as they are more likely to go to gigs/ concerts by these type of artists. The content of the magazine includes information on these artists and so young people are likely to want to read this magazine more than an older generation.The magazine is also designed to attract young people- its informal and includes bold headers and bright colours which can be associated with young people. I believe the ideology of this magazine shows

http://www.nme.com/mediapack/pdf/nme_media_information_full.pdf

Representation

NME represents its audience as being young people who enjoy their music (especially indie/ alernative style music). They also may like going to gigs and supporting their favorite bands/ artists.
 

Double Page Spread (November 2011)

This double page spread relates directly to the main image used on the November issue's front cover. The main image is of the band 'The Vaccines' and so the main article inside this issue is about this band.

Language

Title

The title is placed onto the right hand side page above the rest of the text. A very large font is used to allow it to stand out to the reader. It is also in capital letters and the blue colour is used to stand out against the plain background. The Title is ussually the first piece of information the viewer will see/ read and then their eyes will be drawn to the image on the left page.

Leading Lines

This is used to control the viewers attention. It creates fluidity in the article as the eyes can follow around the page to find out information. The eye is ussually led from the title of the article to the main image used and then to the paragraphs/ main story.

Main Image

The main image used on a double page spread is ussually a similar image to the one used on the front cover (ie. photographs all taken in the same photoshoot- so same clothing/ backgrounds etc). The image contains all of the band members that were included on the front cover and the image is the whole page size so that it reaches out to the viewers. On this image one of the artist's eyes are looking directly into the camera- this helps to draw the reader in to the article.

Text

There are four different fonts in total used in this double page spread. (1 for the title. 1 for the main text. 1 for the subtext. 1 for the text that stands out from the main paragraph) They are all bold and clear throughout the article. The font used in the main paragraph is formal so that it is easy to read.

Colour Scheme

2 colours - bright blue and black (The colour scheme carries on from this issues blue/ black front cover to create continuity, and it also shows the reader that the image on the front and this article is related)

Other

As this is the main article of the issue the story also continues onto the next 3 pages after this double page- and also sticks to the colour scheme and font styles whilst using more images.

Contents Page (November 2011)

Language

Title

The title 'Inside this week'  is big and bold which makes it stand out as a contents page

Text

The text used has a bold/ formal font to make it clear to read. There are four different types of font used but they are all in the colour black to stand out against the white background. There is text underneath each image to show what the article (that relates to the image) is all about. The page numbers used are in a large, formal font and are placed on each image corner so that it is clear that the image/ page number links.

Images

There are 7 images on this page that all link to main articles in the magazine. The biggest image relates to the front cover image/ article as it is the main article in the issue. Using images on the contents page help readers to find the articles they are looking for easier.

Colour Scheme

The colour scheme used on this page is very simple: black text/ white background and colour from the images used. There is an exception to this: the red coloured box that advertises an offer about subscription. No other red colour is used on this page and so this has been used to allow the advert to stand out from the rest of the objects.

Music genre I have chosen for my magazine

Initially, after researching existing music magazines and from my own opinion on music style I wanted to focus on the genre ‘Indie-pop’. When looking into existing magazines I found it hard to find one that already specialised in Indie-Pop. NME for example features all round indie style music- however I prefer the pop style to the rock, and would rather have focussed on this specific genre as there was nothing already catering for it. According to Wikipedia; ‘Unlike Indie rock, Indie pop is more melodic, less noisy, and relatively angst-free’.


However, as there is a big target audience for Indie Rock I believe that creating my magazine to target the whole indie audience will benefit the selling of the magazine. For example; NME magazine is a well known/ high selling music magazine that caters for all types of indie music and some chart music. Therefore I am going to create an all round Indie genre music magazine.

I believe my music magazine would attract a large audience as many people in my age range (15- 25) enjoy indie style music. There are many artists/ bands that fit into this category of music and this will attract a wider audience. Also if a person likes one artist, usually they will also like similar artists and so this may encourage people to read the magazine and listen to new music!


Indie is also a well known fashion style which is an important factor to think about for my own magazine. Some magazines include both indie fashion and music to attract their indie style audience. My magazine will only include music but this helps by showing me the overall style/ mood of this genre. For example I will be able to choose my layout and style of photographs used to fit into the indie theme. The montage below shows how I portray indie and the types of clothing/ colours/ style indie is all about.

Examples of indie artists and their music:

LIIAR Analysis of Brief

Front Cover

Language

- Masthead (Magazine title/ logo- needs to be big and bold to stand out to the viewer)

- Main image (Majority of page, eye contact)

- Main article (Relates to the main image)

- Colour scheme (Two or three main colours)

- Thumbnail images (Show what other articles are inside the magazine)

- Price & barcode

- Teasing contents (Also show what articles or offers are in the magazine)

- Competitions and free gifts (Entice people into reading the magazine)

I - Perhaps you could pretend that you are producing a magazine for an existing publisher, whose other publications have something in common with yours / are totally different to yours (gap in the market)

I - What message / moral / values do you intend your magazine to convey about your chosen College and your target audience?

A - Briefly outline the target audience (you can develop it later when you've made more decisions)

R - How do you intend your target audience / College / and the students of that College to be represented? i.e. positively / negatively / accurately / stereotypically / unconventionally? etc.

Music Magazine Brief

Music Magazine Brief

Create a:

• front page
• contents page
• double page spread

of a new music magazine.

Evaluation

Evaluation on College Magazine

Our task was to create a front cover and contents page for a college of our choice, in which the cover would include a photograph of a student in medium-close up shot, a masthead and appropriate text. Before I could create my magazine cover I needed to research into conventions of magazine covers/contents pages and also review existing college magazines. This helped me by showing me what I needed to include in my final magazine cover and my draft for a contents page.
                 I created mock-ups and drafts of front covers and tried to include the most important conventions of a magazine cover. I then gained feedback and created a final magazine cover. I received further feedback and then improved my cover again. First of all I experimented with logo’s/ magazine names that would act as the masthead of my product. I created two different logos that I first used in my drafts ‘Wyke news’ and ‘Freedom’. After receiving feedback I decided to use ‘Freedom’ in my final magazine as it links to the motto of Wyke college (‘Freedom to achieve’) However, after further feedback I realised my masthead/ slogan was not appealing to my target audience. I decided to keep the same logo but add a border to it so it stood out to the viewer. I also changed the ‘freedom-agazine’ to the proper word ‘magazine’ and enlarge it so it would be clearer to the viewer as to what the product is. My masthead in my final design includes the magazine logo/ title and the company logo (Wyke) to show whose magazine it is. Unlike existing magazines I did not include the date/ price in the masthead. I realised that my college magazine would not be displayed in any shops and so information does not need to be included at the top to see behind other magazines.
            I then took my images for the magazine. I decided to use the medium close-up shots as main images in my drafts to fit into the brief. In my final piece I also used some of my images as thumbnails that could relate to articles inside the magazine. I inserted captions underneath the images to show what they are about. After feedback I also included a banner on the front cover to entice people into reading the magazine. ‘Win- tickets to see Rihanna’ may encourage people of this age to pick up the magazine as they may get the chance to see a famous pop star. I created my house style to fit into the logo and colours of the college itself. For example, I used the colours green and purple throughout my front cover/ contents page as these are the colours used in the logo and other publications created by Wyke. I also used a similar font to the wyke college logo for my logo ‘Freedom’.  I then used this font for the price/ date and also headers on the contents page. By using a similar design to wyke’s this would show to the viewers that this magazine is associated with the college.
          The institution that I would use to produce my magazine is Wyke college. I have decided this after realising that using a bigger magazine company to produce my magazine would be unrealistic. My magazine is only focussed at a small target audience in only one area of the UK and so it would cost a lot of money to produce. My magazine is also free and would be funded by the college itself using fundraisers.
          My magazine has been created to represent students age 16-19 at the college. I made the front cover so that it would include both fun articles for the students but also show their hard work and achievements at the college. This would show that the college is a fun place to be but would also keep to the achieving morals of the college. The purpose and message of my magazine links to the motto of the college ‘freedom to achieve’, by showing ‘freedom’ (e.g. ‘win- tickets to see Rihanna’) but also achievement (e.g. ‘High science results achieved’). The audience of my magazine is students age 16-19 year olds but also teachers/ parents of the students. Therefore I created my magazine so that it would attract my main audience but also be suitable for other adults.

How I would publicise online

Publicity

I would publicise the launch of the magazine on the internet as the target audience (students) use the internet every day for work and socialising. Creating accounts/ groups on Facebook or other social networking sites would target my audience as nearly all students have social accounts online. I could also create adverts on the college website which could show when the magazine is published and where the students can pick it up from. I could also have links from this website that link to a website made specifically for the magazine.  

On this website I would also launch my college magazine to be readable online. This would also mean students would be able to access the magazine quickly and easier than having to pick it up from inside the college. Also other people outside of the college (e.g. parents, other teachers/ people with work involved with the college) would be able to read the magazine too and see what goes on there.  However inside the printed version of the magazine there would be money off vouchers/ competitions that they could enter. This would encourage the students to pick up the actual magazine and read it around the college. I could also advertise the online magazine by creating qr codes which can link directly to the webpage. These codes are recent in technology and are associated with android style mobile phones (which many students now own)- therefore many students may have a look at the website because of easy accessibility from their mobiles. Below is an example of a qr code. 

Final Magazine Cover Improved

After gaining feedback for my final design I was able to see what quick changes I could make to improve my overall magazine cover. 

Contents Page

Final Magazine Cover

From creating my drafts and gaining feedback I was able to create a final design for my magazine cover. I also gained further feedback for my final design so that I can make further improvements if needed.

Feedback for final design

From gaining this feedback I am able to see that there is an area where I could improve in. This is the magazines logo/ title which has gained mainly negative feedback. I can now gain more detailed feedback for my final to see how and which areas to improve and also how I should improve my logo.

                                         Person 1

Do you think the magazine cover includes everything you would need to know?

• Good use of copy on left and picture on right

Does it grab your attention?

• You could have a page turn triangle/arrow at the bottom right, with a promotion like ‘See inside for Prizes’, encouraging someone to look inside.

What improvements could be made?

• Indicate whats inside the magazine and where to find it. i.e. College fashion tips page 3, Wyke clubs page 5, Achievements page 7 (‘See page 10’ could be in white to stand out against black)
• Main photograph still needs to link into a story inside magazine
• Based on f shape- could have a catchy top right offer ie. ‘free…’ etc

What improvements could be made to the logo/ title of the magazine?

• Increase the size of the ‘AGAZINE’ text versus the word ‘FREEDOM’. i.e 1/3 of the height

                                         Person 2

Do you think the magazine cover includes everything you would need to know?

• Could add date of issue
• How does the image relate to an article…

Does it grab your attention?

• Bold colours/ text/ contemporaryImage grabs attention- why is she smiling? Want to find out by reading magazine article.

What improvements could be made?

• Bullet points to highlight different sections of text underneath title
• Competition/ free something to grab attention of students
• Could have inset photographs of people that relate to the text

What improvements could be made to the logo/ title of the magazine?

• 'FREEDOMagazine' not clear straight away. Could just say 'Freedom Magazine'

Drafts and Feedback

Drafts of Front Cover

FEEDBACK

'From looking at these drafts what good qualities can be taken forward to the final piece/ improvements could be made?'

Person 1

• Title should be at the top left like purchased magazines- people focus attention to that area. F-shape shows how people read/ hotspot areas where they focus attention
• Good consistent colour scheme- should carry through to final design
• Large text (on left again) is good
• Photographs are good and eye-catching but could link to a story inside
• Logo is clear to see/ date/issue (carry through to final)
• Prefer ‘Freedom’ to ‘Wyke News’
• Prefer drafts that have more information/ text about what is inside
• Prefer green coloured border as it looks brighter

Person 2

• Could have images that link to the text ie picture of principal
•  Like the green and purple colour scheme
• Like the smiley photograph- makes you believe the college is a friendly place to be
•  Not bothered about page numbers being on front cover as I would look in the contents to find the page number
• Prefer ‘Wyke News’ logo
• The college logo makes the covers look more official (use this in final)

Person 3