Reader Profiles of Music Magazines

NME Reader Profile
The NME reader research suggests that readers rely on the magazine to keep them up to date with the new music. This makes the NME the authority in music for their peer group. Stats show that the average age of a NME reader is 23 and 74% of these are males. On top of this, 42% of the readers are students. The NME readers enjoy to watch films and buy the latest DVD's each month.

Mixmag Reader Profile
Mixmag's reader profile are said to be always listening to the newest songs first and wearing the latest fashion. They know the latest DJ's and tend to have the latest mobiles for communicating and socialising. The average age of a Mixmag reader is 26, and again the audience is mostly male at 72%. The readers tend to be single. The readers have a lot of disposable income and spend their money mostly on nights out, clothes and music.

My magazine audience will be students of the age 16+, who enjoy music and like to know the newest stuff out there. My magazine will appeal to both genders, but may be more relevant to males, as I can see they generally read the type of magazine I would like to produce the most. They will like to keep up with fashion and shop in shops that are well known. They will enjoy music and listen to it as much as they can. Students generally enjoy keeping with the trends and technology. They will also attend a few gigs/concerts. My audience's main priorities and intrests will be friends, family, going out to concerts/gigs, fashion and music.

Analysis of Mixmag Music Magazine

Front Cover
Mixmag magazine focuses on the genre of dance and house music. Mixmag has very different conventions to the indie/rock magazines like NME and Q. The name of the magazine 'Mixmag' could suggest that it includes a mix of music genres, but it also could relate to DJ's mixing tracks which would be more suitable.

The masthead on this cover is conventionally placed at the top of the magazine and is the first thing the readers will notice. This masthead fits in with the housestyle of this particular cover, however after reasearching Mixmag I have learnt that Mixmag do not keep a particular housestyle or a theme to the magazine. All of the covers are different and some do not even feature a picture on the front cover. However, taking this into consideration, the masthead does stay the same but varies in colour etc.

The main image creates the feel of summer and sun, which all relates back to this edition of Mixmag "Ibiza 08." The model is wearing a bikini which is not usually seen on music magazines as this does not fit into a particular genre of music. For example, leather is related to rock etc. However, with the Ibiza edition it fits in well as it Ibiza is stereotyped as the 'party island'. As the model is not someone famous or iconic it doesn't advertise a particular band so this may create a wider audience as it appeals to the people who generally like dance music, not a certain DJ/band. The colours in the image are all very bright and vibrant which relate back to the main feature and promote it even further as it looks an enjoyable and summery place to visit.

The target audience for this magazine is likely to be the younger generation, around the age of 20, as it is all about clubbing and dance music. This kind of music and lifestyle would usually not appeal to a person that is older. We get this impression because the model is a young woman wearing a bikini and lots of jewellery which is much more appealing to youngsters who enjoy going out. The price of the magazine is £4.20 which is quite expensive, however the magazines comes with a free CD "Herve's Party Bombs!" This further promotes the magazine and the music that they advertise as it is spreading the music around. The banner also suggets a younger audience "Huge Club Guide 1,384 nights out in this issue!"

Contents Page

Analysis of Q Music Magazine

Front Cover

Q magazine is another magazine that specialises in the indie and rock genre of music. Q is a very popular music magazine and this can be seen through its conventions. The name of the magazine 'Q' is very short and snappy, so it is something to remember. The Q could stand for Quality and say to the reader that the music they feature and advertise is quality music. 

The masthead of Q is very recognisable and familiar. It is a bold Q with red background. The red is again the housestyle, like the NME, and this connotes anger and passion. However, this certain cover has a twist on it from the usual Q masthead. Although it is still their usual masthead, the main article features Muses' lead singer Matt Bellamy "losing control"so to add a twist and something unique to the masthead, the cover shows him 'smashing it up' with his guitar. This could show the feelings of anger that Matt Bellamy is feeling, but it cleverly remains appealing to the audience because although it is aggressive, it relates to the genre of rock. It also sticks to the music magazines conventions because he is holding his instrument. Overall, this masthead creates something different and very intriguing to the target audience and it is not the type of thing that would be seen on the front cover of "Smash Hits."

The main image on this cover doesn't follow all conventions as the eyeline of Matt Bellamy is not in the centre and is not the main focus. But this fits with the issue of Q as he is "losing control" and this could connote this. In the image he looks angry and impatient which is perfect in relation to his article. The clothes he is wearing fits in with the housestyle of the magazine, and so does his guitar. The image and the whole cover sticks to three main colours, black, white and red. This tells us something about the magazine as usually black and white and simple colours and can be quite classic - like the magazine itself. But with the red coming through it suggests anger and arrogance - in relation to the genre of music they advertise.

Again, the cover has a banner that reads "The UK's Biggest Music Magazine." The use of this gives the magazine a prestige and status within the market. It promotes Q and gives it a good impression to the reader. The readers of this magazine will be similar to other indie/rock magazines such as NME because it simply features the same type of music. But perhaps the audience for Q magazine may be a little bit older. We could get this impression because the magazine is more expensive, priced at £3.90. The magazine covers also have high quality gloss paper which gives a more classy and expensive touch. This relates back to the name 'Q' which could mean Quality.

Contents Page

This contents page is very similar to the NME contents page in its style of layout. It is again very structured and clear to read, which creates ease for the readers to find what they are looking for. The contents page includes a main story featuring The Courteeners. To the left of the main story, the contents includes "Features" and "Every Month" and also what looks like a one off "Oasis Special." Including a special feature such as "Oasis Special!" seems to quite conventional for contents pages as after analysing NME, they also included a Reading and Leeds festival special. Using these promotes their magazine and brings something exciting into the magazine. Also, under the main story is a "Review" section which informs the readers about new albums and live gigs. This is a very useful section as it keeps the readers up to speed with the latest music. The "Every Month" feature reminds the readers that Q is a monthly magazine.

The Q contents page stays within the housestyle of their front cover by using the same colours (white, black, red). Much like the NME, Q uses the vibrant red to indicate page numbers and make them clear for the readers. The Q masthead is again placed at the top left corner, the same as the front cover. You can see that the same colours and fonts have been used through the whole contents page and the cover which maintains the housestyle. However, the Oasis Special is presented in gold writing and with a much more sophisticated font. This impacts the "special" and makes it seem very worthy of reading.

The story featured on the contents page gives it more essence and an insight in to the magazine. It makes the page less routine and structured as, besides the picture in the review section, this is the only photo that can catch the readers eyes and interest them. The choice of band is the Courteeners who are maybe not known as globally as other bands, however, they will appeal to the readers of Q magazine as they are an indie band. Unlike the NME contents article, this story only has a sentence to represent it. Although this means we don't get much information as to what the story will be about, it will make the readers interested and wanting to read more.

Analysis of NME Music Magazine

Front Cover
Here, I am analysing the NME music magazine. The NME magazine is of an alternative, indie genre and follows different conventions than that of a pop music magazine.

The masthead is big and bold and is bright red. This creates a house style as the red is used elsewhere on the cover. Red connotes danger and arrogance, which relates to the genre of the NME magazine as it is aimed at audiences who enjoy rock and indie music. It also reflects the magazines ideology as it aims to be alternative to the mainstream 'popular' music genre.
The red could also connote passion and the love for new music, hence the name of the magazine, the New Musical Express.

As the masthead is the first thing the readers notice, the magazine has included a conventional banner surrounding the masthead. The banner reads "The Top 50 Albums of 2008". This will draw more readers to the magazine as it is something that will intrigue them to find out more.

The main image is very conventional and the eyes are the main focus. The image is in black and white which contrasts with the rest of the house style. This could relate to the main article "BLUR REUNITED!" by making a statement against the rest of the housestyle and the colour scheme. The black and white image also gives a classic touch, and this  impacts that Blur are coming back from time ago. The clothes in the picture also relect the genre as we can see leather and dark clothing. This connotes rock/indie genres and relates to the NME magazine.

We can see that the magazine has a specific audience because of the genre and theme, but this cover also suggests that it is for a younger generation. On the banner at the top it reads "Wot No AXL?", the use of the slang "wot" creates appeal to a younger audience as they are most likely to recognise this use of language. The cost of the magazine may also suggest a younger audience as it is priced quite cheap at £2.30. This is much more affordable than Q music magazine.

Contents Page
The contents page is divided into two sections. The bigger section on the left side features the main story "Noel Quits Oasis" and the right side is separated into several headings for example, radar, reviews and live! This sets a clear structure to the readers so it is easy to find what the are looking for. Above the headings, it also has a special feature for Reading and Leeds festival. This is located at the top half of the contents page and is one of the most noticeable things on the page. This is because people interested in NME magazine are generally people who attend festivals of the indie/rock genre.

Although the contents page is very structural and doesn't have the same style of the front cover, it still fits in with the housestyle of the magazine. The NME logo is placed at the top left corner, which is the same as the front cover. The contents page generally sticks to black, red and yellow which is common on the NME magazine. The contents continues to be clear and structural by using the colours to indicate different stories. The colour red stands out to the black and white, and they have used this colour to indicate page numbers.

The main story takes away the strict order/structure of the contents page and makes it less boring. Oasis are one of the most well known and prestigious bands in Britain so this story will most likely appeal to most of the readers of NME. It gives a preview of what the magazine is like and the stories that it includes. The story also relates to their special feature of Reading and Leeds festival so it ties the whole thing together. The main story also promotes the whole Oasis article as you can see in the short article it ends with a question "Is this just the latest in a long line of Gallagher spats, or really the end?" This makes the readers want to read the full article to find out more.

Also included on the contents page is their subscription offer. The heading, "SUBSCRIBE TODAY AND SAVE" is big and bold and in yellow which is one of the brightest colours on the whole page. This immediatlely grabs the readers attention and promotes their magazine.

Double Page Spread

Conventions of a Music Magazine

Front cover:
Main image - this is usually centered on the eyes of the person in the image.
Masthead- the title, genre and ideology. 
Banner headline
Cover lines/Selling lines.
Tag line
Puffs- for example "free holiday" (usually found in corners of front cover).
Kicker- explanatory line to the banner.

Contents page:
Features- the articles that are special to that month.
Regulars- the articles that are there every month. For example, editorial and mastheads.

Double page spread:
Two pages of the same article.
Main image usually dominates.

LIIAR Interpretation of the main task brief.

Language - This will include camera angles, colour codes, layout or "splash" and a house style. These are the conventions of magazines, so after analysing different music magazines I will choose how I will use these conventions on my own magazine.

Institution - Institutions are the publishing companies of magazines. For example, Q is published by Bauer and NME is published by IPC. The publishing companies have a market and target audience for each magazine that they publish as they are in competition to make profits.

Ideology - Each different magazine has a set of morals, values and messages. You can analyise the ideology of NME magazine as it has different connotations. NME stands for New Music Express which suggests that the magazine is fast to deliver the newest music. It also sounds like 'enemy' and this can imply that the magazine is the enemy of mainstream music.

Audience - All magazines have target audiences. These are usually defined by age, gender, type and social classes (A, B, C1, C2, D and E). Q magazine may have a different target audience to NME magazine as it is more expensive, suggesting that NME appeals to C2, D and E social classes.

Representation - The front cover of music magazines usually represent the target audience. This is because the readers like to see what they perhaps aspire to be like and it increases sales.

Main Task Brief

To 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 - minimum of four images.