Evaluation.

The brief was to create a front page, contents page and a double page spread of a new music magazine. It included using our own images and other original sources and ideas. To gain insight into the brief and to increase my understanding, I researched some of the music magazines currently on the market and I also looked into different genre’s of music magazines and looked at how each one used conventions in different ways. I used Blogger.com to present all of my ideas and thoughts.

The genre I chose was indie/alternative as it is the kind of music I am interested in and thought that my influences from this genre could help me in my magazine. I used the codes and conventions from other magazines from my chosen genre to keep my magazine conventional, as I didn’t want to challenge any conventions. As well as using the conventions of indie/alternative magazines, I analysed some as well, including NME, Q and Mixmag. I chose NME and Q for my analysis’ as those magazines fit into the indie/alternative genre and they are they magazines I took inspiration from. My front cover includes many conventions such as a puff, a barcode, an issue number, price and a tag line. I tried to place these in the usual places you find them on magazine such a NME, for example the barcode, issue number and date all at the bottom on the front cover in a box.

As well as looking into the conventions used on the front pages, contents page and double page spread, I thought about how the magazine was delivered to the audience. I think that my magazine targets people of the social group D or C2 as it is mostly appealing to students or perhaps people in secondary school. I think that the bold, blocked font I have used on the front cover and contents page appeal to the younger audience as it is quite modern and fresh. The black and white is very sharp, yet with the pink my magazine still has a warm feel. From the beginning of the project I had always had the teenage demographic in mind, so from there I decided to make the target audience for my magazine students aged from 16+. I originally wanted to make my magazine appeal more to males because after looking at reader profiles of indie magazines they are the gender that read these types of magazines the most. However, after I had thought about my idea for the double page spread and front cover, I realised it was more likely to appeal to girls. I chose my colour scheme according to this and chose to use conventional colours black and white, but also with the pink and browns running through. 

I also thought about which institution might want to distribute my magazine. I looked at IPC and The Bauer Media Group who publish NME and W magazines. I looked at these publishing companies because the magazines they publish have the same genre and same target audience as my own magazine. I think that either The Bauer Media Group or IPC would be likely to distribute my magazine as it involves a new ‘solo singer’ who has recently left a band, so they would be able to promote the artist first because the story is really fresh and new. I would like to think IPC would distribute my magazine because they are a very successful international group and would be good in terms of advertising and promoting my magazine.

It is very important that I attract my target audience straight away with the front cover as that is the first thing they see when they buy a magazine. I used a very colourful image which I used for the full front cover rather than cutting around the image and inserting my own background. I think having my artist against the brick wall is appealing to my target audience as typically students are ‘out all of the time on streets’ and it is quite a back to basics theme. The image I used is very conventional and is a medium long shot, this means you can see all of the artists clothing. My artist is not really dressed up and is just wearing a hoody and jeans, which relates to my back to basics theme and also links her to the target audience as it is something that students of 16+ would typically wear. The image I used also created my colour scheme as they are very neutral colours. I used the bold block capital font for my mast head as it immediately catches readers attention. I named my magazine ‘Aftershow’ because it links to gigs and it suggests that the stories will include information from the latest gigs, which links well to my strap line of “#1 gig guide.” The other articles on my front cover are again in block capitals keeping with the continuity. The other images I’ve used on my cover are polaroid pictures and also in black white, not drawing attention away from the main image. I think the use of polaroid is also quite significant as they are quite ‘vintage’ so it keeps with the indie genre.

My contents page and double page spread are also conventional and follow the house style of my magazine. My contents page is very similar to my front cover as I used the brick theme on top of a pink background. I made the bricks quite opaque so that it didn’t dominate the whole page, but also made it noticeable to the audience. I have used the same font styles from the front cover to keep the magazine continuity. I used conventional headings on my contents page like ‘features’ and ‘reviews’. I also added a Gigs heading as my focus of the magazine is to be a magazine that is known for gig information. I also included an ‘Exclusive’ section which promotes Arctic Monkeys. My double page spread includes the story of ‘Evie’ who has left a band and has become a solo artist. I found it hard to keep the continuity on my double page spread as I changed the whole style. It still includes the same colour scheme and artist etc, but doesn’t have the same fonts, so it makes it look very different when compared to my front cover and contents. I think the interview is very conventional and questions and answers are written in different colours. If I had more time I would definitely change my double page spread as it does not keep with the continuity at all and looks like a different magazine. The colours are very dark compared to my front cover and contents pages. I think the image does reflect the story because she has become a solo artists so she is now on her own and the photo shows her stood in a field by herself.

To create my magazine I used the program Adobe Photoshop. I think the program was very difficult to use and I think it may have impacted on the design of the magazine. With lots of tools and effects to use I thought it was very complex and as it was my first time creating a music magazine, I didn’t feel that I could experiment with these as I didn’t want to ruin my work. I had difficulty getting used to layers on my magazine and this caused me to group things together, which is a disadvantage as it was difficult to alter them if changes needed to be made. Although I do think it was hard to use, I did like the photo editing effects it included as it helped me to make my images look quite vintage. From completing the preliminary task of the college magazine I knew what a conventional magazine needed to include and that did help me and I feel that after completing that task, this task was more successful. Overall I  am pleased with my front cover, contents page and double page spread, however I do think that a lot of improvements could be made to my double page spread to create more continuity.  

Final Double Page Spread.

Final Contents Page.

Final Front Cover.

Planning and Idea Development - Colour Schemes

The colour scheme I have chosen is quite dark and deep. I think these chosen colours will suit my magazine and the genre I am focusing on as I want my magazine to look quite vintage and mature, so using fluorescent colours would be unsuitable. I think I will use the navy and the maroon as the dominant colours on my front cover and add aspects of the other colours for smaller stories or articles featured on the cover.

Planning and Idea Development - Font Ideas

Planning and Idea Development - Naming My Magazine

Having decided my genre and audience I decided to think of names for my magazine. I wanted something that is memorable and simple. To get some names ideas I went through my iPod to gain inspiration from song titles or artists that are already known and that I am familiar with. I also used online dictionaries and thesaurus to develop and perhaps expand on names that I particularly liked.

• Aftershow

I like this idea as it fits in with the idea music and I think that it would make people think of an aftershow after a gig or something. It it short and simple and I think it would be really good for a magazine title. I also think it is suitable for my chosen genre of music, indie.

• Flux

I like this possibility as it is not a very common word and I think it makes quite a statement. I was not too sure what this word meant, but as I liked the idea of it I looked it up and found that it meant "a flowing or a flow." This also made me realise that it is very suitable for a music magazine as it could suggest the music "flows". I really like this idea as it is very abrupt and memorable.

• Matchbox

I think this idea is quite different as it doesn't directly relate to music but I do think it suits the kind of magazine I would like to produce. "Matchbox" kind of relates to someone who smokes, and could loosely tie in with festivals as people usually smoke and drink at them. If the link to festivals can be seen then it would be great for my magazine title as festivals relate to the genre of music I am basing my magazine on.

Planning and Idea Development - My Chosen Genre

The genre I have chosen for my magazine is indie/rock/alternative. I want my magazine to be the same style as the NME as I believe that the indie genre of music is becoming much more popular in today's generation and society. I want my magazine to be portrayed as quite vintage and natural as that style is also becoming much more common with today's youth. The indie/rock genre also has a wide audience and particularly fits in with the target audience I have chosen of students. On top of this, I wanted to choose a genre that I am familar with so I know what things to focus on and what will appeal to my audience.

Planning and Idea Development - Price

As my target audience will be a students aged 16+ I have chosen to price my magazine at around £2.50 per week. After taking into account other weekly magazine prices such as the NME which is priced at £2.20 and Kerrang which is also priced at £2.20. I think £2.5o is a reasonable and realistic price as it is still afforadable for students who maybe don't have a well paid job. As well as this, as it is also a little big higher priced than other weekly magazines it suggets that the extra 30p is worth it. I could choose to price my magazine under the rivals at around £2, but this may suggest that it is not as good quality as the others. I have decided to publish my magazine weekly because it means there will always be something new for my target audience to catch up on and if it is weekly, it would mean having to price the magazine higher at around £5 and having a lot of content to fit into one issue.

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.

Front Cover and Evaluation

This is my final outcome of my magazine cover. I think that my magazine cover relates to the brief really well and I have met the targets of the brief. After studying and analysing different college magazines I understood how to use the conventions in my own college magzine. I included a barcode, a dateline and an issue number to add to the authenticity of my magazine. I think that my masthead also sticks to the conventions of typical magazine as it is the first things you notice on the front cover. I also used relevant cover lines to reflect the college magazine.
I think the image that I chose to use was the best of my final four because it is very colourful and has quite a scenic background, which I think is a nice touch. The model relates to the college magazine as she is holding a folder which relate to the work side of college. However, she is very happy and smiling which portrays to the reader that college is a happy place to be involved. I decided against the other photos as I didn't think they had the potential that my chosen photo did for a front cover.
By testing my chosen photo as a front cover, I decided on my colour scheme for the magazine. As the picture is very colourful I decided to use black and white font for the cover lines, but I wanted a colorful masthead. I picked up a colour off the scarf to use for my masthead which links the whole thing together. The colour is also close to that of the Wyke logo so again relates to the college.
I think that by looking at my magazine you can clearly see that the target audience is students at college. As I chose to name my magazine 'Achieve!' this creates a wider audience and appeals to all students, not just the ones at Wyke. However, my cover lines only relate to Wyke, which maybe work against the name of my magazine. This creates room for improvement in my magazine and if i were to re-do the task I would take this into consideration.

Drafts of Front Cover

This is a rough idea of how I would like my front cover to look. I will use a purple, black and white colour scheme so it relates to the college and their logo.

Drafts of Contents Page

This is a rough idea of how I want my contents page to look. I have not used colours in this draft, however I plan to use the same colour scheme as my front cover.

Idea Development and Planning - Cover Line Ideas



This is a rough brainstorm of some ideas I had for cover lines on my front cover.