Music Magazine!

Firstly my magazine uses Caroline as its Main picture she is centred in the magazine with a peace gesture, I cropped this picture carefully as it was taken outside and placed it on a blue gradient background.

I added my title ‘Evolve’ and chose a colour scheme of blue, white and red using 2 primary colours work well off white.

This magazine is by far my best because its bright, attractive and is very satisfying to look at, the text work well with each other playing off the blue background, I used a gradient to get the white halo behind Caroline which can act as a light glowing behind her and the glowing white bar going behind the title gives it a modern touch. On a whole I think the magazine is excellent and looks professional.

My aim was to make it look like it wasn’t created by a teenager trying to make a magazine for his coursework, but look like it was made by a qualified magazine editor.

My contents page started off with a blue background which makes it consistent with the front cover. This magazine is dealing with current issues as it has a Japan appeal which was hit by an earthquake and asks to help, the ‘Japan needs you uses a radial gradient to make the red circle in the middle to make the Japanese flag also a singer tributes to them inside. It has a lot of information about the magazine with easy page references.

My double-page spread uses a picture of Nadine Phillips on the right side of the page and text on the other half. The text tells you a bit about Nadine and her story, also some information on her group’s success with a golden glow around it, to resemble that there group was the best. It then goes on to an Interview with Johnny where they discuss what’s going on in her life now and what’s to come next.

I generally had a discussion with Nadine and interpreted how she would answer in relation with the success of her band. This worked well as I got a real story out of it.

The Johnny stamp is how he seals his interviews with a stamp, which occurs in every magazine.

Overall I think the magazine comes together nicely and all work with each other the main colour blue is consistent in all three pieces, also there is a lot of creativity going on, I even gave two of the models tattoos, Caroline a paw print on her chest and stars along Nadine’s arm, I wanted to see how far I could go with my skills and I think it pulled through.

This is my 3rd draft of my music magazine, personally i really like this because it shows alot of creativity using a banner to promote an inside magazine free which i think is very creative, also it has a distinctive title and main coverline.
At first i thought this magazine will be mainly aimed at the female audice so i added the picture of Rick Ross to give the male audience interest.

The barcode is also in an unusual place as i think its different and original, which brings the magazine to life.
This draft is one of my best, i changed the name from the previous draft 'Hustle' to 'Evolve' because hustle made it sound cheap, whereas Evolve gives a more sophisticated feel to it and can aim at older viewers.
Also the text used for the main coverline, 'Rihanna' is bold and big to make it stand out but in contrast the other text in black and looks a bit more sleek both compliment each other and work well.
To improve this i think i could have added a tad more text, but other than that o think its a good one.

This is my second draft of my music magazine, it covers Heidi as the main picture in the background, with various coverlines of the content in the magazine.

It has a puff in the bottom right corner relating to modern notion of new music available.

The 'Censored' stamp on Heidi is seen alot in magazines nowadays and I thought would make a good contribution the the magazine.
This magazine is one of my favourites as it has a colour theme of red, yellow and black which work well as they are dominant colours and stand out. Also the picture main picture is good and straight away attracts people towards it

This is my first draft of my music magazine. It has a main image of celebrity keri hilson covering the majority of the magazine. the main coverline of keri hilson's song 'Breaking Point' which is predominatly bigger the the rest of the text. It is also coloured in pink to attract female vierwers and fans of her music.

Drake is hovering in the background as this is linked to the interview inside. Being my first draft, theres not much creativity going on with the magazine. There is a consistancy with the text as they are the same and works well together. The colours are quite bland and doesn't look very interesting.

Music Magazine Textual analysis

The magazine cover I chose to analyse is an R’n’B magazine called Vibe. I chose this magazine because it is a popular magazine around the world recognised by all nations.

The magazine cover consists of a colour photograph of Usher, a worldwide celebrity known for his amazing musical talent, looking directly at the camera.  It is a medium close up shot showing his head hand and chest where his head is tilting to the right.

The background of the photograph seems to be taken outdoors or maybe in a studio with an outside background, the photograph covers the majority of the magazine

Behind Usher is the Vibe Masthead, and in front of him are five separate cover lines in yellow, blue, white and black. The man photographed on the cover’s name is in black with a yellow highlight.

A bar code is visible in the bottom left corner.

Vibe’s masthead is very distinctive- it is bold and blue in a very big font. The font used is a basic font in all capital letters in a dominant blue, this connotes that this magazine stands out from the competition, and being behind the model it also connotes that this magazine is dealing with A-list celebrities. Even though the photograph is placed in front of the masthead viewers are still aware what the magazine is because it is popular around the world. The font used gives it a modern feel to it, this suggests that the magazine relates to modern music and deals with modern issues which is emphasized by Usher modelling the magazine who is a modern artist.

The cover photograph is of Usher, a famous award winning singer, he is posed in a ‘relaxed manner’ this can apply to many young and older males, and he may be seen as an inspiration to many men and females reaching out to them with his music, also Usher is aimed at the females as he can be seen as a sex symbol. In the photograph there are material objects; an expensive watch, sunglasses and what looks like a Wedding ring. This connotes that he has a successful lifestyle and that he is happy where he is, even though going through some rough times in his marriage his body language in the photograph may suggest that the ring finger he is directly showing to the viewers (being whoever purchases the magazine) it could also symbolises the middle finger which go out to all the rumours going around about his business and personal life, this is underlines the cover line in the top left corner which says ‘and married with a vengeance’

The headings on the magazine have a particular colour theme which consists of blue, black and yellow with the odd white and random pink.

The text on the magazine refers to ‘Sex’ a lot even it is ‘The Sex issue’ which connotes that it is not for the younger audience but more for the older audiences,  nowadays ‘Sex’ is being promoted left, right and centre and this would be the only way to attract more viewers being young or older viewers, as ‘Sex Sells’

The magazine’s colour theme has a small amount of pink on the word ‘swagger’ which some people may associate with fashion, the way people dress, others may associate with a general lifestyle of the way someone lives or just carries themselves. In this magazine I think the word is associated with fashion, being highlighted in pink, this also connotes that the magazine is also targeted at women despite the magazine having a dominant male figure on the front cover and surrounded by stereotypical male bold colours.

Contents Analysis

The contents page I looked at was from Q magazine, it has 2 pictures on the page dominated by one of the artist Adele.

• It has a colour scheme which consists of 3 main colours; black, red and white.
• The colour scheme is simple yet effective as the colours are bold and has a nice contrast with one another, standing out whilst being able to maintain a sophisticated look.  
• The magazine has 194 pages (average amount for a magazine)

Articles are spread out over the magazine and remaining pages are filled out with adverts.

·         Missing number pages either indicate an advertisement or articles stretch over more than one page.

·         This can show the audience which articles may be the most popular or interesting to read about.

• Celebrity (Adele) photo on right hand side of the page which catches the audience’s eye.

The picture taking up most of the page may connote that she is the most talked about celebrity at that period of time, or has a very interesting article about her.

This is a mood board i created which shows who my ideal target audience is; ranging from teenagers to young trendy adults. I chose people from different ethic backgrounds as my magazine is aimed at all, the trendy appearances of these young adults are who i think would be most likely to read my magazine being a hip hop/pop/r'n'b magazine which will appeal to a large audience. 

Celebrities like Chris Brown and Keri Hilson both on the mood board holding awards can act as an inspiration to people, and i would want my audience to be ambitious music wise or in their career paths. 

The fashion in the board is modern, trendy and sophisticated which is in fashion nowadays and has grown on this generation, this is what my target audience would most likely be as it shows a sense of individuality, originality and confidence to stand out from the crowd, which is what i want my magazine to do from its competitors. 

The new headphones; Beats by Dre have burst onto the market and attracted a massive music audience being advertised by Lady Gaga an award winning music artist. I want my magazine to attract the same audience bring fresh new music. 

Profiling the audience

Profiling You’re Audience

Evolve.com is Europe's upcoming and breakthrough music website. It has earned worldwide respect for its R’n’B/Hip hop music news and features, which are updated around the clock. With 1.3 million unique users generating over 13 million page impressions is the U.K.'s premier music content website. It offers unparalleled access to an affluent young audience and a unique opportunity to communicate with them in an environment that they relate to and return to frequently - 63% visit the site weekly or more frequently*. The Evolve.com audience is made up of key demographic groups that can be difficult to target through other media: -

• 65% Male*
• 50% 16-24*
• 23% 25-34*
• 79% ABC1*

Our readers are passionate about music and as a result of their close relationship with the site content they are far more responsive to advertising. Whether they are more positively disposed towards brands that they see as supporting their favourite site or accessing advertising that they see as particularly relevant to them and their lifestyles they are 33% more likely than average to have taken action as a result of seeing an advertisement on the site*.

This audience profile is from Evolve which expect to be Europe’s biggest and most viewed website, well known for its range of diverse music. The magazine is mostly aimed at males aged between 16 and 24 which suggest that this is the most popular target for the biggest audience. The magazine’s website seems to be a successful asset as they have had passionate response from the audience due to their advertisement. The response from the adverts is a result of the lifestyle in which the audience lives, advertising ideally what the audience would want to see and what they are interested in.

Music Double page spread Textual analysis

Textual Analysis of Music magazine Double Page Spread

The double page spread I chose is an R’n’b/Hip Hop magazine.

The magazine consists of a coloured photograph of a female artist looking directly into the camera. It is a medium shot showing her torso arms and head, her arms are visible positioned as a boxer would throw a jab. The background of the photograph is mixed with different colours; red, blue green and a hint of yellow. The photograph takes one half of the double page almost overlaying into the second half.

In front of the woman is a masthead of ‘Little Miss Dynamite’ (who is another female artist) but could be mistaken as the woman in the background. The text is written in either yellow or white.

Page numbers are visible on the page in the left and right corner.

The ‘Little Miss Dynamite’ Masthead is very distinct from the rest of the text as it is a larger compared to the other text, also the ‘Dynamite’ is in a white font and very bold, also the style of the font is stretched across to the other page. The font reminds me of paint or blood dripping down the pages. ‘Miss Dynamite’ being a famous MC and Grime artist may connote that the magazine is aimed at a small target group but this is contradicted as there is a picture of an American artist ‘Santagold’ in the background also a smaller close up of ‘Mark Ronson’ a popular Musician know world wide. This connotes that the magazine is aimed at everyone including different music genres.

The background picture is of SantaGold. She is posed in a ‘Watch out!’ kind of manner, her pose is as a boxer stance connotes she is beating her way through the music industry, but this is also cancels out as it doesn’t fit the stereotype of a female so the enormous shinning ring screams out “hey I’m still a woman” which fits the stereotype of a woman being only interested in jewellery. Obviously her costume has been chosen on purpose to target a specific audience within the magazine mainly females, declaring a new fashion trend.

The colours on the magazine are mixed to create a disco effect. This could suggest that the magazine is aimed at all cultures which will then apply to a wide ranged audience across the world.

Questionnaire Music Magazine

Questionnaire

This questionnaire below that YOU have been asked fill out is apart of the Christ The King Sixth form College, as I am creating my very own music magazine and would like to know your ideas on what should go into the new magazine.

1)  How old are you?

                16 - 19                   20 - 25                 25+              

2)  What is your sex?

                Male                      Female

3)  Do you enjoy coming to college?

                Yes                         No

4)  What type of genre do you listen to the most?

       R’nB                Hip Hop                Rock’N’Roll                Pop               Soul

5)  Do you currently purchase Music Magazines?

                Yes                         No

6)  How often would you like a music magazine to be issued?

                Yes                         No

7)  Would you be interested in a section for new & upcoming albums?

                Yes                         No

8)  Would a section discussing the most up to date music artists’ news be of interest to you?

                Yes                         No

9)  Would you prefer a magazine to have an album of the week section?

                Yes                         No

10)  Would you like the magazine to have a segment which publishes the weekly UK charts?

                Yes                         No

11)  Would you like a magazine to include a section reviewing artists’ recent performances?

                Yes                         No

12)  We will be interviewing the hottest artists out now. Would you like the opportunity to send us questions which we can put forward to them in interviews?

                Yes                         No

13)  Would you want a magazine to offer you free music downloads or vouchers with your purchase?

                Yes                         No

14)  Would a ‘quizzes & contests’ section giving you an opportunity to win gig tickets interest you?

                Yes                         No

15)  Do you own any musical instruments/Gadgets of your own?

                Yes                         No

16)  How often do you read Music Magazines?

                Never                   Sometimes                         Occasionally                       All the Time 

17)  What type of Genre do you prefer?

                Pop                        Rock’n’Roll                          Hip Hop                Gospel                  Reggae                                

`               Other (please specify) . . . . . . . . . . . . .

18)  Would you like weekly competitions with prize giveaways?

                Yes                         No

19)  Would you like the Magazine to have a blog where you can post comments?

                Yes                         No

20)  Would you want your magazine to have a request post where celebrities can reply to your comments?

                Yes                         No

Introduction Music Magazine

In this section of my coursework I will be creating a music front cover of an R’n’B/ hip hop magazine and double page spread. I will be taking photographs of my fellow peers and using them in my magazine. I am going to use Photoshop to edit and create pictures which will then be applied to the magazine.

In this section of my coursework I will be creating a front and double page spread of my very own music magazine. The genre of my music magazine will be an R’n’B/ Hip Hop