Final Cover, Contents and Double page

Evaluation of my music magazine

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Throughout the process of making my music magazine I carried out research on existing magazines of both my genre and others. My research showed that all magazines have a masthead to distinguish the brand. The masthead is usually placed along the top of the magazine or the top, left third. The masthead has to look catchy and stand out therefore, putting the font in big, block letters seemed appropriate for this as it will stand out to the audience. Therefore, placing my masthead in the top, left third would appeal to the audience. The cover lines shown on existing magazines are very eye catching and appealing. Therefore, producing cover lines for my magazine that are persuasive to the consumer buying the magazine is important as using words such as ‘exclusive’ shows that it can only be found in this magazine and no other. Cover lines are often shown in a big text to catch the reader’s attention; therefore, doing this in my magazine was important. The main cover line is the main feature of the magazine and should therefore, be in a big and bold font which will attract the audience straight away. The main cover line must be in a big font to also show that it supports the main image (anchorage). The barcode and price is often shown on the bottom, right hand side as it is not a main feature and does not need noticing straight away by consumers. The barcode is conventionally placed on the bottom, right and near it is also the price and website which is on this side as it is the smaller information. The date is shown towards the top of the magazine as this shows that the magazine is recent, new and current. This persuades the audience to buy the magazine as it is up to date and will therefore consist of new information and news on all the latest artists. The skyline on existing magazines usually consists of something exclusive to that magazine. For example, the Katy Perry edition of ‘Blender’ magazine says ‘Free downloads! 10 new tracks’ this is very persuasive language and helps promote the magazine. Therefore, on my magazine I put ‘Free Cd!’ as this shows that the audience get a great deal with the magazine. This was followed by ‘The UK’s favourite R&B magazine voted by you’ as this directly involved the audience and this is used as a teasing device as it makes the magazine sound bigger and better. Therefore, this one convention could make someone pick ‘Pulse’ magazine over another as it acts as a teasing device.

The contents page consisted of several images. The main image took up a large minority of the contents page as this was the main focus of the page. I also included 3 smaller pictures taken at a concert, and this would appeal to readers as it shows a live event by two artists, it also promotes the magazine as it is previous competition winners and it shows that everyone has a chance of winning. The features section is shown to be exclusive to ‘Pulse’ magazine and shows a few of the magazines best pages. The ‘News’ section also shows recent information and new gossip, which is clearly stated on the magazine and is easy for the readers to find as it is a clear subheading. Page numbers are shown under each subheading as this also makes it easier for the reader to find their way around the magazine and skip to the page they would like to read. Page numbers also show the amount of context in the magazine, a few amount of pages will be more appealing to buyers as the magazine is shown to contain more.

The double page spread consists of a large headline which supports the main image (anchorage). The large headline will attract the reader as it is very eye catching. The main image will be the main focus as it takes up one whole side of A4. The introductory paragraph gives a brief insight to the celebrities past year and makes her sound very good and this persuades people to read on. The photo credit is shown at the side of the photograph in a bold text; this is very common in music magazines as my research showed that most magazines set it out in this way. The article credit is shown at the end of the article, as this will be noticed when people finish reading the article. The use of drop cap and pull quote both make the magazine look a lot more professional. The pull quote is shown in the center of the article in a larger font; therefore the audience will most probably see this before reading the article. The consistent colour scheme throughout the magazine is purple, black and grey and this distinguishes the magazine to competitors. The arrows towards the bottom of the second page of the double page spread shows that there is more on the article on the next page, which shows that there is a lot of information about her. The white background throughout the magazine is also common as it makes everything else on the page standout such as the text and the images. The double page heading (‘Cher’s climb to fame’) is shown in a different font to the rest of the page as this stands out more and is also in a much larger font. The heading ‘climb to fame’ is in a long text and is ironic as it is like a "climb". The font that ‘Cher’ is written in is unique to the rest of the page and is shown in a luxury font and very different and this shows that Cher is the main feature of this page as the A4 image shows.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My media product represents the demographic age 16-24. This is shown as a younger aged person is shown on the front of the magazine, contents page and on the double page spread. I have shown that my magazine is for the younger minority as bright, vibrant colours have been used which will appeal to the audience. The magazine is aimed at both males and females. This is shown through a mixture of colour choices rather than one stereotypical colour e.g. pink for girls. This distinguishes the magazine and shows that it is aimed at both genders. I have aimed my magazine at a wide and varied range of ethnic and gender backgrounds to make the market larger, I have done this by researching current magazines similar to mine and using certain techniques such as a mixture of colours to appeal to both genders. The model shown on the front of the magazine is wearing a stereotypical hat related to this genre of music (R&B). The socio economic group D/E are represented in my magazine as the price shows to be cheap for a music magazine and is shown to be for people in education or in a low paid job. The socio economic group shows my target audience to be 16-24 year olds this will attract them to the magazine as it is their age range, and the magazine includes information that they will be interested in such as recent information about artists that they are interested in. The mise en scene of the model on the front page shows her wearing stereotypical clothing for R&B with the hat and MTV microphone which was made consciously and this also shows that this type of magazine is a music magazine.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Bauer Media would be the type of media distribution to distribute my music magazine as they are very successful. This means that they have enough money for promotion on television and can advertise in all other existing magazines. As they have become very successful worldwide, the magazine could be published globally meaning that more sales would be made unlike an independent label. The company will also have more contacts meaning sales would also be larger and they already have a fan base meaning customers will most probably trial buy the magazine if they like the look of it. However, if the magazine was published by a smaller/independent company the magazine is less likely to become global as there is a lack of finance and also advertising would be more local/national rather than international and worldwide. Therefore, publishing the magazine with a bigger/worldwide company means that the magazine will be more well-known and a lot more sales would be made, although there would be a lot more competitors therefore, the production of the magazine must consist of a lot of vocabulary and new information on artists. A competitor of this magazine would be ‘Blender’ magazine and ‘Vibe’ magazine, as these are both the same genre and the target audience is also the same.

Who would be the audience for your media product?
The audience of my music magazine is 16-24 year olds both male and females. This has not changed during my magazine production as ideas were thought about consciously. As my audience is the younger population they will not have as much money due to been in education or having part time jobs or lower positions in jobs. This means that the price of the magazine has to be low so it is affordable. The target audience also will want new information and information about the latest artists. The colour scheme must also be thought about as they will want an appealing and attractive magazine will relatively young models on. The person looking straight at the audience on the front page of my magazine will appeal to my audience as it is directly addressing them. The cover lines will also attract fans of R&B and therefore it will appeal to my audience and they will buy it as they have an interest in this.

How did you attract/address your audience?

My magazine offered a free cd which meant that they were getting a good offer as well as buying the magazine; this made it look more appealing and persuades the reader into choosing this magazine. The contents page also showed competitions that could be entered which looked a lot more appealing to consumers. The magazine front cover also had ‘exclusive’ information which showed that no other magazines have this which would have appealed to the audience. The word ‘exclusive’ was shown in red as this colour stands out to the audience. The magazine also had less text than normal magazines, as this age group wouldn’t like to read too much. More artists names featured in the magazine are listed on the front page on the byline and in a subheading which makes the magazine more widespread and fans of certain artists will buy this magazine to find out more information about them. The colour theme shown throughout the magazine, means that the magazine can be distinguished between other existing magazines. This also shows that it can be recognised easily by fans of the magazine. My magazine will also attract the audience as the price is affordable at £2.90 for an issue a month. Therefore, new information will be in the magazine. Whereas, if the magazine was published weekly the information may not be as good some weeks as there is no recent, big news which will interest the audience. Therefore, publishing the magazine monthly means that it will consist of the best information meaning that the magazine will be at a high standard and people will be willing to pay more.

All of the most important information is shown on the left third of the magazine. This is because once the magazine is on the shelf, usually only the left third is shown. Therefore, the masthead will be shown and the main cover line along with the main image. The left third is what sells the magazine, as if this looks good people are more likely to pick up this magazine and buy ‘Pulse’ instead of any other.

What does your audience feedback show?

 My audience feedback shows that all people that carried out my questionnaire could recognise my music genre of the magazine. The people who filled in the questionnaire are all different ages and not only the target audience as not all of them liked R&B and this could show why the amount of people the magazine appealed to is rather low, however, still a large amount of people liked the magazine. This shows that the magazine genre is clear for people buying it and will attract fans of R&B music. 10% of the people didn’t believe the price was reasonable. Although, the majority did believe the price was reasonable meaning 90% of them would pay £2.90. A higher percentage (30%) said that the magazine did not appeal to them. This could be due to them not been interested in this music genre, therefore asking only people which liked R&B would have been more appropriate. 80% of people said that there is a consistent theme and that the magazine is recognisable throughout which means would recognise the magazine as ‘Pulse’ magazine making it different to others. The people I researched also included that on my contents page the anchorage for the main image could have been made to stand out more. I could have done this by putting the text onto a white background.

 What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I used the Canon D1100 to take my pictures for the magazine. I also used Microsoft Publisher on the computer and laptop to make my contents page and double page spread and used Photoshop for my front page. Photoshop allowed me to quick select my photograph to get rid of the background so it is blank, the blur tool then let me make the picture less rigid and to make the edges a lot more smoother. To finish off, I then used the spot fix tool which allowed me to get rid of any blemishes the model had. This made the picture look a lot more professional, as it increased the appearance of the model. Photoshop enabled me to make a professional looking photograph and use different effects to make the magazine look a lot more effective. Technology helps the presentation of a music magazine as it can be made a lot more advanced and photos can be edited and taken on high pixel devices. The internet also helped as I could research ideas and previous magazines and drafts could be made on word which allowed me to quickly design a layout.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
When I started on my second draft, I rearranged the whole splash to see what looks best. This meant rearranging the price, issue number and the date of the magazine. I also changed the font of the masthead because it was too plain and didn’t stand out against the other text and wasn’t symbolic to the magazine. These all meant that the magazine is easier to read and looks a lot more appealing. I then added a skyline, to attract the audience. After the process of making my drafts, I had to start planning my magazine for final. This meant having to see what looked best of my draft and what should be changed and added. Then, I added more conventional features to my magazine and added teasing devices to attract the audience.Since my preliminary task I have become a lot more confident with using Photoshop and designing magazines, how they work and there conventions. I feel that I have progressed since making my college magazine, because my understanding of Photoshop has improved a lot as I am now able to use the quick selection tool, spot remover and the blur tool. This is the main reason for the much higher quality of my music magazine than the college magazine. As I now know the conventions of magazines e.g. splash, teasing devices, masthead etc. and carried out a lot of research on existing magazines, this meant that I now have better knowledge on the layout of magazines and what works well and doesn't.

Music magazine front cover draft:

The reason for the masthead choice is because the word 'Pulse' sounds very energetic and modern. It is also only short which is catchy and memorable. The main picture shown looks affective and clear to who the person is as the model is wearing symbollic equipment to R&B making the target market clear.

Picture's taken for my music magazine

All of these picture's were taken on a cannon 1000D camera.

Although this picture looks very effective, the picture may not look right in the magazine as the top half of the head is cropped off.

This picture wasn't chosen for my magazine as the model isn't looking towards the camera, and this means that the audience cannot engage with the audience.

This image looks very effective as the model is shown to be looking into the distance, however, the camera angle makes the model to look far away in the sense that they are pushing away from the wall. It also wasn't chosen as other picture's looked a lot more effective.

Audience, price and publish

As my intended target audience are the age of 16-24 I will need a price which is suitable for this age group. Most teenagers are in education rather than having a highly paid job, therefore do not earn a lot of money so my magazine price needs to be affordable in order for them to buy it. I will publish my magazine every monthly because not only will my magazine provide different and exciting contents every month, my magazine can advertise for the following months and offer coupons which will persuade readers to buy the continuing magazine which will result in more buyers, long term.

However, a competitive price will be needed to compete in the market. Therefore, I will price my magazine at £2.90 as this is a reasonable price for the target market. This should be affordable for my target market as it is published monthly. The date of publish, target audience and competitors have been taken into account when setting a price for my magazine.

Initial ideas and drafts

All of these magazines are a rough draft of what my music magazine layout will be like. This is also the information which will be included. These images will help me plan how my images will be layed out to be like. These images help me decide how I will take my photographs and what clothing the model should wear. They also give me an idea on how to set them out (plain background). The text of the artist's name (Jennifer Hudson) in that font and colour scheme looks very effective and I believe I should use this on my music magazine. Depending on my image, my masthead title may differ to red as this will stand out and make the magazine noticable. The masthead will cover up the full top 1/4 of the page as this is the main focus of the magazine.

Digital mock up:

This gives me an indication on how the layout of my magazine will look. This helps me plan my magazine as it shows whether my layout will work or if it will be cramped.

Target audience

Audiences are separated into groups using quantitive data; on gender, age and social class. Gender is separated into two categories; male and female. This can then be separated into ages: 15 and under, 16-24, 25-35, 36-55 and 56 and over. I have decided to aim my magazine at both male and female but mainly females, this will age from 16-24. This is because from my research I found that it is mainly young females that like this sort of music (R&B). My target audience is most likely to be in the c-d grade (unemployed/semi-skilled workers). This should be the correct target audience as most 16-24 year olds are in education, or recently gone in to work. Therefore, making a low price for the magazine should be correct. They would like to see a main image that covers the whole page which is appealing to them perhaps showing attitude. Also, a good main headline. Tease devices such as winning tickets to an R&B concert which will appeal to them. They will also want good main headlines which will interest them and persuade them to buy the magazine. Demographics are important so I can figure out more about my target audience. Including relatively new bands in my magazine should make young readers interested in the magazine and buy it. Therefore, my front cover should be very appealing and eye catching meeting the target audience's needs.