MUSIC MAGAZINE ANALYSIS

technical aspects
audience and social connotations 
language 
design and images
production, promotion and distribution

The magazine I created follows several magazine conventions often shown in existing media products
I used the grid system clearly in my front cover as I felt it was important in the look of the magazine and authenticity of the product.

In the left third column of the magazine I arranged kickers and cover lines highlighting a variety of main stories in the issue. I also used secondary images in this column. The overload of information in this section is particularly important, particularly in a product that is not well established. This is the case because of the way in which magazines are displayed in shops usually this third of the magazine is what is in view therefore is necessary for it to be interesting, attention grabbing and attractive to the consumer.

I challenged the colour scheme conventions of current media products in order to reflect my ideology and house style better and create a better appeal to the target audience. Through research and questionnaire results I found that the colour schemes that my target audience found appealing were more muted earthy tones rather than the bright neon’s of many current style and music orientated products, such as top of the pops magazine and LOOK, and less sleek than the smooth monochromes of VOGUE and MOJO. So in choosing my colourscheme of muted mustard and faded vermillion I was directly addressing the wants of a possible audient , keeping to my house style and representing the magazine in a way that suits its ideology.

this particular secondary image and plug is included in the left third of the front cover of the magazine. I feel it has particular appeal because it engages the reader through a direct address"were you snapped in the photobooth" this creates an entry point for readers. the image also contributes to this as it is obviously of "fans" thus creating a personal link between buyer and magazine . The graphic element of this feature is also very asthetically pleasing, the colours and fonts are thematic throught the magazine and the image style relates to the "PHOTOBOOTH" aspect of the feature as it is in the style of an actual photobooth image linking to the item.

I positioned the masthead in the top left hand side of the magazine followed with a catchy tagline that appeals to my target audience, my target audience being a young person of any gender most likely working or middle class who appreciates the nostalgic and vintage styles in indie culture as well at the music .My music magazine is called junkshop as I felt this to be a suitable masthead as it is reflective of my house style of vintage indie rock and roll. It creates inference to the nostalgic indie style and liking of “old school” clothing, shopping in thrift stores and junkshops. It relates well to the indie culture and also represents the nature of my magazine as it is a collection of many artists , stories and aspects of indie values like a junkshop has a collective of many objects from various places. The banner or tagline "dont rake through the rails all the music is here" links to the metaphor of the magazine being a junkshop of music information.

I selected my audience through questionaires , analysis of current products and basic observation and knowlege based on current medias.the response from a majority of young people (aged 15 to 20) when asked favoured this style of music and style.


when asked...
Do you enjoy seeing gigs and live acts?
90% of the people asked aged 16-21 said  yes.
Have you ever been to a music festival?
85% of the people asked aged 16-21 said yes
Popular style icons were famous people from  the sixties and seventies,
showing the attitude of nostalgia being "cool"
more popular shops for clothes were topshop and vintage stores


all of these contributed to my choice of target audience . The other aspect that I felt was important when I  targeted the consumer was social class. Trom data I collected I found that the most likely buyer would be from social category ABC1, working or middle class backgrounds as these are the groups from which artists in this genre of music generally come from therefore my magazine had to relate to and be in the price range of the working and middle classes and also reflect the lifestyles that people have in theis wide catogory .

The style of image was an aspect I used to appeal to my target audience.
 The filters I used on photoshop were tended to be warming filters to create a sepia type effect on the photographs while still keeping a modern edge.I also lowered the saturation on many of my photographs as it creates an effect reminicant of a film camera in the 1960's.
 This keeps with the house style of my product as well as creating a nice visual. 
The sixties photograph of two girls in northern england shows the saturated colours that I used in my photography. 

The image content and composition is also reflective of the design style I created. The images used inside the magazine are considerate of the audience's style , background and the house style of the magazine. For example this image of Hannah Coxon that is featured is almost archetypal of indie photography for music magazines. The subject is not engaging with the camera but looking away with a noncheant interest , this kind of photograph is particulary used for artists in the indie genre as it is a part of the representation of the ideology that magazine creators want to promote to their target audience. The style of clothing in the image also reflects this representation of the independant music stereotype.

a similar technique has been

 used in this image of Florence Welch  ( florence and the machine)

The Coxons Jukebox image on the contents page shows particular reverance to the social targets of my product through its content as the prop used is an old small renault car this creates a vision of the working classes and the city indie music scene contrasting completely with the glamour of other big music styles such as R&B in which the cars used are always expensive and large.

 A working class background is also refered to in this quote from my article this not only has social conotations but creates an entry point for the reader they feel a link with the artist and magazine as they can relate to it.Therefore making the magazine more accessible and in keeping with an indie attitude.

I looked at the different magazine publishing companies in order to analyse the pros and cons of each to find out which would be most suitable to publish my  media product.
 Bauer Media - publishers of music magazines Kerrang, Q and MOJO. I looked at the various readship statements and information concerning all these magazines. I felt that they often had similar sentiment to my magazine in many ways but were different in thier target audiences therefore I felt that this would potentially be the best company to produce "jukebox ".
Though it is an internationally successful company, making it perhaps less in keeping with the ethics of indie music however the general way in which these magazines are produced I feel would suit my magazine and Give the company a way of competing with NME as there is much demand for magazines on this kind of music it also gives domething different than IPC's product in that it has what could be considered to be a "more indie" look through its design and colour scheme.

I felt that other companies such as Condé Nast International producers of magazines such as Vogue and Mens Health ,are unsuited to my magazine as they are more luxury orientated targeting a higher social class  giving an overall more 'glossy' image than indie music cuture conveys .

In terms of distribution, my magazine could target more mainstream consumers being sold at supermarkets and newsagents as well as specifically catering for the target audience by perhaps being sold in vitage shops and idependant music shops. Convergence that would be particularly beneficial to my magazine would be with companies such as HMV that sells music and i tunes as the future of music is highly dependant on technology as is the magazine industry therefore a collabaration with the apple conglomerate would secure a more stable future for the magazine . This is a feild that would be useful to create synergy with particularly since the new release of the Ipad that could change the future of magazines making print magazines obsolete because of the Ibook and safari feature which would mean you could purchase the magazine to view digitally or browse the magazine website anywhere without it being printed at all  .  

I referanced to digital media in my contents page synergy with the social networking site facebook and and also promoting gigs and tours this will create further revenue with other cources of income being advertising deals with various suited companies , for example the producers of band t shirts and merchendise could be a possible endorsement for this  magazine.

I have learned a lot throughout this unit about production techniques how to layout a magazine sucessfully keep to a housestyle and attract a target audience . I improved my photography skills using various learned techniques such as the rule of thirds, shot angle,and shot types.
I improved my photo editing skills particularly through the production of my college magazines I also realised its potential as a way of attracting audience through visual effect and colour scheme. For example my audience reaserch questionnaire showed that many people felt that indie music would be best represented through muted tones therefore I used this and incorparated it in my house style of the indie style music magazine I created. If i were to repeat the project i might change the colour scheme because though it is a device i used to attract target audience and stay in keeping with the ideology of my magazine.I felt it was not eyecatching enough and should have perhaps been boolder and more statemented. I would also consider the options of webzines and web design because this industry is becoming more and more influenced by the technology of today.