Music

Magazine
Evaluation!
By Laura Bailey ;’)
The issue number tells Like any magazine and their
the reader if the conventions, the cover page
magazine is successful photo is a penultimate factor
or not. This is also a of PULSE magazine. With this
convention of photo, I tried to express the
magazines. assertiveness of Crystal by
using the ‘Head and
Shoulders’ framing method as
The use of a barcode well as including eye contact
makes the magazine which forms a ‘connection’
appear more with the reader.
professional and
realistic.
The Masthead and the Straplines
inter-connect with the Semantic
Field of science which acts like a
juxtaposition next to the creative
and imaginative context of music.
Also, ‘pulse’ can be interpreted as
Another key aspect
a musical beat or rhythm and the
of any magazine
Strapline is a rhetorical question
cover is its cover
asking the reader. I think I have
lines. I situated my
chosen the font for my Masthead
cover lines around
well as it is a great design to be
Crystal’s face as to
easily manipulated throughout the
not obstruct her
magazine (see contents
features; I also
watermark) as well as looking
highlighted
‘confident’ and ‘cool’.
important words like
celebrity names to
interest the readers. The bottom strip of the cover lists
what else the magazine has inside;
again, the color scheme relates to
the ‘House Theme’, keeping it
consistent and the exclamation
marks force the reader to ‘take
notice’.
I included the date on the
contents page as to notify
the reader of the date of
release which is another
convention portrayed in
music magazines. The use
of including a date of
release is it helps readers
search for the articles/
issues they want.
The cover lines are the
menu of the magazine- I
have neatly ordered mine
and made the page
numbers a contrasting
color to the cover lines so
it will be easy for the
readers to automatically
turn to their page of
choice.
To make it even more easy
and hassle-free for my
readers, I included a shot
of my cover page with
labeled page numbers
which, again, can relate to
most magazine’s
conventions of listing
articles.
The watermark ‘P’ is
unique to PULSE
magazine which develops
the magazine’s signature
style, making it a
trademark and will be
easy for the readers to
identify with it.
The picture is effective in
the way it links in with
the Editorial which is
about CDs and how we
favor fast internet
downloading now. The
use of a role model such
as Crystal endorses the
idea, thus making it
appealing to the readers.
Including competitions
will encourage readers
to explore the
magazine. This is also a
convention upheld by
leading magazines.
 The Heading ‘Lunch date with…’ shows this is a regular The central image is a great close-up shot of Crystal’s face which
convention for PULSE magazine. Along the side of this page, the I used to portray the emotion in the interview- her eyes are
reader can see the title mirrored on the cover and contents ‘THE looking down, away from the camera, which conveys the
BEAUTY IS BACK!’ which makes it easy to find. stereotypical sadness expression.
Images of the
photo shoot
align the side of
the page with a
transparent
The Introductory effect. To do this
comment is on Photoshop, I
highlighted in pink altered the
so it contrasts photo’s opacity
against the plain to imitate
background and I memories and
have highlighted emphasize the
the important lexis emotion in the
to hook the reader interview.
into the interview.
 Interview

The inset quote I

used from Crystal
is an outburst of
emotion- it’s quite
an aggressive tone
which suggest the
revelation of
secrecy and
feelings to the
reader thus making
them read on.

I used the standard 3 column orientation for my interview so its easy for the audience to
The content of my interview was to
read. My choice of Typography was:
• Cambodia font match the genre of my music magazine
• 12-point size font (Contempory RnB, pop) so Crystal spoke
a lot abut her new material. This is also a
I decided against Justification as to avoid giving the interview the typical ‘tabloid-news’
typical convention of a music magazine.
convention and I wanted to give it a ‘story-esque’ feel, a personal account, which I think
also emphasizes the emotion in the interview.
 The House theme of a magazine is a
penultimate convention as it establishes
the magazine’s signature style/ layout and
makes it easy for the audience to identify
with it.

The font style is also constant throughout. I

opted for ‘Rockwell’ which gives a ‘type-
writer-esque’ style which I felt gives a less
formal approach which is fitting to my target
audience.

By using the same color scheme

throughout, I am able to make my
magazine cohesive and reliable; my color
scheme consists of 4 colors that contrast
with each other perfectly. For example; I
chose black and white to correspond with
my Masthead on my cover. Red and pink
go together on the color spectrum and,
combined, they create a casual, funky
style for my target audience which
research suggests are fun and carefree so
would relate to my style.
My magazine specifically targets teenagers and young adults by
Presenting social groups.
displaying these codes and convention…

Firstly, the choice of colors I have used holds many secret

messages: the colors in question include pink, red, white and
black. Red and pink are closely linked together. Stereotypically,
they would apply to the female audience alone but, paired with
the edgy monochromatic colors of black and white, I am able to
Colors!
achieve a balance to suit both genders of my target audience.
My choice of font relates to my genre of
music: I chose this because it will be easily
Stereotypically, people may identified by the target audience and thus,
associate red and pink as ‘childish’ will be efficiently sold. This is another code
colors but I have included them as of music magazines.
they can connote to being ‘dream’
colors which will emphasize the
singers that have achieved their
dreams and is something the
audience will aspire to achieve
also.
The right outfits/ style is essential for conveying the genre of a
particular artist. Research has shown that the most influential Presenting social groups.
feature of a role model is their appearance which is easy for the
audience to imitate.

Because my artist, Crystal, is a teen singer, it was important

to express her youth through her clothes. For inspiration, I
looked at fresh, new artists like Cher Lloyd who also belong
to the RnB/ Pop genre of my magazine.
Images!
I experimented with various Photoshop effects for my
contents page picture. As you can see, I included a grey
scale over my picture whilst retaining Crystal’s youth by
adding a dramatic blue in her eye which is immediately
striking.

ABOVE: Cher Lloyd’s styling

inspired my own
interpretation for my cover.
Language is the defining factor of any magazine.
Language can vary from regional accents to different Presenting social groups.
dialects. Striking the right balance for my audience is

Language!
crucial to create a relationship between my magazine
and my readers.

Crystal’s accent is Cockney- the Cockney accent is

often associated with the ‘hardcore’, ‘gangster-
esque’ qualities that are found among RnB singers
and explores its subculture.
On my contents page, I included Euphemisms in my
listings to make the articles more appealing and
humorous.
Preliminary task!
The preliminary task was to assess our early skills on developing a magazine. We had to
learn how to use a camera professionally (rule of thirds etc) and how to edit the
products on Photoshop.

•The House theme in my college magazine was not

consistent and the layout was untidy and lacked
professionalism.
•The colour scheme was not cohesive and had barely any
link to my purpose/ audience.
•The style of my college magazine did not appeal to my
target audience, which were teenagers, as it did not
project a youthful, cool or humorous feel.
•It lacked that attention-grabber motif that every
magazine needs with the vague colours.
•It bore no bar code, date, strap line, competitions or
teasers like professional magazines do.

Target Audience!
To find out who my readers would be,
I created questionnaires to help me
analyse and identify my exact target
audience. The questionnaire was
designed to assess whether the target
audience range would be interested
in my music magazine.
My questionnaire style of choice
was Quantative; Quantative seemed
the easiest option as most answers
require a ‘yes’, ‘no’ or an ‘unsure’
option, as well as multiple choice
which makes culminating the results
quick and efficient.
QUESTIONNAIRE
1 . What gender are you? Male Female
2 . Describe your own fashion style in one sentence.
3 . What stereotype would you say you are/ closely linked to?
4 . Name your role model.
5 . Does your family influence you? Yes No Unsure
6 . State your religion.
7 . Would you describe yourself as ‘trying to be the perfect person’? Yes No
Unsure
8 . Would you like your own family in the future? Yes No Unsure
9 . Would you consider yourself as popular? Yes No Unsure
1 0 . Would you describe yourself as individual? Yes No Unsure
1 1 . Is success important to you? Yes No Unsure
1 2 . Are you always willing to help those in need? Yes No Unsure
1 3 . What do your parents/ carers do for a living?
1 4 . On a rating 1-10, (1 being poor, 10 excellent) how would you rate Britain’s
Government?
1 5 . How often do you socialize with your friends? Once a week, twice a week,
more than twice a week, never.
1 6 . Are you eco-conscious? Yes No
1 7 . What is your preferred way of travel? Flash, expensive sports cars,
environmentally friendly cars, bicycle, walking.
1 8 . When you go shopping, do you always buy the same brands? Yes No
1 9 . Would/ have you ever bought counterfeit-brand items? Yes No Unsure
2 0 . Do you believe that buying the best things will gain you status and respect?
Yes No Unsure
The questionnaire results determined that my target audience would be
teenagers/ young adults as these age groups are commonly associated with my
genre, RnB and Pop. Target Audience!
Teenager/ young adults show acute interest in the lives of up-and-
coming artists. These days, the lives of many teens cannot compare to

Results!
that of a international-standard, respected artist, which is why it is
natural for most teens to be drawn into influential artists whom they
admire. This creates aspirations for my audience and expresses
ambition and goals to achieve.

Teenagers like to imitate their idols; it
symbolizes ego, style and status. That is why
it is vitally important to ensure my artists are
portrayed in a way that promotes a style to
be desired.
Also, the use of facial expressions, lighting and
accessories can be effectively used to portray
an artist’s emotions in an interview. For
Crystal’s interview, I went for a very intimate
close-up shot of her face. The emotion is
expressed within her features, despite the
Indirect Mode of Address.

Here you can see

Crystal dressed in
typical glamorous
attire, as expected
from a huge hit singer.
It is universally known, for any magazine, that
attracting a target audience is fundamentally
important in order to sell. Here are some typical
Target Audience!
codes and conventions I included to attract my
readers… The Masthead ‘PULSE’ is a connotation to musical beats which keeps in
with the theme of music. The style of it has that funky vibe and stands out
brilliantly, hooking the reader in. The title ‘PULSE’ also links to the theme
The photos I used in my magazine all help create of electricity which suggest life, and vibrancy. Even the contents is linking
ideology for my audience- the main focal photos on in with the semantic field of music and electricity- the ‘o’ in contents is
my cover, contents and double-page spread designed like a ball of light which, in turn, links in with electricity.
epitomize true celebrity style. The attraction of her
clothes and make-up appeal to my audience and
hook them in.

Via the Hypodermic Needle Theory, I

decided to use imperative tones
throughout my magazine to address
the audience and send powerful
messages to them, influencing them
to do instructed.
Producing the
magazine!
Photography- creating emotion through the
power of photography is a trick that needs to be
mastered so I enjoyed experimenting with
different poses, effects, angles etc to create
various effects.

There are various techniques editors use to create a

truly worthy magazine. In order for it to look
professional, these key factors need to be included:

Lighting- lighting helps establishes how the celebrity appears and thus,
perceived. Varying uses of lighting can create scenery and mood. For the
photo on my double-page spread, I wanted particular emphasis on her
emotions in the interview so orange lighting was included to add
warmth, depth and emotion to the picture; this makes the reader feel
part of the celebrity’s inner circle.

Photoshop- is a technical revolution; how magazine’s how strived on the advancement

of this software, it helps improve magazines, making them look professional and
concise.
Without Media institutions, magazine would have no way
of production. Different Media institutions market different
genres of music magazines. For example: IPC Media is one
of the industry’s most popular institutions, famous for Media
publishing NME. IPC would be less likely to publish a rival
of NMEs considering the magazine’s huge success. But
there are other institutions who may have an opening… Institutions!

Bauer Media own more than 80

popular radio, magazine, TV and
online media brands which means it
may be difficult to find an opening
with them.

Future Publishing is developing company who specializes in

niche markets with new and exciting genres of music. My new
‘Heritage Pop’ genre would be ideal for Future Publishing.