AMY TIBBETT

Music Magazine Evaluation

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of
real media products?
In producing the layout of my magazine, I tended to use conventional forms of media production. For example for the front
cover I placed the mass head to the left, as when placed in stores the left side is always shown and therefore the majority of
publications use this format.

The image on the right was my first attempt at a front cover and although
the digital photograph of the band members is clear, the background with
the bricks was confusing in shape and shade and the actual colour made it
difficult to contrast and compliment the text. The band members also
appeared quite sullen and did not
Present the image I wanted to portray.

In my final front cover, I placed the headline/lead story just below the
centre of my main image in large, strong font with the name of the band
and I then placed the anchorage below, as this gave further related
information. The kicker was placed above the cover lines in larger font
and the cover lines were set to the left, as is standard, and described the storylines in more detail. I also used a menu strip
at the bottom of the cover page to list the artists featured in the magazine. I also added a barcode and price as is standard
practice for majority of publications.

For the contents page, I again placed the title of the magazine at the top, using the same font and size as the main cover, as
this gave continuity. I then used titles to describe the various features within the magazine, for example, Top Ten Albums
or Letters of the Week, with the page numbers next to them. This page also included Editors Notes with a photograph,
which provided personal comment and established an informal relationship with the audience. Also on this page I used an
unconventional format for advertising the main feature band The Yesterdays. Using small black and white images of the
band I placed them in a strip to appear as if they had been taken in a photo booth as I felt it gave the band a down to earth
appeal, as the audience could well have similar images themselves.

In the double page spread, the title was quite large to that of the other text, not only to give impact but also it was put in
speech marks to emphasise that this feature was a personal interview with the band. I also used a pull quote to emphasise
their comments.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
My magazine targets quite a large social group from teens to thirty something’s, though with a common theme of an interest in
music and in particular timeless classics, with hits that come from a variety of music genres including, Indie, Grunge and Soft
Rock and older classics. This wide range of music and audience makes it quite difficult to target information specific to one type
of social group, ie teenagers and therefore I ensured that my contents primarily concentrated on the music itself, for example,
forthcoming gigs, new releases, band interviews etc. Noting that I believe my target audience would range from social grades of
managers and professionals to manual workers and the unemployed and therefore the content had to be comprehensible and also
of interest to them all.

One of the my main objectives, was that I wanted the audience to personally relate to the music and musicians and I achieved this
by ensuring articles were presented in a personal manner, where interviewees spoke personally to the readers. I also used
colloquial language, direct speech to the audience and to ensure a really personal approach, I ensured the images of The
Yesterdays were taken in and around their North East home of Redcar. This I feel gave the audience a very personal insight into
the lifestyle of a famous music band and a Reflective and VALS (Values, attitudes and Lifestyles) Approach to interviews.

I also encouraged direct communication with the audience by printing readers letters and to encourage involvement, also
provided a cash prize for ‘Letter of the Week’. The Editor also often responded to these letters, which created a respectful and
reactive relationship with the audience, which is a form of Reception Theory.

Within my magazine, I also used the Hypodermic Needle Theory, this means the advertising was placed in various sizes, images,
fonts and print throughout the pages. This advertising was direct and purposeful, for example plainly stated the product, thus
being a direct stimuli to the audience. I also used Media Influences such Branding, where I referred to brand names such as music
publishers, record companies, etc. Influential methods were also used, for example Album Ratings were printed, which although
not directly promoting the album, highlighted mass popularity and therefore influenced the audience. Finally, I also used
Subliminal Persuasion, where images were placed within a wider setting, for example the name of the guitar used by the musician
could be seen within the overall image, thus stimulating the threshold of unconscious perception.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
One of the biggest magazine publishers is IPC Media. Initially set up in 1963 following the merger of UK’s three leading magazine
publishers – George Newnes, Odhams Press and Fleetway Publications, who, together with the Mirror Group formed the
International Publication Corporation (IPC) and IPC Magazines was created 5 years later in 1968 – (Now called IPC Media). IPC
Media have consistently grown over recent decades, often being at the forefront of innovation, for example, in 2004 they launched
NUTS, the first mens weekly magazine and today they market 23% of the total magazines published. Currently they have 60 media
brands including; Look, Woman, Chat, TV Times plus, digital media brands such as, housetohome, goodtoknow, along with
numerous gaming sites and website consumer review publications. As a result, IPC Media reaches two thirds of UK women and
42% of UK men, with over 26 million readers on over 20 million on line users every month. However, on researching Publishers
who specialise in music magazines IPC is not a leading company, with only a few publications, the most famous being NME
magazine.

One of the largest music magazine publishers is Bauer Consumer Media, with
magazines including Kerrang, Q and Mojo. Based in Hamburg, Germany, the
company operates in 15 countries worldwide, publishing 38 million magazines a
week. They also have spin offs from these publications such as Kerrang Radio,
Q Awards, etc.

During my research I noticed a lot of the now world famous music magazines such a Q
and Mojo were founded by people who wanted to promote particular genres of music, for example, Mark Allen and David
Hepworth founded Q magazine because they believed the music press ignored a generation of older music buyers who were
buying CD’s. They also pushed boundaries by publishing a monthly magazine with higher standards of photography and
printing, however, as with a lot of music magazines they started of small, with a name called Cue and was only published by
a small company in the UK.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

In the UK there are numerous small music publishing companies, including both printed and online e-zines, such as Vocalist
or the Alternative Music Press, which is an online magazine or the Audio Amateur Corporation, which publishes several
magazines including; Auto Electronics, Glass Audio and Voice Call. Specialist publications such as Bitch Magazine (a
feminist response to pop culture) or Blue Print Magazine which focuses on all things blues, are just a small number of a
wide variety of music publications available.

On selecting a publisher for my magazine, I looked at UK MAGZ, Unsigned Guide and other similar sites and eventually
chose Future Media, as they publish a number of leading music magazines primarily within the UK, including Guitar World,
Rhythm, along with Musicradar.com, a music making website with over 5 million views each month. They are small
compared to IPC, though still sell 3.2 million magazines each month and therefore I felt would provide me with a more
personal support package, which would allow my magazine to grow and develop, both in print and online, without having
the pressure of having to sell high numbers, which IPC might well expect. Future Media also specialise in promoting and
developing classic rock and similar music genres and I believe would therefore have experience and insight into the music I
wish to promote within my magazine.
Who would be the audience for your media product?

I started the research for my magazine by formulating a questionnaire to friends, family and other students. I primarily
asked what types of music they listened to, where I discovered young males listened mainly to Indie music, females had a
wider range along with older adults, which included pop from both today and past decades, rock and easy listening
music. Figures also highlighted that these two groups also listened to the type of artists that would appear in my
magazine, namely Grunge, Indie, Soft Rock and older classic hit music. This variety of music, would ensure a wide range
of audience however, in order to maintain audiences who prefer a particular musical genre I would ensure that each
weeks publication would concentrate on one of these forms, such as Grunge.

One of the new trends at the moment is “Grunge” which basically means; rock is mixed with 90’s music. This includes
bands such as The Jam, The who and singers such as Paul Weller and Morrissey. By concentrating on this genre of music,
results from my questionnaire showed that it would be popular with a wide range of ages and of both sexes and as this
music is viewed as ‘trendy’ I hoped it would also appeal to a much younger audience.

I also examined various popular and specialist music magazines including; Kerrang, Rolling Stones, Billboard, Q, Mojo
and NME. I also took special interest in layout, content, images and advertising along with membership figures both in
the UK, America and world wide and noted the most popular for my target audience, ie teenage to thirty something, was
Karrang and Billboard. From this research I noted there was no magazine which concentrated on Grunge music, with the
nearest being Mojo and NME. Therefore, this highlighted a gap in the market, though in order to achieve a wider market,
I also felt some of my content would also have to include other music genre and also popular bands, in order to achieve a
maximum readership.
How did you attract/address your audience?
First priority for my magazine was attracting my audience. I did this by using topical ideas for my cover lines, for example; tour
dates, interviews, etc, which I believed my audience may find interesting and entertaining. For my cover I used an informal style
of writing, for example, the quotes I used included colloquial language, as I felt my younger audience would relate to this more. I
also chose a busy house style to show my readers what was inside my magazine, as by providing a comprehensive range of
information on the front cover, I felt would ensure appeal to a wider range of readers.

The image for my front cover was of two young females laughing and smiling, where the facial expressions used, I believe
showed a light and youthful approach to my magazine. By focusing upon a “famous” young female duet, I hoped would not only
attract my audience, but by how I chose to portray them, ie. down to earth and approachable, I hoped readers would want to
aspire to be like them and therefore, read the interview inside to find out more.

I used the mass head to address the audience by naming my magazine “Timeless” which refers to the music portrayed, for
example, both old and new music which stands the test of time. By that I mean selecting tunes that although may not always be
in the charts, but on hearing the song, most people would recognise and sing along with it. Also, this ensures a wider range of
audience, as by providing information on long established groups such as The Who, Elvis Costello, etc, would relate and attract
an older audience and yet by also focusing on The Yesterdays, would appeal to a younger audience.

The double page spread layout of ‘The Yesterdays’ follows the conventions of a standard magazine. The neutral colours and
image of the duet, add a relaxed feel rather than a shock impact image, as this again reflects the genre of the music, ie. Indie and
soft rock. I also added the album set list and album cover to the double page spread, which provided advertisement for the band
and, after reading the article would give the audience a visual prompt for buying the CD.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this
product?
Whilst producing my magazine I have learnt how to use Adobe Photoshop, how to create a blog and create images by
digital photography and also used and referred to online media websites for reference and information.

During my research I used the Internet a great deal for information, for example magazine publishers, several of which
are listed in other sections and also as a reference for social trends in music, advertising theories and factual data. To
display this research I used ‘Blogger.com’ which I also used as a further reference aid.

In order to show my learning and understanding of Photoshop, I have decided to explain how I produced my double page
spread of the band The Yesterdays. I started with my own digital image of the female duet taken in an open field, where I
made sure the scene was aesthetically pleasing to the audience by firstly centralising the characters. I then placed the text
onto the image and lowered the opacity by burning the text, but still ensuring the background layer remained transparent
and visible.

The primary colours of this image were pastel, natural shades and therefore I used two layers for the heading, selecting
different fonts and colours which I felt matched the tones and hues of the image. Within the central text I also wanted to
include a ‘pull quote’ from the band and to achieve this I used the feathering tool to create a soft, oval shape where the
text was placed and therefore blended and I believe complemented the overall text.

To also draw the eye of the audience towards the album cover, I created a small sized rectangle bottom right of the main
scene and again used the opacity tool to blend this further image and by adjusting the size, I also made sure each written
word on the album could be easily viewed. As a result, I learnt how to select and edit layers, merge images, etc. and
believe as a result, created a professional, informative and visually pleasing images within my magazine.
Looking back at your preliminary task (the College magazine), what do you feel you have
learnt in the progression from it to full product?

For my initial attempt at producing a media product, I created a College Magazine, as shown
on the left. During this task I tried to follow the conventions of basic magazine publishing and
this included; placing mass head to top left hand side, adding cover lines and kickers along
with gaining skills and experience in working with blogs and Adobe Photoshop. In respect to
portraying images, I took the digital photograph image (left) and learnt how to set up photo
shoots and acknowledged the need for lighting and image portrayal. With this image, when
adding the background in the close-up, I found it easier to have a light or pastel background,
as this meant I did not have to cut out the image.

My contents page (left) followed the same colour scheme as my front cover, ie Autumn
Theme and provided continuity and clarity. Although I used different fonts and sizes, I believe
my actual contents layout was quite simple, with page numbers being placed right of the
headings. I also included related images of students, which included the female student in the
front cover, as I believe this conveyed the message that all students in Prior Pursglove are
front cover stars.

For my music magazine I used a similar layout as I felt the this contents page provides a
simple and clear guide for the audience.