My Music Magazine Evaluation

As part of my AS media coursework, I decided to design a magazine with the genre of Rap & RnB.

My magazine is targeted towards both genders, male & female aged 16-25. This is a genre that may seem to target only males, but after a researching into the demands of young adults, I found out that rap & RnB is popular between amongst both genders, aged between 16-25.

A bold masthead- XXL has placed it over the central image and vibe has placed it behind the central image.

The artist is making eye contact

A bar code with price

Central imageCentral image

Outline the masthead

Colour scheme

Colour scheme

Name of artist on front cover

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?My media product uses develops and challenge forms and conventions of real media products as I have researched into current magazines available in the market. I have paid careful attention towards every feature such as the layout, the positions of imagery etc and then developing them into my own unique designs. Two of the current music magazines that I analysed were ‘XXL’ and ‘VIBE’. I was able to see what types of different colour schemes, the magazine layouts, and the imagery. I also found out that the positioning of the imagine on the front cover is very important and its only to make it eye-catching. The Conventions I followed are:

I have used a cover lines with a colour scheme

Bold masthead with outline, behind the central image, hence following the convention of VIBE.

The use of a bar code with the price following the convention of every magazine.

The use of a central image which is a convention shown by every music magazine. In particular I noticed this in VIBE and XXL.

Name of artist on front cover which is seen on both XXL and VIBE

Artist making eye contact, as seen in VIBE and XXL.

My music magazine cover:

VIBE has used a Central image and I have followed this convention as well.

Features of the magazine, VIBE has done this and so have I in my music magazine.

Bold Masthead which matches the central image. I have followed this convention from VIBE.

Content Page:

VIBE’s content page

My content page

Full bleed image

Vibe’s double page spread:

Article with columns

Bold headline.

Masthead

Nice simple look, plain background, yet still appealing.

Date, website & page number.

Full bleed image, following the convention of VIBE.

Interview sectioned in columns, following the convention of VIBE.

MastheadPull out quote, a convention I noticed in XXL.

Date, website & page number a convention I followed from VIBE.

My double page spread:

Logo of the company.

Central image of the model advertising the work.

Logo of the company

Central images of model advertising the adidas clothing.

Logo if the company

Central images of model advertising the Ralph Lauren clothing.

Advertisements:

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My media product represents a particular social group as I have focused on the language, the clothing and the layout. I have done this to meet the demands of my target audience, as these are the main features that appeal to them.

Furthermore, in most RnB and hip-hop magazines we generally see the stereotypical black or white artist , I have acted differently upon this, I have used an Asian artist and so this highlights that my music magazine is multicultural and so targets all individuals of every race and background.

My artist is making eye contact. It as if he is speaking with the audience through his eye rather than his mouth. However the artist is showing a bit of mystery. I have done this to attract my target audience.

The clothing used are update clothing that my target audience would wear. Snapback hat, Varsity Jacket and Gucci belt.

The body composition of the artist shows a rough, but confident look. He has his chest out and head very slightly bent back.

The language I have used also shows that my media product represents a particular social group. The use of informal language highlights this, the use of slang and short and simple sentences is one of the main features to show this. My target audience is a young audience of 16-25 year olds and after doing research into the type of language used in such magazines, I have established that current magazines such as VIBE & XXL use short, snappy lines as this is what appeals to the younger generation. I started off my magazine with a biography of my artist but I felt that this was not the type of content that the younger generation would read and I changed the content on the double page spread to an interview, with sharp, short sentences that keeps the audience in gripped.

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

After researching into media publishers, the two that I felt were best suited for my magazine genre was Bauer and IPC. One of the main reasons why I felt this was because they are huge publishing institutions that advertise in cross media through various ways, such as radio broadcasts, the internet, television and magazines.

IPC media group produce magazines based around sports, upper class women and fashion. They have also produced one of the most famous music magazines ‘NME’. However, it seem that there magazine are more focused around fashion, hence aimed more towards women aged 24+.Bauer media group produce magazines for women such as ‘More’ and ‘Heat’, however they have produced magazines such as ‘Q’, ‘Kerrang’, ‘Golfer’ and ‘Car’. Therefore they clearly target both genders, male and female. Moreover Bauer Media also have other multiple media channels including , Kiss 100 and 4Music.

Thus I feel that Bauer Media might distribute my media product as they aim more towards both genders, male and female. Also the fact that they are a huge publishing institution , so my media product would get maximum publicity and huge sales. Furthermore, the fact that Bauer Media also have other multiple media channels such as KISS100 and 4Music, my magazine can be promoted through them. Another key reason why I feel Bauer Media would be the correct Media institution is the fact that my music magazine is aimed at a very niche target audience and I feel that Bauer Media will be able to distribute my magazine across London within areas such as Croydon in South London, Harrow in Northwest London and Ilford in East London. In addition to this, Bauer Media being such a big media institution that my media product could also be distributed globally in countries such as USA and Australia.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for my media product is clearly aimed towards a young age group of 16-25, this group would come between the social grade C-D. The reason being is that it has a overall cheap cost of £2.99 and so is affordable for this age bracket.

Moreover, my media product is for both genders male and female. My media product seems as if it is more for males, but it is aimed towards both genders. I have done this by using neutral colours such as grey and white, these reflect colours upon both genders. In addition, I have mentioned about a female artist on my cover lines as well and so highlighting the fact it is targeted at both genders.

In addition I have used a male artist on my cover and this a key feature in attracting both the male and female audience . Other males will look at the male artist as a role model, they may look up to him and feel they want to be like him as he represents the image youngsters wish to have. His body posture and tilted hat aid in representing this image. The presence of a male also attracts females as he his a good looking artist and so attracts females attention.

Many people may feel that my target audience is very niche compared to audiences of other genre, but I feel that if my magazine was distributed I would have consistent readers and so even though my target audience is small I know I would my magazine would sell and there would be regular readers buying my magazine regularly and therefore there would definitely be an increase in profits.

How did you attract/address your audience?

I used various ways to attract my audience including through the central image on the front cover, the use of a colour scheme, pull quotes and the language used.

The use of vibrant clothing, attracts the audience as it shows a lively atmosphere.

The eye contact shows the artist is communicating to the audience with his eyes, but he is squinting which shows a form of mystery which leads the audience wanting to explore his mystery.

This is the type of language spoken by my target audience and so the use of this language appeals to them. Youngsters nowadays communicate with their friends with this form of language and so the use of this type of language builds a form of relationship with the reader. Hence attraction my target audience.

The use of a colour scheme keeps a nice flow to the magazine as well as highlighting key components of the magazine, such as fashion, artists present in the magazine and my featured artist.

The use of a pull out quote that my artist Moezi uses. It pulls the reader into the interview as it makes the audience wonder what exactly the pull out quote is implying. This I feel is one of the most powerful elements.

My artist’s name ‘Moezi’ has the colour scheme of Moezi’s varsity jacket, purple and yellow they are bright lively closers, this keeps a continuous flow to the magazine and it also helps people remember the artist and the magazine. It also makes it stand out as it is a vibrant colour scheme and it is different and unusual and making it very eye catching.

Again I have used a vibrant colour, red from my artist Moezi’s jacket, I have matched Moezi’s jacket with the colour scheme of the contents page. It gives a flow to the magazine and keeps the reader in gripped.

What have you learnt about technologies for the process of constructing this product?

I used a number of different technologies, many that were second nature to me and some which were alien to me. The most common piece of technology I used was Internet Explorer, which aided in my research massively. With the use of the internet I used the search engine, ‘Google’. I was able to use Google without any difficulty as I have used it a numerous number of times, Google provided me with the exact research I needed instantaneously.A couple of the URL’s I used are:

Helped me look at the different colour schemes and central image positioning.

http://www.vibe.com/http://www.xxlmag.com/

http://www.nme.com/ - helped me see the contrast between different genres.

Moreover, another piece of technology that was new to me was taking first hand images with a professional camera, alongside lighting and background. However I was able to grasp it very quickly, as I took many photographs and I analysed the different photograph angles used in a music magazine.Furthermore, I also used technology such as Adobe Photoshop and Adobe InDesign. We were advised to use InDesign and so I used it, however I designed my masthead using Photoshop as I was more familiar with it and I also used Photoshop for any cropping done. Hence, I felt Adobe Photoshop was a much easier program as I was already familiar to it.

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 my preliminary task I had to design a college magazine, I felt this was a stepping stone for me to learn how to develop simple imagery and text into a magazine. I learnt how to design a masthead, cover lines and positioning the central image. I found this helpful as I learnt how to design a basic layout first and then when it came to my music magazine I was more confident and had high command on designing the magazine.

In addition, when designing my front cover, I was able to play about with the colour scheme in the preliminary task to see what colour schemes were best suited and I was able to see what language was used for specific target audiences. In my preliminary task the language I used was very simple as it was targeted for college students whereas in my music magazine the language I used was more specific to the social group I was targeting. Also when it came to designing my music magazine cover, I was able to give my magazine a much more professional look.

When I started my contents page in the preliminary task I used a very unconventional look, but it gave me an insight of what is conventional in a music magazine and what was not. In preliminary task, the contents page was very basic, however it enabled me to design a much more complex and conventional contents page for my music magazine.Moreover, the use of a professional camera in my preliminary task was an important feature. In conclusion, I felt I learnt new things, from progressing from my preliminary task to my full product. This was because not only did I learn from the preliminary task, but I learnt more as I excelled through my course.