Final Evaluation of my Music Magazine

By Liam Evans

In my music magazine I have included numerous conventions of an ordinary music magazine, for example on my front cover there is a big picture of DJ Tricks with a caption line underneath which reads, “Pussy toke” then underneath that in big letters says the word Tricks . This is a very typical convention of a music magazine as it instantly shows the reader what the main story of this magazine is going to be. For instance on the cover of Mixmag there is a just a single picture which shows David Guetta and above has the caption line “Guetta load of this!”. I based my front cover on this design as my magazine like Mixmag is a very niche magazine specifically aimed at people who are interested in the Drum and Bass scene. When I posted a draft of my front cover for my music magazine I asked for some audience feedback, I got a couple of responses giving me some very useful tips about what to change. I was suggested to fill up some of the space on the top right of the page. I could see why that would be suggested there was a very empty space I tried filling it with some taglines and by rearranging the layout but I thought the layout was good how it was. Instead I decided to go and take another picture and this time we put posters on the wall to fill up the space on the right, I felt as though it worked very nicely. On my contents page I give all the details of everything included in this magazine and then in the bottom section I have an editorial which gives the names and email addresses of everybody who helped to develop My Magazine. I got this idea from the contents page in Q magazine. On their contents page they include everything you need to know about what is inside and then at the bottom or other page depending they have an editorial. I chose to do what most magazines do which is base my double page spread on the main story of my front cover. There aren’t many differences in my music magazine than an average music magazine. I think one of the differences of my magazine compared to others is because it’s a very niche magazine it means I can aim it to a specific target audience and help promote underground DJs . I think I’ve really pushed the boundaries by using up and coming DJs as very few magazines nowadays actually try to promote new artists trying to work their way to the top.

I have aimed my magazine specifically at teenagers aged 16-21, its a niche magazine targeted at people who are into the drum and bass genre. I have represented my target audience by having a double page spread on a new up and coming DJ who mixes drum and bass for a living I think this appeals to people who are into the drum and bass scene as it relates to people who have just started mixing or are thinking about it. I have used images that would strongly appeal to my target audience, my front cover is a picture of someone doing some live mixing I think this does appeal to my audience as

obviously it helps to tell the genre of the magazine and will give some insight on what life is like for big DJs. On my contents page I have a picture of someone doing beatboxing with a saxophone even though it’s not specified to drum and bass it’s vaguely related and my audience would be very intrigued and more than likely be in a hurry to turn to this page and read about it. The picture is very empty and minimalist during the attention to the saxophone beatboxer with a plain background and put into sepia to keep the focus on the dominant feature. I have a relatively split picture/text ratio for my double page spread as one side is a full photo and the other is an interview with DJ Tricks. I used

a very plain font which was century gothic I think it has a very nice original feel about it. I have used a very informal language to relate to my target audience and the interview is a very personal level so it feels as though we actually know them.

There are a few different media institutions that would be likely to publish my magazine for example Bauer institutions publish magazines like Kerrang and other heavy metal and rock magazines. I feel as though they might invest in my magazine as its niche and so aimed at a specific audience just like their other niche magazines such as Q and Empire. Despite the fact they don’t produce any magazines like mine, I feel this would be good

for Bauer publishing as it adds a wider variety to their selection Bauer publishing have a gap in their production and my music magazine would help fill a part of that to offer a different selection into their publishing. Another institution that is likely to publish my magazine is DMC publishers as they already do niche magazines like mine such as mixmag, mixmag is a very popular magazine and always does well in sales as there are very few magazines that are for dance and drum and bass. I think Bauer publishing would want my magazine as it definitely offers something new and exciting to their name

slowly expanding by adding more niche magazines it will definitely increase their total earned. My magazine offers experiences that other magazines don’t it helps to promote new up and coming DJ’s and gives useful information about DJs.

My music magazine is aimed at teenagers of both gender aged 16-21, the majority of people buying this magazine will be earning their own wage to help fund things they would want like this magazine, that is why it would be released monthly as I feel we would have fewer buyers and viewers if it were to be released weekly or fortnightly. The audience would need to have a strong interest in music but also want to learn a little

about the individuals lifestyle and image. My audience would want to learn more about the music and actual songs rather than gossip about the DJ or star. The audience would want to read up about the DJs and maybe look at them as role models especially if you were thinking about doing some mixing or producing of songs yourself. The reader should be interested in numerous aspects of music. But mainly enjoy the production and mixing side of things rather than the celebrities lifestyle.

I attracted my audience by using a very basic layout with some neon colours to attract the “rave” scene audience, I think by having bright colours it helps show what kind of a magazine it is already I made sure on the front cover that there was a picture of some decks so that it is very easy for people to understand that this is a niche magazine for drum and bass. By having pictures of up and coming DJs the audience will be more enticed into buying this magazine especially if they DJ themselves because maybe one day they could get on the cover of this magazine. I didn’t put tonnes of information on the front cover so it’s a busy page as I think that looks cheap and tacky it’s as though

you’re trying to trick people into thinking they’re getting more for their money. I was given some feedback by my audience that suggested filling up some of the space on the right hand side, I had a look at my magazine and tried moving the whole layout but it just didn’t work without looking tacky, and so I went and took a new set of photographs and we did some redesigning of his rooms with the decks in and found a way of filling the space without actually adding anything more to the cover. My magazine talks to my target audience by offering chances to win tickets to drum and bass nights also by giving

reviews of some of the hottest nights and DJs in the UK. By having a big star on the left hand side of my cover page with the words new year new tunes! This is going to attract the audience and help persuade them to buy my magazine.

Throughout making my magazine I have learnt how to edit my pictures using Paint Shop

Pro, I have learnt what a lot of the buttons do to help make my magazine look more professional. I used a camera to take my photographs which I tried making look

professional by changing the lighting and exposure on the camera. I had never used a blog before until I started this so I had to pick up how to use a Blog. I used a website called DaFont to design my magazine title and then edited the colours by using Paint.

Through doing both tasks I have learnt that you have got to focus on your target

audience the whole time prioritise what they would want to see in a magazine, as the overall output isn’t for you it’s for your target audience. Even when uploading pictures and the way you write things for example interviews. Overall you have to base your whole product on whoever you have aimed your magazine at the layout needs to appeal to the viewer even little details like the colours and font that you use. I found that

doing research into other magazines and audience questionnaires were extremely helpful in producing the final product, by combining everything you end up with a fantastic final piece. I think little details can help make a magazine look so much more professional for instance strap lines and contact details help give it that realistic feeling and its as though you can get in contact with anyone if you needed to. All together my music magazine looks a lot more professional than my student magazine I feel this is because I put a lot more effort and research into my music magazine I thoroughly enjoyed this project and put a lot of effort into my final piece. I found it interesting

learning how to use different software such as Paint Shop Pro and Blogger. As you can clearly see my magazine has come a very long way since the preliminary task.