AS media studies music

magazine evaluation

Question 1 - Who would be the

audience for your media product?

Target audience

My magazine is following the hip hop/ rap theme used in VIBE magazine so my reader would be:

Age Range: 16 – 30

Gender: my magazine will be aimed at boys and girls

Lower middle/ skilled working class

Interests of my reader:

Rap/ hip hop music

Going to festivals and gigs

Interested in reading about current events in the music industry

Reading about the lives of rappers and how they became famous

I chose this audience as I believe the stories in my magazine

can inspire these young people to do well for themselves and

even get involved in music. I believe that my mostly boys will

read my magazine but it may also attract girls as well.

Typical reader of my magazine

Sam is 17. music is a very important part of his life and helps inspire him to do well in life.

Sam regularly goes to gigs and festivals which feature rap and hip/hop artists as he likes that genre of music. Although Sam loves hip hop, his real love is for rap. He enjoys rappers such as Eminem and Jay – Z but also loves the old school rap vibe.

Sam is at college and is from a working class family. This means he is looking for things to buy which are not that expensive. However this influences him to be successful like the rappers he listens to. The friends he hangs around with also have similar music tastes and are from similar backgrounds. Sam often goes with them to gigs and festivals.

Although Sam does not have a lot of money, the money that he does get he spends on music. He usually downloads his favourite tracks from iTunes but also likes to buy the CD’s of his favourite rappers. He also likes to read about the lives of the rappers he listens to, as he is aspiring to be as successful as they are.

I aimed my magazine

at…

Likes rappers

such as: Eminem,

Kanye West, Lil

Wayne and Jay-

Z

English

Working/

skilled

working

class

2- How did you attract/ address your

audience?

StraplineMain story

article

Gender: I aimed my magazine mainly at boys as I the

content of my magazine was mostly about the lives of male

rappers. Although this may appeal to girls as well, I think my

boys would be interested in reading my magazine. My

magazine would attract boys as they may aspire to be like

some of the rappers who are named on the front of my

magazine. Also, the main story article is about the rise of a

male rapper which may influence their views about later

career paths.

Age: I aimed to target my magazine at 16-30 year olds

as the content would mainly appeal to this age group.

The rappers included are rappers who this age group

would typically listen to and I believe my made up

rapper is perfect for this audience as he is still young

and new to the music industry. The writing for my

double page spread is also quite formal and so the

that is why I have targeted it at over 16’s.

This strapline attracts the reader as it is giving

away a prize which the customer could win and

so this encourages them to buy it

The red writing stands out on the black

background which will draw the

customers eyes to it. The friendly slogan

‘feel the music’ may also encourage the

reader to read the rest of the magazine

after seeing the front cover.

Inspiring, yet relatable

quote to draw the

reader in more.

I used a red and white colour scheme as I felt that it would stand out well on

a black background. I used this colour scheme for my front cover, contents

page and my double page spread. However these colours are quite serious

as I wanted to connote the seriousness of my magazine. I also used this colour

scheme to as red connotes danger and I wanted to show that this new

rapper may be a danger to the already existing rappers in the industry.

3- How does your media product

represent particular social groups?

Social Groups

Gender

Age

Ethnicity

Sexuality

Class and status

Physical ability/disability

Regional Identity

Age – the model for my magazine would be a

similar age as the audience who would read my

magazine. This would help them to relate to the

magazine as they may be aspiring to be a rapper.

As he is the same age, his taste in music would be

similar to the audience of my magazine which

may encourage them to buy it.

Gender - My magazine is targeted primarily at

males and so this is why I have chosen to have

a male figure on the front of my magazine. The

story in my double page spread about a young

boy who has become a famous rapper may

influence them to buy the magazine If they

aspire to be like him.

Social class and status – the story in my

double page spread shows that my rapper

is of a working class background. The

clothes he is wearing also connote a

stereotypical view of someone who is

working class.

My model has his hood up which shows a

rebellious tone to my magazine. This

represents the young, working class

audience of my magazine. This is what I

would imagine my typical reader to look an

dress like. My magazine would be

predominantly aimed at black males as this

is the biggest audience for rap music.

However I chose a white male for my

model as I believe it shows that there is also

a gap for white males in the music industry.

4 - In what ways does your media

product use, develop or challenge

forms and conventions of real

media products?

The magazine I looked

into was ‘VIBE’ as it is

also a rap/hip hop

magazine and has a

similar theme to my

magazine. Most of my

inspiration came from

VIBE as it is also a serious

magazine that shows the

stories of rappers and

how they became

famous. I also looked at

VIBE magazine contents

pages and double page

spreads to get an idea

for what mine might look

like.

Title:Denotation – ‘VIBE’ in bold and upper case red writing.Connotation – Bold writing makes the magazine stand out and red usually shows danger which may reflect and relate to the image of Eminem who may be a danger to other rappers because of his musical talent

Image:Denotation – Rapper ‘Eminem’ looking directly at the reader of the magazine folding his arms.Connotation – looking directly at the reader draws the readers attention to the magazine. The folded arms shows that the page about Eminem will be of a serious matter. He is also not smiling which suggests something bad may have happened to him and this is further revealed by the line ‘Comes Clean’

Shows the magazine is serious

‘Eminem’ is the main cover story which shows his dominance in the rap industry and this is further backed up by him folding his arms which also shows he may have authority over the other rappers. He is revealing his tattoos which may show that he is revealing stories about himself inside the magazine.

Black and red colour scheme

Sub Titles:Denotation – Names of other Rappers in smaller writing.Connotation – smaller writing shows that the magazine will be predominantly about Eminem. Other rappers are less significant.

Quality:Denotation –Glossy and expensive.Connotation –shows reader that product is of high quality which makes them willing to spend more money on it

Layout: Denotation – clutteredConnotation – shows that the content in the magazine may be about rappers who's lives are cluttered.

Plain black vest makes Eminem stand out from the plain white background. It may also be used to show that Eminem is a white rapper amongst lots of black rappers.

Red writing shows danger. Eminem is dangerous in the music business.

Target Audience My magazine is similar to VIBE as the target audience for ‘VIBE’ are people aging

from 18-34 whereas mine is 16-30. ‘VIBE’ is currently sold at £4.95 and my magazine

was £4. Their annual subscription is £14.95 which is a relatively cheap price so it is

targeted at a working/middle class audience. This image shows the percentage of

people from different categories that read VIBE. It shows that ‘VIBE’ is mostly read by

men between the ages of 18 and 34 and that the majority of people who read the

magazine are employed or in education. It is also shown that the vast majority of

people who read the magazine are Black/African American. I have tried to aim my

magazine at a similar audience as the genre is also similar.

Using, developing and challenging

ConventionsMasthead –

shows the name

of the magazine

Banners show

extra

information

about what is

inside the

magazineMain article

inside magazine

Eye contact

Name of

artist used

in main

article

Price and barcode

Ideas about

content of

magazine

Competition

for customers

Slogan and

masthead changed

slightly so that slogan

fits the masthead

Pull quote

Looking over

shoulder

= using

= Developing

= challenging

Most magazine will have a button with extra information

= using

= challenging

= DevelopingTitle of ‘contents’

Magazine logo

and date in

corner

‘Features’

section

‘Regulars’ section

Model looking

directly into

camera

‘T’ in

background

‘Artist interviews’

section

Some music magazines

have additional photos

to show the content of

the magazine

Title of

article

Pull quotes

Page number and title

at bottomMain article on

right hand side

Model

looking into

camera

Date

magazine

was issued

Two pictures

Model facing

away from reader

Some

magazines

have headings

for different

sections of their

articles.

= using

= challenging

= Developing

5 - What kind of media institution

might distribute your product and

why?

Distribution

To distribute my magazine I would go for a rival company and try and steal my competitors audience. This is because my magazine is similar to VIBE magazine and so I believe it would sell well.

My magazine would be published monthly at £4. this is because my target audience is of working class and so may not have as much enough disposable income to buy a magazine weekly or fortnightly.

I would sell my magazine in supermarkets and local shops such as Sainsbury and Tesco but I would also make my magazine available and purchasable for customers online.

I would also make an app for smart phones which would give customers updates on content and release dates of my magazine.

I would also set up a Facebook and twitter page so that updates can be given to my consumers.

I would need to include a link to

my Facebook and twitter page

on my magazine.

@FeelTheMusic!

Feel The Music – (magazine)

Email: FeelTheMusic-FTM@Hotmail.com

I would also need a link

to my web page for my

magazine

#FTM

Phone App

Twitter

page

My website would

have a similar style to

VIBE’s website. I would

include a link to

Facebook and twitter

on my magazine to

promote it even more.

Customers would get

the latest updates

about my upcoming

magazines and the

new content which will

feature in them. I

would also release

exclusive content onto

the website that

customers would only

be able to view online.

6- What have you learnt about

technologies from the process of

constructing this product?

I started off by thinking of possible names for my magazine. These are

some of the names I came up with:

• Insight

• Amplified

• Impulse

• Pulse/ Pulsation

• FTM (Feel The Music)

I decided to go with the name FTM and then I went on to choose a font

for my masthead. I went with the font ‘Gipsiero owtline’ and developed it

into a logo.

I first designed

my masthead

and some

banners on my

magazine in

InDesignI then went on

to change the

colour of my

masthead as I

felt it would

stand out better.

I then went on to use

Eminem as a model

for my magazine

before taking my

pictures.

After taking my photos I chose this to go on

my front cover. I also changed the colour

again as the red stood out more on the

black background

These are some of the

photos I took for my front

cover, contents page and

double page spread. I

picked the three circled

photos and then

proceeded to delete the

backgrounds from them. To

delete the background, I

copied the images into

word and then removed

parts of the background

that I did not want.

In order to take these photos I borrowed the camera from the

school. A white background had been put up for us to take our

photos in order to make them the best quality.

I then imported my chosen picture onto InDesign

and this was the result. I first started off by using the

shape tool to get the rectangular black

background. I then proceeded to put the

masthead and banners onto the magazine. After

doing this I imported my picture onto InDesign and

started to find the best place to put it. I already

had most of the content that was going onto my

front cover as I used it before I had taken my

photos. However I decided to change some of it

before I handed in my final magazine.

I also used a similar process for my contents page and double page

spread. I wrote my DPS article in word and then copied it into

InDesign when the rest of the DPS was finished. I first decided what

content would go on my double page spread and then added it

after. For my contents page I also wrote up all the content in a word

document and then copied it into InDesign. I chose what picture I

wanted for my contents page and then proceeded to work on the

design.

7- Looking back at your preliminary

task, what do you feel you have

learnt in the progression from this to

the final product?

Practise magazine cover Practise contents page

In my practise magazine I used too many fonts on the front cover. After realising this, I then changed my real magazine and used only 2 fonts. I also did not have a barcode on my school magazine but I included one on my music magazine which makes it look more professional. I feel that my work has improved massively as I have got used to how InDesign and Photoshop works.

I believe my contents

page has improved

massively as well. In

the school magazine

contents page I

stretched the image

behind the text and

on the music

magazine I took more

pictures specifically

for my contents page.

There is also more

content on my music

magazine contents

page as it includes

Features, Regulars

and Artist interviews.

Overall I believe my work has progressed since the preliminary task. I have learnt about magazine conventions and I have incorporated them into my music magazine. I have also improved my skills on Photoshop and InDesign and have been able to create a more professional looking magazine. For my school magazine I only took one picture and after doing this realised that more pictures would be needed for a real magazine. For the music magazine I then proceeded to take several pictures and choose the best ones. This allowed me to use photos which would be more significant to the style of my magazine.