Research on existing magazines

Billboard is an American music magazine, headquartered in New York City, New York and owned by Prometheus Global Media. It was first published on November 1, 1894, and is distinguished as being among the oldest trade magazines in the world. The magazine originally focused on bill posting and outdoor amusements before specializing in the music industry in the 1960s. Billboard maintains several internationally-recognized record charts, which track the most popular songs and albums across several categories on a weekly basis. Its primary charts, the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard 200, respectively rank the top songs and albums regardless of genre, and are based on digital downloads, radio airplay, and internet streaming. Its data is largely based on the Nielsen SoundScan tracking system, which it has used since 1991.

Billboard was founded on November 1, 1894, by William h. Donaldson and James Hennegan. It was originally titledBillboard Advertising and it was a trade paper for the bill posting industry. Within a few years of it being found, it began to carry news of outdoor amusements, a major consumer of billboard space. Eventually Billboard became the paper of record for circuses, carnivals, amusement parks, fairs, vaudeville, minstrels, whale shows and other live entertainment. The magazine began coverage of motion pictures in 1909 and of radio in the 1920s.With the development of the jukebox industry during the 1930s,The Billboard began publishing music charts. Originally, there were only three genre-specific charts: Pop, Rhythm & Blues, and Country & Western. In the 1950s it introduced a section covering the television industry, including ratings charts for programs. It continued to carry news of fairs, carnivals, theme parks and other outdoor entertainments until1961 when these departments were spun off into a new weekly magazine called Amusement Business. By this time the television coverage had also been moved toanother publication. At the start of 1961, The Billboard  was renamed Billboard Music Week . The publication was now devoted almost entirely to the music industry, with some coverage of coin-operated vending and entertainment machines on its juke box pages. The title was changed to simply Billboard at the start of 1963. In 2005, the magazine and its web sites were repositioned to provide coverage of all forms of digital and mobile entertainment

History

Billboard magazine doesn’t focus on one specific genre of music and therefore is available to a wider audience. Wikipedia states that “Billboard is intended for music professionals, such as record label executives, artists, music retailers, and radio DJs. -although it is generally considered a business-to-business magazine.”  The Billboard magazine is also read by many young people who are deeply interested in music and the industry therefore, although the content of the magazine may be business based, I can certainly look at the layout for inspiration when making my magazine as it appeals to a young audience.

Target Audience

This is the mast head of the magazine and the logo of the billboard magazine tells us the name of the magazine. In all billboard magazine the mast head is the same. The logo or the mast head attracts specific target audience.

This is the main cover image that acts as a direct mode of access. The artist is looking directly in the lens of the camera. This gives an impression that the artist is looking at you. This conveys the message of importance to the audience.

This is the main cover line with the name of the artist whose picture is on the cover. It is written in large font to attract the audience’s attention

Information about the articles in the magazine are placed here as it is quite visible to the audience.

The barcode has the information about the price of the magazine and close to it the website of the magazine is printed.

This is the logo of the magazine

This is the content list tells us about the articles and on which page they are on. This section also offers the readers a music chart consisting on all the latest ratings .etc, this section is unique for the bill board magazine.

This is the page number it allows the reader to navigate through pages specified for articles.

This area is used for advertising different content and various media used by Billboard.

These pictures are used instead of the central image. However it is a good idea as it represents variety of content.

This title is designed by bit playing with words and letting the audience know that the article is all about T.I this works like a pull quote without actually having to quote the article

This main image of the is very good. Because of the white background the image is looking neat. That is why the image will easily attract audience’s attention.

This gain the attention of the readers because of the colour. The colour reflects the importance and the theme.

Because of the white background the text of the article is looking very neat. Also it appeals the eyes of the readers. This representation is very organised.

The image of T.I tells us that the articles is about him.

The white background gives a decent look to the article, image, cover line etc.It is giving a very decent look and all of the page is looking very organised.

Rolling Stone is a magazine published every two weeks that focuses on politics and popular culture. In 1967, Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco, California, by Jann Wenner – who is still the magazine's chief editor – and music critic, Ralph J. Gleason. Rolling Stone was known for its musical coverage and for political reporting by the enigmatic and controversial gonzo journalist, Hunter S. Thompson. In the 1990s, the magazine changed its format to appeal to a younger readership interested in youth-oriented television shows, film actors, and popular music. This led to criticism that the magazine was emphasizing style over substance. In recent years, the magazine has resumed its traditional mix of content, including in-depth political stories. It also has expanded content to include coverage of financial and banking issues. As a result, the magazine has seen its circulation increase and its reporters invited as experts to network television programs of note. 

Target Audience

Rolling Stone have said that their target audience is the “middle of the road rock fans of all ages”. This suggests that they want their target audience to have great music knowledge, especially in rock music; which is what the magazine mostly focuses on. Some of their previous advertisements were for drinks such as Pepsi. This would indicate to me that their target audience likes to relax, as well as indulge in music knowledge.

Mast head

Information on other articles inside

Main cover line

Issue date

Main Image

List of contents

Images about the articles. Used instead of a main center image

Page Number

Title of the page

Main Image. This image usually relates the article

Title of the article

This is the article which is nicely arranged into columns

Vibe is a music and entertainment magazine founded by producer Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip-hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down production in Summer 2009, Vibe was purchased by the private equity investment fund InterMedia Partners and is now issued every-other month with double covers, with a larger online presence. The magazine's target demographic is predominantly young, urban followers of hip-hop culture. As of April 2013 Vibe is currently owned by Spin Media. The magazine owed its success to featuring a broader range of interests than its closest competitors The Source and XXL which focus more narrowly on rap music, or the rock & pop-centric Rolling Stone and Spin. As of June 30, 2012, Vibe has a circulation of 300,943, of which 202,439 was paid, and 98,504 was non paid. Advertisers ran the gamut from record labels to fashion houses to various cognac brands.

Vibe magazine target audience is 12-24 year old. The magazine aims at young and urban audiences who follow hip hop when first launched. However in 2012 covers more commercial music so might attract a wider variety of people interested in hip hop or pop music.

Target Audience

Articles in the magazine

Mast head

Barcode

Barcode and price

Other articles in the magazine

Main cover image of the magazine

The V at the background indicates that the page is of the vibe magazine

Title of the page

Content list

Main center page image

Page number

Image related to the article

The article is nicely organised

Title of the magazine

The text of the article is nicely arranged into columns