case study top of the pops
TRANSCRIPT
case study
Genre• This magazine takes the genre of pop as we can see by the bright
colours, and the name which clearly says ‘Top of the Pops’.• It a very youth orientated magazine, with the use of cheesy lyrics
and puns, and catchy rhymes used throughout. • ‘Pop music’ derives from the term ‘popular music’, and ‘Top of the
Pops’ magazine is all about keeping it’s readers up to date with all the popular music, and latest celebrity news.
• Bright colours are used to make the appearance friendly to the young readers, and so it draws attention to the magazine.
• Male artists are portrayed and viewed as an object of desire, and female artists are portrayed and viewed as an object of inspiration, for example ‘you could be like Cheryl’.
• Abbreviations are used frequently like ‘OMG’ and ‘HOTTIE!’, to relate to the young target audience.
Pop artists• Pop artists are usually photographed smiling, and most
of the time look directly at the camera to give a friendly feel.
• They are usually young, and look youthful, linking to the genre.
• Females tend to wear pinks and other feminine colours, whereas males dress fairly casually.
• There music tends to avoid swearing, reference to drugs, sex and alcohol; this is because the target audience would not be able to relate to the songs they write.
Background• ‘Top of the pops’ was first launched in February 1995, and a new
issue is published every month to keep its readers thoroughly informed with everything they need to know from music to celebrities.
• It is priced at £2.30, and includes 42 pages, however freebies are included so the price is reasonable for what you’re getting.
• ‘BBC Top of the Pops’ magazine is published by ‘Immediate Media Company London Limited’ under licence from ‘BBC Worldwide’, and so within the magazine there are articles which direct the readerships' attention to BBC productions, such as Tracy Beaker on the CBBC channel. The BBC logo below is placed in the top left corner of some of the most recent issues, and the logo is usually placed in the magazine on some pages also.
Background• ‘Top of the Pops’ was originally a supplementary
magazine for the TV show ‘Top of the Pops’, until the show was cancelled in 2006, when the magazine continued independently.
• Alongside this revamp of the TV show, it was originally marketed as the missing link between Smash Hits and NME, but its gradually changed; with less music content, and a demographic shift to young girls.
• ‘Top of the Pops’ has now become online based, with social networking sites like twitter in use, and also has a website.
This is a screenshot from the Top of the Pops twitter page; brand identity is maintained through the bright pinks and yellows being used, and the abbreviations like ‘Hot’ being used.
This is the Top of the Pops website, with close resemblance to magazine, showing brand identity, for example, the swirly symbol, the fonts and colours used.
Ownership• The magazine has had several editors over the years including
Peter Lorraine, Corinna Schaffer and Rosalie Snaith. The current owner of ‘Top of the Pops’ is Peter Hart.
• Peter Hart summarises the magazine by saying “We bring our readers closest to their idols, because we’re the magazine that knows celebs the best. Every issue is packed with exclusive interviews and photos, as well as brilliant star advice and affordable fashion and beauty. We’re the friend our readers can rely on to give them confidence, make them laugh, and share all the juiciest gossip. And that’s why BBC Top of the Pops Magazine is the biggest selling teen title”.
Content• ‘Top of the Pops’ features a wide variety of different articles, such as:• ‘Gossip2Go’ – This is the month’s newest celebrity gossip. • ‘Don’t Miss!’ – The magazine promotes latest films and TV programmes that
are suitable for its target audience. • ‘Shameful Celeb Muck Ups’ – This is a page on ‘cringy’ celebrity images,
with a witty quote for each of them. With this is a page, ‘Your Oops’ which is stories that readers have sent in that have embarrassed them; this makes the readership feel like friends with the magazine.
• ‘Real life’ situations from the world, to help inform young girls of the threats in the real world.
• ‘Your letters’ to help keep in touch with the readers.• Posters of celebrities are included in every magazine for readers to cut/pull
out. • Fashion and Beauty advice.• Games and Quizzes to do alone or with friends. • ‘Agony Aunt’ section to help reader’s with their problems. • Interviews with celebrities within the pop genre• And much more..!
The ‘Top of the Pops’ masthead• ‘Top of the Pops’ has had different mastheads since the magazine
first started.
• This is the current masthead of ‘Top of the Pops’ magazine.
• This masthead was being used in the first few years of publication.
These are all the different styles of mastheads that have been used since the magazine was published, and each different style has been
used in various colours, ranging from pinks, blues and yellows.
‘Top of the Pops’ – June 1997
This issue was published in June 1997 with green and purple being the dominant colours on the magazine. The colours used are less feminine, and the magazine doesn’t really stand out.
Compared to the quality on more frequent magazines, the graphics are poor.
The images on this magazine appear to be less ‘poppy’ compared to those you would see on a more recent pop magazine.
‘Top of the Pops’ – March 2013
This issue was published in March 2013, and pink, white, red and yellow are the dominant colours; these colours stand out, and reflect the more feminine audience.
The quality has improved drastically, and the magazine is more visually attractive compared to how it used to be.
The images are also more attractive; mode of address is used because every celebrity is making eye contact, and appears smiling.
Inside ‘Top of the Pops’• Bright colours are used on
all pages, and lots of images to make it more visually attractive.
• Alliteration is used to make the title more interesting
• Subheading type writing is written in a different colour so the page does not look full of writing, which would bore the young reader.
• All the artists are smiling and looking directly at the camera.
Target audience• 10- 15 year old girls.• Interested in pop music, fashion and boys.• Still in education; higher years of primary school – lower
years of high school.• Likes to be in style with her outfits, and loves getting a
bargain when possible.• Hardworking, friendly, and trustable, she likes reading
pop magazines and getting the best advice from the advice section.
• Shares her love of pop magazines with her close friends, and talks about it with them at school and on the weekends.
Mode of address• Abbreviations and ‘slang’ words are often used like ‘OMG’ to relate
to the audience, and make the magazine feel like a friend to its reader.
• The artists on the cover, and in the magazine, usually appear smiling and looking directly at its reader, inviting them to read the magazine.
• It is friendly and down to earth, suggesting a friend-to-friend relationship between the magazine and the reader.
• The words ‘you’ and ‘we’ are used frequently. • Exclamation marks are used throughout to show a sense of
excitement that the readers can share with the magazine.• Examples of Mode of Address used:• ‘OMG’• ‘make boys fancy you!’
Examples of mode address used in ‘Top of the Pops’