BY ELLIE HAWKINS

Initial introductory task 1

Research and Planning

QUESTIONS ABOUT MUSIC MAGAZINES FRONT COVERS

Identify the features/characteristics they all have ?MastheadDatelineMain imageModel imageModel creditCover lineMain cover lineSelling lineBarcodeTag Line

Why are these features present on all of the magazines? Why are they important ?

These features are present to attract the audience by following convention. This makes the magazine look professional and stylish, making the audience interested in the magazine and its content. For example a masthead is essential to a magazine as it tells the audience what genre of music they are potentially going to read, brands the magazine and giving it a personality, attracting a specific type of audience. On the other hand some magazines chose to develop or challenge convention in order to give it a unique style, thus making it standout from existing magazines. However it is important to remember that convention is very important due to the audience having a pre idea into how a magazine should look, if all elements of convention where eradicated the magazine would appear unattractive and distasteful to the audience.

Take one of the magazine covers and say what type of music magazine it is. Provide at least 4 specific examples for the magazine the supports your claim that it belongs to this

particular sub-genre.

This magazines sub genre is pop. I think this due to the main image of Cher and the surrounding images as they are typical pop artists which would be expected to be noted in a pop magazine. I also think this due to the glamorous styling of the main model. Pop magazines tent to focus on mise en scene and the styling of the models to advertise the music in order to fulfil the stereotypy of being perfect and clear cut created by the audience . By doing this the life style of the musicians are promoted, abiding to the audience expectations of the artists lifestyle being aspiring and desirable. Also the colour scheme of blue, pink and yellow tells me this is a pop magazine as bright colours are typically used for pop magazines. I also think this is a pop magazine due to the use of the colour pink. The pop music genre tents to be most appealing to a teenage girl audience therefore by using the colour pink which has connotes of being girly and pretty this provides evidence to suggest it is a pop magazine. However i think the main element which tells me this is a pop magazine is the word “pop” in the masthead. This summaries what genre the magazine is and covers the content of the magazine, indicating it is a pop magazine.

For the same magazine, say who you think the target audience is. Give reasons for you

answer ?

The target audience for this the magazine is young teenage girls aged 11-15 years old. It is mainly aimed at young girls which is supported by the stereotypical girly colours pink and yellow which are used and also the language used e.g “ seriously clever shopping” activities that youth girls would be interested in. The cover lines suggest that the magazine doesn't just look at the music side of the artists but also at the gossip, including exclusive stories and true life stories which are very female orientated. There are many images on the front cover which tells me this magazine is targeted towards youth because a younger audience would be more interested in the pictures than buying a magazine for the text. The language is also informal and simple. They use slang words such as “swagger” which appeals to the target audience as stereotypically this type of language would be used by the audience when speaking ,making the audience attracted to the magazine. The cover uses block capitals and is quite bubbly which connotes the youthfulness of the audience and suggests a sense of fun and excitement , a mood associated with teenagers. The price and bar code of the magazine also tell me this is a young target audience. It informs the reader about the costing, it being £3.99 which is quite expensive and therefore suggests it is aimed at an young audience who still get their parents to buy there magazines for them.