Music Magazine Evaluation

In what ways does your music magazine use, develop or challenge the forms and conventions of real music magazines?

I have used typical elements of a rock genre magazine, edgy fonts, messy layouts and colours that match the rock genre. On my front page I included many of the normal codes and conventions of any music magazine as I wanted it to look professional and match the norm.

A barcode is essential in all magazines as it is needed for the consumer to buy the magazine. I found my barcode from Google images.

On the front cover I have used an image of the whole of my band just like other rock magazines. I felt this was important as this is my main article and is also used on my double spread article.

Just like all magazines mine has a chance where you can enter competitions. They are there to attract the reader and make them feel that they are getting their moneys worth.

My masthead is bold and is what would catch the readers eye. I decided to call my magazine ‘Rock On’ as this will instantly tell the reader what genre of music it is. For the ‘o’ in ‘On’ I decided to use a picture of a record to give it an edgy look and make it stand out amongst other magazines.

I decided to add a green glow to the outline of my picture to match the colour of my masthead and make it all tie in together.

I wanted to keep my contents page simple but also effective so that it would look professional.

I used one of the same models from my front page as my contents page to make the magazine seem continuous.

Once again I used the same three main colours of green, pink and black on my contents page as i did not want to confuse the reader by making it look like the front page was of one magazine and the contents from another.

The style of font used on my contents page is the same as my front page. I changed the colour of it but still kept with the criteria of only using three main colours.

The font style used to tell the reader what will be in the magazine is clear and readable which makes the magazine look of a higher standard and will also make the consumer want to read on.

As with my front page and my contents page I decided to keep the same slogan underneath my masthead. In my opinion this ties all of the pages together and makes it look professional. However even though I kept the colour of it the same I decided to change the position of it to give a different effect on each page.

Once again the style of font for my title is the same as my masthead and contents page title. It will attract a rock/ emo audience as it looks self drawn with only specific parts having a black outline on them.

As with the ‘o’ on the ‘On’ for the masthead of my magazine I have included a picture of a record with a pink star. To do this I took a picture of a record of Google images and cropped it down on Photoshop. I then got a picture of a star and edited it to make it fit in the record. However after testing which one would look better I decided that the magazine looked more effective when the record was cropped down to fit in the corner.

How does your music magazine represent particular social groups?

In society today its all about social groups or music tribes that are being stereotyped by other members of the public through television programmes, news and sometimes even other music genres. From my audience feedback I recognised that what people of my age would like to see in a magazine is not themselves being stereotyped but interviews with artists and information on music events etc. The target audience for my magazine is mainly rockers/ emos between the ages of 14-18 who are negatively talked about by others just because of how they like to dress and what music they like to listen to. I wanted to create a new magazine that would take this feeling away from them and make them see that not everybody is against rock music. I think I did this successfully by the clothes the models are wearing and also the three main colours of my magazine green, pink and black which do not stereotype a particular gender.

Who would your target audience be and why?

The target audience for my magazine is emos/ rockers between the ages of 14-18. the reason for this being that sometimes a rock magazine contains swear words and other language that would not be suitable for children of younger ages. I think that people between 14-18 would be most likely to buy this magazine as they can relate to the models on the front page and also to some of the stories inside as they match the same ages and have possible been through the same experiences. I tried to make my magazine appeal to both males and females and by using colours that would attract both genders I feel that I have succeeded in doing this.

What kind of Media institution might distribute your music magazine and why?

The magazine institution I think would distribute my magazine is Bauer as they publish magazines such as ‘Kerrang’ and ‘Q’ which both relate to the same genre of magazine as mine does. They also specifically relate to designing and producing magazines that would attract a teenage audience. They are a large German publishing company that distribute many popular magazines and also owns stakes of radio and television. It was found in 1875 and has been privately owned by the Bauer family.

How did you attract and address your audience?

Chances for the reader to win tickets to see one of their favourite bands in concert. In my opinion teenagers are most likely to do this.

The models used on my main image are of the particular age that I am aiming to attract. I found this ideal as with the consumer knowing the articles inside are about people their own age they are more likely to buy the magazine.

One of my cover lines reads, ‘How to get your very own rockstar image.’ Before the consumer buys this magazine they will read these to see what will be inside and this will attract a teenage audience who want to make themselves look like a famous rock star.

What have you learned about technologies from the process of constructing this music magazine? (Lighting, photography, Photoshop, Indesign)

Through making my magazine I have learnt how to use Indesign as I have never used it to complete a task before. I found it easy to use and was able to complete the task independently with very little help needed. While taking my pictures I learnt a lot about photography as I have never taken an interest in the topic before. I learnt about the different lighting and camera angles to use to make my pictures look more effective once placed on my magazine front cover.

I also learnt some new things about Photoshop. I have previously used it to complete other tasks set but I had not been sure on how to use specific tools to get the effect on text and images that I wanted and to make the overall magazine look professional. My audience feedback made me realise that the codes and conventions of a magazine are very important to recognise the intentions of the magazine. The main image and cover lines are what make the reader buy the magazine so therefore I felt it was important to make these appeal to my target audience.