Evaluation Of Music magazine

Jasmine Bearman

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of

real media products?There are certain conventions that a music magazine has to contain, therefore the front cover has to contain cover lines, a feature, a strapline, a masthead, an exclusive and also a central image that reflects the genre and style of magazine.

I have included these generic conventions in my music magazine by advertising the stories in the magazine through the use of coverlines. I have also used conventions such as features and exclusive’s to draw the reader in to buy the magazine. I have also used a central image which reflects the genre’s and style of the magazine, this helps the reader decide which magazine they should buy.

Typical music magazine contents pages generically contain multiple magazine stories through the use of taglines, they also usually have a corresponding picture and page number. Double page articles generically contain a large scale picture of the chosen subject on the first page, and a written article about the subject on the opposite page. The style of subject is usually determined by the style of masthead. I have followed these conventions in order to make my music magazine appear real.

In the double page article, I have challenged the generic conventions of a music magazine by drawing my own central image, most magazines would contain a photograph of their subject.

I have also made my front cover more relaxed than most music magazines in order to reflect the style of my magazine, however this may be seen as a challenge of conventions.

How does your media project represent social groups?

The social groups that I am representing through my magazine are adult rock/blues fans, I have done this by using non-stereotypical means. My front cover has a central image that is non-stereotypical because it features a young rock duo playing there instruments, usually young rock artists would be featured as hectic and rebellious whereas the rock duo on the front cover of my magazine are quite relaxed and mellow. However, stereotypically a band like ‘Led Zeppelin’ should be featured on the front cover because they are a band better suited to adults.

The style of font and layout reflects my adult audience because this magazine is targeted at being less hectic than younger music magazines, e.g – Kerrang, Metal Hammer.

Also because I am targeting adults there is a bigger text to picture ratio because unlike younger age groups, adults prefer text and reading. The mode of address is also stereotypical for my social group because adults don’t really understand or like new age slang of younger people, therefore prefer formal language. These representations have been made in order to make adult rock fans identify with the magazine and buy it.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

A media institution that is most likely to distribute my media product is Bauer media, this is because they produce magazines which are similiar to mine. Such as Kerrang and Q.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for my music magazine are adults of both sexes that are between the ages of 16-31.

My audience are more likely to appear in a lower socio-economic grouping because these genres of music are quite widespread and are likely to have been passed down through generations. Also this style of magazine appeals to lower socio-economic groups because it is a cheap form of information and entertainment which usually includes lots of pictures so it is easier to read. Stereotypically, rock music is seen as a working class’s genre of music, whereas classical music is seen as a genre more suited to the middle classes.

The lower end of my target audience (16 year olds) will also favour this type of magazine because they are the group most likely to have less money.

Parents and friends of readers are also potential target audiences because they probably would want to find out about what their friends/children are reading.

How did you attract/Address your audience?

The front cover of my music magazine is the most important part of my media product as most people buy their magazine in a hurry and use the front cover as a deciding factor.

I made the front cover of my music magazine attractive to my audience by using a bright and colourful central image which is a key factor in drawing the audience in to buy the magazine.

I have also made my front cover appeal to the target audience by using a mature and appropriate colour scheme, people are attracted to the colours of a magazine therefore this plays a big part in attracting potential buyers.

The style of my font and masthead is also attractive to a more mature audience because it is not an over the top style like most other music magazines.

The feature and various coverlines are also attractive to the audience because they reflect older genres like blues/rock and metal.

Also because I use an informal mode of address it is more appealing to adults because it talks to them in a way they can understand, unlike using slang or new age idioms.

What have you learnt about technology from the process of constructing this product?Since starting this music magazine project I have learnt how to use different technologies and sites, such as blogger, indesign, photoshop and digital camera’s.

I have also learnt that it is not as easy as people may think to manipulate pictures to the desired effect, this process takes a while.

Since starting the project I have also learnt how to use an imac computer, with the help of my teacher and classmates I have learnt new skills that otherwise I would have never known such as image manipulation.

Looking back at the preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression

from it to the full project? Since creating my student magazine, my knowledge of technology has improved greatly, for example, I now know how to export pictures into different formats and create different effects. I have done this in both photoshop and indesign, this has lead to a vast improvement of my music magazine. In addition to this, I have also learnt how to create different styles of font using internet sites such as dafont, an example of this is shown through my masthead and coverlines which has helped me to create generic conventions of music magazines.

Overall, this task has taught me to identify generic conventions of music magazines and how to create them.