Feedback on cover and contents

Evidently, through my audience feedback, the genre of music I was expressing was not instantly recognizable. The purpose of my magazine was to inform people of this genre of music a lot more so it is understandable if it is not widely known.

Double Page Spread

By using a very useful and effective programme on the Mac computers, an application called 'pages', I have managed to create my own double page spread similar to those found in typical magazines.

Stage 1

This is the first draft of my double page spread. Its a very simple layout and all in black and white. I think this gives it a classier, easier to read look. I am going to now edit this as the top masthead is not fully shown and some of the images appear randomly placed.

Stage 2

This second draft is still simple, but the dense amount of text has been broken up by the green outline on the images and a small 'Top 5 Artists' to give a friendly vibe to the audience. Personal information is important as it makes the artists appear down to earth and also inspires fans. I changed the Image in the bottom left hand corner due to the fact I had already used the image on the contents page.

Stage 3

I have further edited my double page spread by enlarging certain quotes for effect, making the boarders of the images smaller, creating a shadow around each image and changing the colours to ensure continuity with the look of my whole magazine. This now ties in with my font cover and contents page and is still simple without appearing too bland.

Screen grab images from Front Cover and Contents page Analysis

This image is typical of a contents page in a magazine. This picture gives a sneak preview into what is actually inside the magazine and who is being interviewed and the surroundings. The page number at the top of this image breaks up the contents page to make it appear more exciting and to draw your attention to the main feature.

The reduced image if the Front Cover is a typical convention in a contents page. This just refreshes your mind and also reinforces the continuity between the two pages. The phrase 'subscribe to the monthly Lowdown and save £25' is a lure and instantly would grab the audiences attention to saving money and to read your magazine consistently.

The barcode here and the menu strip at the bottom make the production seem professional. They give a sneak preview into the features within the magazine in a quirky and eye catching way. The barcode reveals price which needs to be suited to the target audience social class and age group.

Cover and Contents

Front Cover

By analyzing my images and thinking about what best target my audience in representation of social groups I have designed my Front cover following typical conventions i noticed from existing music magazines that follow a similar Genre, mainly mixmag. The Front cover is very vibrant and eye catching specifically related to my teen/young adult target audience. It is fun and sexy attracting the male gaze and female audiences who would be inspired by the make-up and feminine jewellery. The red font colour is consitent in the Masthead, main coverline and menu strip. One other colour is used so not to look to over crowded, white. This is only used on the strapline and other coverlines to draw your eye to the main points on the page. A typical barcode is positioned in the corner.

The magazine Title reflects my chosen Reggaeton genre relating to the information you will find within the magazine and how 'Low Down' females dance when listening to this type of music. I have ensured continuity between cover and contents as this makes it appear professional and that they look like they are from the same magazine.

Contents

The contents page still has the same red colour and font to ensure continuity. The black background makes the white font stand out instantly. The specific contents are spread in sections around the page, they are not alligned to reflect the radical and rebellious nature of my audience. The sections are there for easier and quicker access to specific areas of the magazine which may be a favourite of my audience and also gives a breakdown of every new and main article within. The main feature is at the top with an image and page number to make it easier for audiences who specifically want to read about the artist. A lure is at the bottom, a free mixtape of a typical artist, this breaks the page up and also would encourage my audience to purchace this magazine again if they realise freebies are frequent. A reduced image of the front cover is at the top which is another typical convention, this reminds my reader and also would persuade them to subscribe when reinforcing the saving of '£25'.

Representation of Social Groups

I have created a slideshow in slideshare.com which reveals my chosen images used for my cover, contents and double page spread. I have analysed the impact they could have on the audience and if they promote a positive/negative image of specific social groups and sterotypes.

Slide show of images

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Inspiration

When thinking about the design on my front cover, I wanted a slightly 'out of this world' look. I want the Image on the cover to appear enchanting, almost cartoon-like. A type of image which has always intruiged me has been Hed Kandi girls who are girls used to advertise dance music on CD's. posters and T.V adverts. I have collected a selection of specifically enchanting images of these girls which will then go on to inspire my own images.

Analyzing Photography

All if these photos were taken on the black and white colour mode on my camera. I feel the effect creates a more professional look to the images and celebrify the model I used even more. The colour makes the images appear as if from old memories which give an authentic feel and will be very appealing to my Target Audience.



I decided to take a range of images from all different angles and poses to show the singer in a complex light. To express her personality in various ways to make the reader more relaxed and
comfortable.

For my double page spread article I have chosen to use an interveiw technique which is a typical format in a lot of music magazines. A simple question and answer layout. I belive these images appear as if in a casual location, just messing around having fun with a photographer which is a technique I see often in Music magazines. Only a few are very posed, most just as if caught off guard which is more realistic and makes the singer appear as if down to earth.

In my Interview I have tried to reflect the way her personality comes across through the questions in these photos. This is more genuine and fits the style of the magazine perfectly. Some images are irrelevant and just for fun such as this with the dog on the left and will not be used for my final production.

Target Audience

Demographic

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The interests of my target audience is essential when planning my final production piece. This is a mood board of typical objects my audience are interested in which will be useful concerning adverts and typical feature pages/interviews as i know what kind of images to include, mode of address and even competition ideas.

Readers Profile

The magazine I have based 'Get Low' on is Mixmag a popular Dance music and DJ magazine. Research into the readership of this has given me an idea of the types of people I would aim 'Get Low' at. I have discovered a demographic for this and a typical description of a typical reader. This can assist me when thinking about price, images used and mode of address.

Mixmag readers are the opinion formers and leaders in clubbing. They are the ones who make the happening music happen and the cool products cool within their peer group.
They are the first to recommend a new tune and the first on a new fashion trend. They’re at that new cool club very early and they move on before it starts to go cold . They’re the best informed about top DJs and upcoming tunes, and they just have to have the latest mobile (even if their current one is less than six months old). They’re the biggest downloaders of music in the UK.
The median age of a Mixmag reader is 26 – 72% male, 28% female – and they tend to be urban and single.
They have a high disposable income and a high propensity to spend it on:
- Nights out
- Clothes
- iTunes
The latest mobile and MP3 player
Nearly 80% do not read another music magazine and they spend little time watching TV, especially at weekends.

Original Images

This image is effective due to the use of the guitar.. it looks as if the band are practicing together and they appear to have a close bond which is essential as it needs to look realistic. The issue is with the door in the background which looks unprofessional however this can be cropped out using photoshop.

The black background here works well and the contrast of clothing in this group is quirky and effective. This image is not clear enough on what type of music this band produces and does not convey a clear personality which sould be changed. The arrangement of the girls could be altered.

This image i belive is the weakest of the three. The mirror setting has a good basis but the result did not work out. You can see the 0ther side to the dance bar but thsi has no purpose or relevance.

I have taken some basic images that could be used for the double pages feature within my Reggaeton Music Magazine. The idea is a girl group of 3, The setting is not very imaginative but could be used as the interview images as it is a relaxed environment. It looks as if we are in a dance studio which is fitting to the music genre however, our attire is not suited.

Genre and content

The genre i have chosen is one that is not normally mentioned in typical media. Reggaeton is a relatively new genre of dance music that has become popular in Puerto Rico over the last decade. The name is derived from the reggae music of Jamaica which influenced reggaeton's dance beat. Reggaeton was also heavily infuenced by other Puerto Rican music genres and by urban hip-hop music craze in the United States.

The variety of musical influences on the development of reggaeton led one observer (James Farber of the NY Daily News) to call it a "cultural polyglot".

In the United Kingdom there is no present magazine that encorporates this music style and so i noticed a gap in the music market and decided i wanted to target this audience. There is a popular website however which gives regular updates of reggaeton charts and upcoming performances.

Through this genre, my publication will include less celebrity gossip and more about music gigs and information about the reggaeton music industry. I will give a lot of reveiws of previous concerts on typical artists and ratings on whether they are worth viewing again.

List of content:
* Gig reveiws
* Celebrity gossip
* Interveiws with Artists
* Images of Celebrities
* Information on upcoming concerts
* Artist ratings on most popular

Typography

Using Dafont.com i came up with a typography that best represented the Reggaeton Music genre. It is fun and quirky with the use of red in the background to signify heat and passion.

I browsed this website to research other fonts that will reflect my Dance magazine. As Reggaeton has originated from Latin America, a very hot country i discovered a font that connoted excitment and heat. The palm trees within the letters have an exotic feel and any alteration to the colour would make the font prominent. The faded look links to my target audience, as they are young they are effortlessly cool and slightly rough around the edges.

This is a slightly unappealing use of colour and is not representative of my loud, funky music magazine. A change in the use of colour instantly makes it look more vibrant and attractive, expressing the cultural feel to my magazine and the heat of Latin America.

Here is a clash of three various colours. They reach out to the audience against the black background.

Questionairre

In preparation for my Publication, I devised a questionairre to ask my peers specific questions on what type of magazines they read and what would persuade them to by a magazine. Through this i can find out what type of people enjoy specific genres and trivial answers concerning price.


Q1. How old are you?

16-18 19-21 22-24 25 +

Q2. What gender are you?

Male Female

Q3. What is your Ethnic background?

Black Caribbean White Other Mixed Other
Please specify__________
Black African Hispanic

White British Middle Eastern

Q4. Are you currently in full time education?

Yes No

If no, are you in paid employment? Yes No

If yes, how would you describe your social class background?

Upper Class Middle Class Working Class


Q5. What genre of music do you generally listen to?

Rock Pop Hip Hop R‘n’B

Bashment Reggaeton Classical

World Music Punk Garage Drum and bass


Q6. Do you attend live events of this genre of music?

Yes No Occasionally


Q7. Do you ever buy music magazines?

Often Occasionally Never


Q8. If so, which do you normally purchase? ____________________



Q9. If not, what would encourage you to buy one?

Freebies Live event coverage Celebrities

Cheaper price Coverage of my favourite music genre

Fashion articles Film reviews Venue recommendation



Q10. How often do you visit a music magazine website?

Often Occasionally Rarely Never

If so, which website(s) do you visit? _____________

Q11. For which of the following reasons do you visit these music websites?

Purchase tickets download music read interviews and feature articles

Purchase merchandise update on tours and gigs reviews of new music and
events

The Front Cover:

Which colour would most attract you to a magazine?

Red Blue Orange Yellow Pink Green

Other__________

Which type of image would you prefer to see?

A posed shot live shot artistic design


How much would you be willing to pay for a monthly magazine?
Under £1 £1-£2 £2-£3 £3-£4 £4-£5


This was devised in order to get more information about what type of magazine cover and feature articles would be the most popular and therefore sell the most copies. This copy does not show the boxes that would be present for the actual questionnaire.

Electronic Media

The use of electronic media has enabled me to even create this blog. Through Photoshop, i have been able to create mock front covers for my music magazine, edit and create backgrounds and images. The use of Dafont.com has also helped me design quirky mastheads and logos suited to my genre of music.

Flat Plan Designs -

To get a general idea, I have drawn up a rough design of what I expect the layout of my Front Cover page to look like. This will then give me an idea of continuity for the rest of my production.

I have added my Masthead and some possible features which are places as lures around the main image which will be my central concern.

Analysis of Existing products

M8 DJ magazine Front cover featuring female DJ Miss Nine

*Asian looking woman with dark brown, wet hair hanging down across her face. She is looking over her shoulder in an almost seductive pose with her hand behind her head and elbow resting on her knee. She appears to have just come out the shower or swimming pool as droplets of water are on her arms and back. She is wearing a tight, black sports top with black leggings which could connote her having just exercised. Her mouth is slightly open and we see a side view of her face which connotes flirtatiousness and sexuality. There is a plain white background which creates this woman as the main focus of the page.

* The Masthead is on the top left as the woman’s head covers the rest of the space. It is more like their logo and is bold, rounded and red ‘M8’ with a white inside. This is sans-serif font which connotes the modern look to the magazine. The colour red connotes passion and sexuality which is reflected in how the main woman appears. There is a yellow circle which covers the top of the ‘M’ with the price of £1.The yellow stands out as it is the only use of this colour on the whole page, aimed to attract readers to the cheap price.Below the sweet spot is a list of DJ names in serif grey writing. Across the woman’s arm is a banner headline reading ‘Miss Nine’ in red serif lettering with a white outline. Below this in a white smaller font is ‘...our perfect 10’ which connotes that she is the best in her profession. Along the bottom of the page is a menu strip of clubbing venues in white writing. This stands out against the black of the woman’s clothing. Below this menu strip is a red one giving us details of a certain event. At the very bottom gives us the important information such as the magazine website, the barcode and the issue number.

I have further analysed a Front cover of popular DJ and Dance magazine, Mixmag. This magazine is similar to the type of music i want to produce in my own production.This has given me ideas and inspired me to design my own front cover in an original way.. this also gives me an insight into typical conventions in dance music magazines.

Media anaylisis

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Analysis of front page on slide 1

- The generic music convention codes employed by the magazine suggest the target audience is a young female audience due to the image used, the girls appear independent and strong. Their poses make them look as if they are in control which could represent the social class this magazine is targeting, successfull women who know what they like.

- The mode of address is colloquial and uses informal terms such as 'blagalicious' a play on word and 'bo! Presenta!' further informal quotes. This suggests the audience like to have a good time and can take a joke.

- The features in the magazine suggest the readership are real music fanatics with free CD's. It implies the readers are possibly wild with feature such as 'lose the drug law lottery'. Phrases imply the readership enjoy to dance and are party animals, 'Richard Blackwoods jiggy club crawl'.

- The layout and design of this specific publication imply the audience are still youthful but above teens. the layout is classy but still edgy and fun with the sexy cartoon of three women. They are holding Alcohol and Cigarettes implying they are old enough and above the legal age.

- The mode of adress and layout/design of the magazine suggest it is targeted at both a niche audience, this type of house music and DJ's is specific to one group of people and does not contain well known artists but mainly precise information for people thoroughly into the science behind music.

Analysis of Front Cover Slide 2

- The generic music convention codes employed by the magazine suggest the target audience is a young female audience due to the image used, the feminine background colour and typical pink font.

-The font on ‘Lil Kim’ is serif which connotes femininity and glamour here.

- The mode of address here is colloquial and fun. Such phrases as ‘Banging’ and ‘la diva loca’ express this as they connote youth and vitality.

- The features in the magazine suggest the audience are real party animals with ‘My Ibiza Party’ the worlds most popular raving destination. The reference to Lil’ Kim, a Hip Hop rapper with attitude suggest the audience also have a variety of music interests with word play of ‘Notorious Lil’ Kim’ linking to the famous rapper Notorious B.I.G.

- The layout and design of this specific publication imply the audience are still youthful and are possibly quite image focussed due to the main concentration on the sexuality of Lil’ Kim. It also suggests a large female readership due to colour and dreamy background gradient.

- The mode of address and layout/design of the magazine suggest it is targeted at a young, inspiring audience who enjoy a good time and are open to new things. Mixmag, normally a DJ House magazine featuring a popular American rap artist expresses diversity.

Content Page Analysis

To have a clear understanding of other typical conventions within music magazines i have taken two contents pages and noticed main features on them from Vibe and Mixmag.

Content analysis

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Mastheads & Logo research

The anaylsis of existing mastheads from various music magazines gives me a basis for where I can start contructing my own. The type of font that each magazine uses reflects the genre of music present within the cover and so conveys a lot to the reader. This masthead will need to be instantly recognised and so will need to be simple and effective. The way each logo is contructed connotes specific values that the magazine has, E.G. Kerrangs logo has a black background and cracks through the font, representing the dark edge to rock music and the cracks to symbolising the breaking of a guitar. Probabaly due to the wild partying and passionate rock guitarists.
The Masthead of my own magazine is crucial because that is how people will remember it, it must be representative of my music genre and the type of information inside.

Content Analysis & Target Audience

Here, is a breakdown of the adverts used within two popular music magazines, Top of the pops and NME. By looking at the advertising especially we can distinguish who the magazines target audience are. I can apply this information to my own magazine as this is an example of how to effectively distribute advertising within my own product.


In top of the pops, (the top pie chart) It is evident by the use of make up and celebrity coverage that the target audience is definately females. As in NME, the fact video games and the use of male products are advertised that the magazine is aimed at males. To fully appreciate a specific outline of a typical person to read this magazine we have to look at more than just adverts and at the content and double page spreads/ interveiws.


The second pie chart is essential to cover the inside spreads and what they contained. As we can see Top of the Pops main content is gossip whearas NME is upcoming gigs. Possible showing NME as a more serious music magazine whearas TOTP is more for gossip and celebrity updates. We concluded on this information that TOTP's demographic was mostly aimed at girls from 9-15, possibly working class and white. This is because of what types of celebrities the magazine covered, the level of quizzes and the use of language used. The fact also that stickers came with the magazine and the amount of posters gave us an insight into the age group.

NME's demographic is slightly older than TOTP. It has more serious interveiws about bands and reviews, has at least 3 double page spreads on rock bands and their gigs and only a few posters. The target audience here appears to be male working class from 13-17 and due to the price and quality of the paper.

By looking at these existing and successful products, it has given me an idea of what i could put in my own magazine in the content listings and mode of adress when creating my double page article.

Prelimenary Task. Cover and Contents

Analysis of Front Cover and Contents

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Preliminary Task

As a practice for our main task we have produced our preliminary task which is the front cover of a school magazine. This must contain such typical conventions as a masthead, catchy strap line and effective background image. I still have to take my image which will probabaly take place within my school in a classroom or of an active sport happening to show community.

However, i decided to change the look of the magazine as i felt this design was not vibrant enough a look for a school magazine. On a day where there was a centinery celebration at my school i decided to merge two images together. Photoshopping in flags to represent diversity and a background showing two girls of different ages and cultural background.

This is my original image which i will use for my background. I will then add my Masthead, lures and puffs to follow typical magazine conventions. The image conveys a sense of joy which is crucial when concerning a school magazine. the pupils must look like they are enjoying themselves.

Introduction to Music Press Blog

Hi, i'm Justine, currently an A Level Media Studies student. Throughout this blog I will be researching music magazines with the idea of producing my own for a specific target audience. I hope to develop my analytical skills, through my research, as well as production and design skills with the practical task. I look forward to showing you my research and planning in terms of The Music Press as well as my final magazine. Although, I haven't chosen the genre I think I would like to work within reggaeton. Here is an example of the Latin American music type:

I feel this is a fresh and exciting genre to work within and one not well known in North West London. This will provide me with a great opportunity to work within these conventions and for them to be exciting.

As the brief asks for I will be creating:

• Front Page using original images
• Contents using original images
• Double page feature

I hope you enjoy! Bye.