Music Magazine - Double page spread.

This image is taken of a double page spread from the music magazine Rolling Stone. There is a very large image which takes over one full page and then continues to spill over onto the other page. I chose this double page spread as an example not because of the main image but because of the mast head. I like how the mast head and the text beneath is slanted and almost leaning off the page. Also the lettering of the mast head is bold and stands out. The lay out of this mast head will possibly influence the mast head of my double page spread.




I like the image on this double page spread as the person who is the main focus points towards the reader, and the shadow of the main focus points towards the article which draws the reader towards the article. Also all text is overlayed on the image in a question and answer style article, with all questions being asked in a bold red, and all other text in the conventional black font. There is also use of a drop cap in the opening paragraph which is conventional of most articles.






I like this double page spread mainly because of the image which is a close-up. The artist is heavily made up and very stylised. The image spills over from one page to the other where the article then is. The head line is layed over the main image. The text of the headline is white which contrasts with the dark background. There is also a large pull quote with the centre of the article which emphasises part of the article and highlights what is thought to be an interesting line.

Music Magazines - Contents Pages

This image shows a contents page from the Rolling Stone magazine. It contains a large image, with details of what is within the magazine down the right hand side. The background of the image is cut from the top leaving only the foreground. This reveals the hand of Kanye West covering part of the title and standing out from the background and original image. There is also a brief story about Kanye West overlayed on the image with a small headline. The font is all very formal and the content of the writing is also very detailed.

This image shows a contents page from a Hip-hop magazine, it has a clean white background with the main image just a foreground with no back drop. The image is of a widely recognised artist of the magazines targeted audience. The actual contents are the right hand justified which I like as this is unconventional. The colours on this page are simple and bold with only three colours being used; white, black and red.

Music Magazine Covers

Previous/Current Magazines




Smash Hits was a magazine aimed at young teenagers and was about mainstream music, what was currently in the charts and who was in the spotlight. It was a weekly and was published for 28 years until its popularity began to decline and by 2006 it had been removed from shop shelves and was no longer published. The cover of the magazine was always bright and vibrant with large fonts and bold colours. This makes it eye catching when it is amongst other magazines on shop shelves. More than one headline was always featured on the front with the main focus on a chart topping artist or group. It also offered gossip as this cover shows 'stars exposed' and involves the reader with use of the second person. The words 'you'll love' are directed straight at the audience and involve them with the article making it more appealing. The magazine cover appears to appeal to a young audience for example 10-13 and this particular issue I think would come across more appealing to females because of the colours used and the artist featured. This magazine was published by Emap which suggests that they could publish my music magazine, however I would target mine at a slightly older audience.

Rolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. This magazine is aimed at a more mature audience and the artists it features are also less likely to be 'one-hit wonders' and more likely to be popular and well established. The cover of this magazine is always well designed and less busy, focusing on fewer inside articles. The main image is more of a focus rather than any text, even the mast head as the image partially covers it. Being able to cover the majority of the masthead shows how well established the magazine is and how easily recognisable it has become. I would rather my music magazine would have an identity more like this one, well known for quality.

Music Magazines

Selecting A Music Genre

I intend to use popular mainstream music as my genre because there are many of the magazines already being published and therefor there will be many different conventions which I would be able to analyse and base my magazine around. Also, it would be more likely to be published because if the music is popular more people are going to want to read about it. This type of magazine could also include a wide variance of genre's therefore appealing to a wider audience.

Main Task - LIIAR

As this is the beginning of a new task I first need to plan all of the formal elements within the magazine:

Language:-

The language of a magazine relates to not only writing, but also photographs/graphics, plugs, masthead/typography, and colour should all depend on the genre of the music. For a music magazine targeted at younger teenagers who enjoy pop music, for example 'Smash Hits', the magazine should be in lighter brighter colours unlike a music magazine aimed at older teenagers who like rock music, this would be in darker colours like reds and blacks. The language of the magazine should be quite fun and informal, yet music related.

Institution:-

I need to identify a magazine publisher who would publish my magazine, however I first need to decide on my genre. Although before deciding, i carried out some research into three different publishing institutions:

Future

The portfolio for future includes established titles like Total Film and Guitar World, as well as Classic Rock, the UK’s fastest growing rock music magazine. They are the global market leader in guitar magazines.

Magazines include: Total Film, DVD Review, SFX, Guitar World, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer, Revolver, Guitarist, Rhythm, Total Guitar

IPC

IPC Media is a leading UK consumer magazine publisher. Almost two in every three UK women and over 45% of UK men read an IPC magazine.

Magazines include: What's on TV, Pick Me Up, Woman, Now, Marie Claire, In Style, Woman & Home, Ideal Home, Nuts, Wallpaper, Country Life, The Field, Rugby World, Practical Boat Owner and Look.

BAUER (formally known as EMAP)

Bauer is a major publisher in the magazine industry and covers a wide audience and range of topics.

Magazines include: Sneak, Smash Hits, Kerrang!, Mixmag, Q and Mojo.

Ideology:-

Consumerism

Audience:-

The audience is dependent on the genre of the music, and the magazine will be created with the target audience in mind. The audience is dependent on the genre of music as it will be aimed at the people who enjoy and are interested in this style of music.

Representation:-

The magazine will be representative of the music and its audience and should therefore reflect them in a positive way, and contain positive outcomes from the music.

College Magazine Cover

This image shows my final college magazine cover.

After looking at many magazine conventions I included many of these within my final piece. For example I used a short and snappy masthead which is placed on the top left hand side of the cover. This is the same as every other magazine cover I have looked at. Under the mast head I have put the date and issue number which is conventional of a magazine. I have also included a bar code and price. Sub-headlines and images have been included to give an idea of what is inside the magazine and the placing of these down the left hand side with small text and pictures is typical of a magazine cover. The main headline covers the centre of of the cover and is in large bold font which is a typical convention of magazine covers.

The magazine aims to represent the college and students at the college and the main image plays the largest part in doing so. The image shows a student from the college and it represents them as happy and hard working as it shows her smiling and also holding what could be her results. The image suggests that the results are good making her happy and therefore showing how hardworking she has been. Also it shows how the college is capable of providing a base to achieving success.

The kind of institution which may distribute this magazine may be the college administration or the student union. They may distribute it to inform as well as entertain the students, and also to bring the college and the students together for example with the barcelona or disneyland article, or alternatively to encourge independent learning with the article 'Have you been revising enough?'

The magazine, aimed at Wyke students, would attract its target audience simply through the main headline as results are someting many students are concerned about. Claiming that these are the best results would also appeal to the more competetive side of people. Also the main image is of a student from Wyke college who is the same age, and possibly doing the same courses of many of the target audience therefore the audience can relate to it and it becomes more appealing. Also the image of Disneyland Paris is a strong brand which many people will recognise and it should appeal to young people. Finally the image of the books and the wyke college logo underline that the magazine is for the students of Wyke college.

Making this product I used a digital camera to take my main image and photoshop to manipulate it and add text. After taking my photo, using photoshop I blurred out the background and revealed only the student as the focal point. I added the mast head and chose colours which I believed to be light and fresh to appeal to younger people. I then added all other pieces such as the main headline and the sub-headlines.

Overall this preliminary exercise has been useful because I have learnt about different magazine conventions, how and why they are used and also I have learnt how to use the programme Photoshop, which allowed me to create and edit my magazine cover. All of these I will need to use within my main music magazine.

Contents Page Mock Up

Plan of College Magazine Cover

This picture shows a sketch of the guidelines for my college magazine front cover .



Masthead: For the masthead I had to think of some magazine names which are short, snappy and relate to college life. Also I had to decide on the audience for the college magazine, whether I would target the whole college or just certain subject areas. First I began to think of names for the whole college. The aim of a college is to educate so I began by using this as a base. Words which could possibly be used as the mast head and have the same meaning include: brief, coach, drill, train. The idea of success could also be used with words such as boom, hit, win, smash, rise or shine. The words boom and hit are quite powerful and catchy. Rather than using the college as a whole, the magazine could specialise in certain subject areas, for example graphics, the magazine could be called draw, etch, or mark. For business the magazine could be called link, as this is connected to business link. This could also refer to linking the college together and giving information. I eventually decided on using the word link as my college magazine masthead: to link the college with the students, the magazine can contain information about college activities and events as well as other general college information.

LINK! The masthead should be in a bold colour, one block colour or possibly two. The second colour should be for outline or shadowing.

Headline: The main article headline should be bright and vibrant and also contrast with the main image. I need to think of a theme for the magazine and a main story. The magazine could discuss recent college events such as the Halloween Welly, or good exam results; if it where a magazine specifically for Business it could talk about the up and coming possible trip to Disney Land Paris or Barcelona. Possibilities for a headline could include:

• Best Results so far?
• Barcelona or Disney Land you decide!
• Have you been Revising Enough?

Main Image: The main image will be a medium close up shot of a college student. The image should show someone looking happy and enjoying themselves, yet at the same time the image should represent the college positively. The image should have some educational references, possibly a studying pose?