Music Magazine - Evaluation

With my music magazine, I chose to use a range of both conventional ideas, and unconventional ideas to create the style of magazine which I wanted too.

When creating my masthead, I wanted to emphasis to be placed mostly on the ‘LOUD’ part of the title, rather than the whole of the title ‘LiveLoud’. Adobe Gothic Std was my chosen font for ‘LOUD’ whilst also being written in capital letters and a size 550pt font. I chose to use white as the colour of the text as the light colour contrasts with the dark background allowing the text to stand out.

‘Live’ is written in the MV Boli font, and has a minimized size of 250pt compared to the 550pt used on the word ‘LOUD’. The slight italic style of the black coloured text which is placed overlapping ‘LOUD’ and has an outer glow of a light grey colour is also made visible, though the emphasis is still placed on the word ‘LOUD’.

The masthead of Kerrang! has also used the general conventions of using large, bold text with a memorable though the masthead is spread across the whole of the top of the page, whereas mine is spread across the left and the middle of the page.

My reason for not choosing to place my masthead across the whole width of the page is because it would have meant that the image would have been overlapped, which in my opinion would not have achieved the professional look I was hoping for.

My sell line also follows the conventions of a sell line, and is written underneath the masthead. The sell line – ‘Live Life Loud’ was chosen because it relates to the title of the magazine, and once again relates to music, which is what the genre of my magazine is.

‘Life is Loud’ is the sell line of Kerrang! which like the sell line chosen for my music magazine, relates to the music genre, and also the fact that the rock/metal genre that the magazine specialise in is also seen as being typically ‘loud’.

The barcode, price, issue and date of a magazine are conventionally placed in the bottom right hand corner of a magazine, as demonstrated on magazines such as ‘Kerrang!’.

The barcode is made visibly clear, however, the font of the information such as the price, issue and the date of the magazine is often small, therefore not a focal point of the page.

However, as this is where such information is usually conventionally placed on the front cover of a music magazine, this is where customers and retailers of the magazine are most likely to look, hence my choice to place the barcode, date, price and issue in the bottom right hand corner.

If a magazine company wants to be popular, then the price of the magazine must be affordable, and reasonably priced for the contents within the magazine.

I decided on the price of £2.00 for my music magazine as I felt that this was a reasonable price which could be afforded by the target audience of teenagers (14+), at such a time when teenagers struggle to find jobs etc.

I also chose the price of £2.00 as I felt that this would also be competition of other magazines who specify in the same genre(s) as my music magazine such as Kerrang! and Rocksound.

Kerrang is usually price marked at the price of £2.20, whereas the price of Rocksound has increased to £3.99.

I wanted the main focal point of my music magazine front cover to be placed directly on the main image used, which I believe has been achieved due to the editing of the hair to experiment with colours available on Photoshop, and also increasing the brightness to maximise just how eye catching the hair is.

Another choice for me choosing to colour the hair red/orange is because it then partially continues to carry on the colour scheme used throughout the magazine; Red, Black and White.

With the Kerrang! copy that I am using as part of my evaluation, the main focal point is the main cover line of ‘Bring me the Horizon’.

The main cover line is in the centre of the page, written in black and in Eras Demi iTC as a font. ‘Music is my life’ is what the cover line states, and is a quote taken from the double page spread I also created. The black Eras Demi iTC font used contrasts with the red rectangular box which is the background of the cover line. By including a quote, this could be seen as a personal touch been added to the cover, whilst also acting as a teaser as this could prompt the audience to buy the magazine so they are able to read the article.

The use of the colour red as the background could simply be a denotation as being ‘red’. However, the use of red could be an example of connotation as it could signify ‘love’ which would link in to the fact that ‘Music is my life’ has being quoted, which could also be interpreted by the audience that ‘Ellie Diggle’ (the main person of the front cover), loves music also.

The main cover line on the Kerrang! cover is ‘Bring me the Horizon’. The use of white text outlined with a red outer line allows it to seem ‘bold’ compared to the other text surrounding it, which also seems to emphasise the text, therefore making it a focal point also. The cover lines of the Kerrang! magazine are spread across the page, though the two main ones are linked in to the main cover line, and around conventionally placed next to it, making it easier to view.

‘’You don’t know me’’ is a quote from Oli Sykes featured in the interview of him inside the magazine. This could also be recognised as a teasing content as the splash next to the quote states ‘Most revealing interview ever!’ which could provide curiousness to the reader, once again possibly prompting them to buy the magazine.

My cover line is also conventionally placed next to the main cover line, and is relating to the main cover line itself by saying ‘Ellie Diggle for Eccentric tells all’. As the main cover line says ‘Music is my life’, the cover line I chose to use could be interpreted as also being a teasing content similar to the Kerrang! issue as it doesn’t specifically say what the article is about, however by including ‘tells all’, it possibly suggests that there is something that is going to be revealed within the article. I decided to go against the conventions to include a skyline as after experimenting with a range of colours, fonts and sizes, I felt that it took the focus away from the masthead which I didn’t want, therefore my choice to not include a skyline on the front cover of my magazine.

With Kerrang! they have included a skyline and it links in with the main image and the main cover story, therefore it links in with one another. The use of yellow, red and black also links in with the main cover story, and the main image, so has managed to blend in with the magazine, without focus being taken away from the masthead etc.

The cover line ‘Ellie Diggle from Eccentric tells all’ acts as a teasing content because despite there being a quote ‘Music is my life’ being used as the main cover line, it doesn’t reveal a great detail of what the article is about. By including teasing contents, this could have an effect of prompting the target audience to possibly by the magazine to find out what the article is actually about.

The rectangular box at the bottom of the page could be suggested as going against conventions as it doesn’t state ‘Plus’ though it is clear by using the symbol ‘+’ instead. It is also a teasing content, as the audience are made to look inside to see what the bands written in the rectangular box are about etc. ‘Most Revealing Interview Ever!’ and ‘You Don’t Know ME!’ and ‘Rock’s Most Controversial Star Bares His Soul’ are all examples of the teasing contents used in the Kerrang! front cover.

As previously explaining, they do have an effect, as this emphasises the ‘shock’ factor of the interview, which could make the target audience feel intrigued as to what has been said.

I decided to go against the conventional idea that a number of images should be used in the contents page as I wanted the focus to be placed on the one main image used, whilst also allowing space for an editor’s note to be included in the contents page also.

In my opinion, by including an editor’s note, it allows the readers to feel more ‘involved’ within the magazine, having a positive effect as they are then more likely to purchase the magazine again.

For the contents page of Kerrang! that I have chosen to compare my magazine too, I have used the one once again featuring Oli Sykes.

There are six images on the contents page, though the one featuring Oli Sykes who looks as though he is signing something is the obvious main image used on this issue’s contents page. The image’s layout is across half of the page and the range of the colours blue and purple reach out from the page, and contrast against the main colours of the rest of the page of white, black and yellow.

Inside the contents page that I created, I sectioned off the page into categories of; Gig Reviews, Features, Posters, News, Album Reviews, and Gig Guide. By doing this, I have conventionally matched what you would expect to find in a professionally made magazine. The effect of categorising the page is that a sophisticated look is achieved, which also looks professional.

Also, it makes the contents page convenient for the reader as they article(s) that they are wishing to look at can be easily found, without having to look through the whole of the contents looking for the desired article.

By designing the headings of the categories so that they have a continuous style of the first category ‘Gig Reviews’ being written in Impact font in white, placed on a red background, and the second category named ‘Features’ also being written in Impact font, but red text placed on a white background allows the audience to be visibly clear as to what the contents headlines are.

The contents of each category are written in a white font which is also made understandable and easy to read from the black background.

Because of the decrease in font size of the categories compared with the contents of each category also allows the reader to be more aware of the difference between the headline, and the contents etc.

Kerrang! have also chosen to be conventional with their contents page as each article is categorised into any of one of the following; Feedback, News, Swag, Live Reviews, Features, Album Reviews, and ‘Famous Last Words’.

This also has a sophisticated look, and is also another example of convenience for the reader as the headline title of each category, and the contents of each category is also made clear due to difference of font used, and the difference of the colour of the font used.

For my double page spread, I chose to stick to the conventional ideas in order to once again hoping to achieve the professional look I wanted too on the front cover and the contents page also. 


The headline is conventionally written in an Impact font which then continues to carry on the house style used throughout the whole of the magazine. 


The headline’s text is written in a large font, in black, therefore contrasts against the red rectangular box I have placed behind the text, allowing it to be eye catching towards the reader. 


The headline is a quote saying ‘’Watch this space’’ as I felt that by including a quote as the main headline, it could be used as part of a teasing content, making the reader feel intrigued to read what is included within the article of the double page spread. 


With the Kerrang! article I have chosen to compare too, there has also been a continued use of using conventions. 


The band featured in the article is We Are The Ocean, a band which specialise in the genre of ‘Post Hardcore’ as stated in the introductory paragraph of the article. The album that they released ‘Cutting Our Teeth’ seems to be portrayed in the main headline of the article, with an image of a pair of scissors ‘cutting’ through the middle of the main headline. 


The text of the headline is written in a large, understandable font which sticks to conventions as of a double page spread. 


I chose to have an introductory paragraph in my double page spread as did Kerrang! because I felt that by using an introduction for the article, it allows the audience to get a ‘feel’ for the article, making them have a better understanding of the article. 


Kerrang!’s introductory paragraph ends with the use of an ellipsis after ‘But they’ve got a new direction in their sights…’. By leaving an introductory paragraph finishing in a way like this, it could be factor which could be implied as being a ‘teasing content’ as it the reader is then likely to continue reading. 


I included a photo credit as a conventional factor of my magazine as this is included in the music magazines of the rock genre I wanted to pursue in, and in order to continue with the professional look hoping to be achieved, I felt that it would be ideal to include a photo credit. 


Like Kerrang! I also include a by line which states the name of the journalist of the magazine, once again wanting my magazine to have similar features to Kerrang! 


I only included one pull quote of my magazine, as did the article featuring We are The Ocean. My choice for this is because I wanted the focus of the reader to be directly pointed to the article, rather than the quotes. 


In my opinion, if there is an increased usage of pull quotes, then the focus steeps away from the article, and more focus in placed on the quotes. 


By only including one pull quote, this means that the reader has to read the article to find out what it is about, rather than relying on the pull quotes to find out the information. The quote ‘I used to play little concerts when I was five in my living room!’ could suggest to the reader that the feature of the article, Ellie Diggle, has a ‘down to earth’ personality, which is quite popular, therefor making the reader more likely to read onto the article. 


‘We want to take a risk’ is the pull quote included in the feature of We are the Ocean. To the audience, this could be interpreted by the audience as being a teaser also, making them curious to read on. 


The stereotypes I wanted to relate to in my music magazine are stereotypes that Kerrang! also pursue in the creation of the magazine. I wanted to aim my magazine at stereotypical groups which are seen as being ‘individual’ such as ‘emos’ etc. 


I think I have managed to achieve this in my magazine with the use of red, black, and white, which are the usual colours associated with such stereotypical groups.


With the front cover of the Kerrang! magazine I chose to analyse, they have also managed to aim their magazine at the specific stereotypes by including Oli Sykes, who is often associated with such stereotypes due to the band he is a member of, his appearance, and his vocal style. 


The quote ‘You don’t know ME!’ could just be seen as a denotation of Oli Sykes claiming that people don’t know me. However, the connotation of the quote could be seen as being able to be related to by the stereotypical groups that the magazine is aimed at, as people of such groups are often bullied due to their appearance etc. for being associated with a stereotype. 


As I wanted my magazine to be aimed at teenagers/young adults, I didn’t want to use fonts, images, and words that seemed ‘child like’ as in a way, this could be seen as being patronizing, which wouldn’t be very popular. 


I used the colour scheme black, white and red as I felt that they are more ‘adult’ colours, rather than using primary colours red, blue and yellow as once again, this could be seen as being childlike. Kerrang!’s age group seems to be aimed also at 15+, and manages to target this audience by writing articles in a way that seems to target the audience with the use of taboo language, whilst approaching subjects that members of the target audience are likely to face, or have been faced with; i.e discrimination/bullying due to their appearance. 


Because of approaching subjects like this, the audience are likely to feel that they are able to relate to such a magazine, therefore continuing to purchase to magazine. For the Socio-Economic Groups I aimed to target groups C1 (Supervisory or Clerical, Junior Managerial, Administrative or Professional), C2 (Semi Skilled Manual Workers), D (Semi Skilled And Unskilled Manual Workers) and E (Casual Labourers, Unemployed, State Pensioners). 


By pricing my magazine at £2.00, it allowed it to be affordable, and with the content included it meant that it was reasonably priced for money also. By putting an affordable price on a magazine, this widens the target of the audience as more people are likely to buy it. By placing a higher price on a magazine, this decreases the audience population as people are less likely to be able to afford it. 


I think Kerrang! has also targeted the same Socio-Economic groups because their price of £2.20 is also affordable, and also for the content within the magazine is reasonably priced for money, meaning that their target audience is also widened. 


Bauer Media would be my chosen media institution to publish my music magazine as I feel that they have expertly produced Kerrang!. As the genre of my magazine is the same as Kerrang!, I would also want the expert look with my music magazine also, which I believe would be achieved if Bauer Media were to produce it. 


My target audience of my music magazine would be teenagers/young adults (Demographic Age Range of 15 – 24) and I would like to aim at both male and female. However, due to the images of the magazines I have included only being female, it could be suggested that the magazine is predominantly targeting females. 


It could also be argued however, that there are males names listed in my contents page, possibly suggesting that the magazine is indeed aimed at both male and female. 


I would target my demographic S.E.G audience by ensuring that the price is affordable (which I think is when priced at £2.00), and I would also probably include a number of competitions as this would also possibly attract members of the D to E category of the S.E.G demographics. 


Another idea which I would include if my magazine were to be published is making the specified audience feel more ‘involved’ within the magazine, but also feeling like they can relate to the articles. If a person feels as though they can relate to something, then they are more likely to feel as though they are involved, resulting in them being more ‘willing’ to buy it, especially if it such an affordable price, and also good value for money. 


Throughout the process of constructing my music magazine, I have learnt a range of technologies which I feel that have helped me a lot whilst creating it. When starting my media course, I was unfamiliar with Photoshop, and how to work it, though I feel that I have progressed throughout the duration of my course. I learnt to improve my skills on Photoshop by watching YouTube tutorials on the website, which go through each process step by step making me feel more comfortable about what I was doing, whilst also making it more of a convenience to me too. For the images used, I edited the colour of the hair by selecting the brush tool, selecting ‘mask’ and colouring in the selected area I wished to change colour. I then unclicked mask, selected ‘inverse’ and then creating a ‘new fill layer’, selecting ‘Solid Colour’ and then changing the mode to ‘Soft Light’ before selecting the colour I wished to change too. I also changed the brightness of the colour of the face of Laura (The girl I chose to use for my magazine), by completing the same process of changing the hair, though making the skin paler. I rotated the rectangular box of the background of the main cover line on the front cover, and also the headline of the double page spread, as I felt that this made it look more different as opposed to having just a rectangular box placed at a straight angle. 


The red eye removal tool has also been used, to edit the ‘red eye’ effect that can happen when taking images on a camera with a flash. But with the use of the ‘red eye removal tool’, the red eye(s) can then be eliminated from the image. 


Compared to my preliminary task of creating a college magazine, I think that I have improved drastically, and I am impressed and proud of the change that I have managed to achieve. With my college magazine, I stuck to the conventions throughout the front cover.


 However, I think that with my music magazine, I have managed to create a more professional looking font cover which looks sophisticated, and with the mixed use of using, and not using conventions, have managed to achieve the look that I was hoping for. 


At the time of creating my college magazine, I was unaware of how to use the wide range of tools available to use within the Photoshop Programme, and because of this, I think that this was where I lost the confidence to experiment. 


Whereas with the process of creating my Music Magazine, and watching the YouTube tutorials that I viewed, I became much more confident with experimenting with the tools available, therefore able to get a much wider choice of what I was able to do with it. 


Overall, I am very impressed with the outcome of my music magazine, and I am pleased with the progress I have made throughout the year.



Audience Feedback of my Music Magazine:

Male - Sixteen - College Student. 
What would you rate my music magazine? (1 - Low. 10 - High)
9 


On the music magazine front cover, what is your favourite feature(s)?
The main image links in with the music genre of the magazine.
The masthead is appealing and easily noticeable.
The colours used also link to the genre of the magazine, and are also used throughout the rest of the magazine.
The teasing contents box at the bottom of the front cover is also going against conventional ideas with the '+' sign rather than saying 'plus'. 


On the music magazine front cover, what is your least favourite feature(s)?I would use a varied range of fonts.
Other than that, I like the music magazine front cover. 


What would you rate my music magazine front cover? (1 - Low. 10 - High.)
9


For my music magazine contents page, what is your favourite feature(s)?
I like the general layout of the contents page.
The font is easy to read, meaning that anybody is able to read it.
The use of one image also goes against the conventional ideas associated with music magazines, so this is also another feature that I like. 
The editors note also adds a professional touch within the contents page. 


For my music magazine contents page, what is your least favourite feature(s)?
Though I do like the use of one image as it goes against general conventions, I would probably add more images to make it look less 'plain'. 


What would you rate my music magazine contents page? (1 - Low. 10 - High.)
10. 


For my music magazine double page spread, what is your favourite feature(s)?
I like everything about the double page spread.
The layout looks professional.
The colours used relate to the genre.
The title is understandable.


For my music magazine double page spread, what is your least favourite feature(s)?
I like everything, so nothing.


What would you rate my music magazine double page spread? (1 - Low. 10 - High.)
10.


If you had to change anything about my music magazine, what would it be?
The use of more images. 
I would also add more page numbers in the double page spread to make it look like a genuine magazine. 





Female - Seventeen - College Student.
What would you rate my music magazine? (1 - Low. 10 - High)
10.



On the music magazine front cover, what is your favourite feature(s)?
The masthead looks different.
The image also looks fun, so I like the image.
I also like the cover line too, especially the layout of it. 


On the music magazine front cover, what is your least favourite feature(s)?
I would probably add more images to the front cover. 


What would you rate my music magazine front cover? (1 - Low. 10 - High.)
9.5


For my music magazine contents page, what is your favourite feature(s)?
Everything, the layout looks sophisticated. 


For my music magazine contents page, what is your least favourite feature(s)?
More images are needed, I think. 


What would you rate my music magazine contents page? (1 - Low. 10 - High.)
9

For my music magazine double page spread, what is your favourite feature(s)?
I like the double page spread, it looks great.
The main image compliments the article well, as does the masthead of the article.
I also like that page numbers have been included which once again makes the magazine look as though it is a real one. 


For my music magazine double page spread, what is your least favourite feature(s)?
Maybe more quotes could have been added, other than that, nothing. :)


What would you rate my music magazine double page spread? (1 - Low. 10 - High.)
10.


If you had to change anything about my music magazine, what would it be?
Nothing.

Music Magazine Analysis - Kerrang!

This double page spread is taken from Kerrang! and features post hard-core genre based band, We are the Ocean.

At the time of releasing this article, the band where on the verge of releasing their debut album, 'Cutting Our Teeth'. The name of the album is highly reflected throughout this double page spread.
The main headline, 'Cutting Loose' relates to both the name of the album, and also the main image used of the band. Underneath the word 'Cutting' there is a line followed by a pair of scissors, similar to what you would find in a letter which part of it needs to be cut off etc. The 'Loose' part of the main headline is coloured in blue, which the connotation could reflect the name of the band 'We are the Ocean' as the general assumption of the Ocean is that it is blue.

The main image is of all of the band members wrapped up in the cord of the microphone. The band seem to be bundled in quite tightly with one another, so once again, it could be suggested that this was purposely done to link in with the 'cutting' theme wanting to be achieved throughout the duration of the text.

An introductory paragraph begins the article, explaining about We are the Ocean etc which goes along with typical conventions. The introdctory paragraph then leads to the main article, where the band begin to explain that they wanted to take a risk whilst on the subject of their new album.

Linking this in with the pull quote made by Dan Brown - one half of the lead vocalists of the band, states 'We want to take a risk'. The connation of this could once again link back in with the 'cutting' theme, as though they are 'brekaking free' from their usual choice of style when it comes to music.

I personally don't think that there are any strereotypes which are being aimed at in the process of creating this music magazine, as the the band members are dressed casually, as opposed to being dressed in a way and style you would expect any band of the genre to be dressed in.

Bauer Media have published this double page spread, as they are the publishers of Kerrang!
As a whole, this is my favourite double page spread that I have analysed, as I feel that its basic. However, because of the simplicity of the text, it means that it is easy to read, therefore makes it enjoyable too. This is definately an article which I shall be looking into whilst creating my own music magazine, as everything involved in the making of it compliments with one another.

Music Magazine - Double Page Spread Analysis - Kerrang! - All Time Low

With this article, it also goes along with the general conventions, and has a layout which I would like to achieve whilst creating my magazine.

All Time Low - the band featured in the article - have a popular reputation for being a 'fun' kind of band which is clearly portrayed throughout the double page spread.

The main image is of all four members of the band, with Jack holding a pair of large pink pants, which could emphasise the comedy effect which happens throughout the duration of the article.

'Mostly We Just Blow Each Other...' is the main headline of the double page. The headline is a quote taken from the interview, which could once again be emphasising the comedy factor wanting to be achieved.

There is a general comedy scheme of yellow, black and white which is continuous throughout the article. The main headline, the pull quotes of the interview, the name of the band in the top left corner, and the headlines of each question are in yellow, which stand out from the page, making them focal points.

The main headline is the focal point because of the large, bold writing which is written in a bright yellow colour and stands out from the colours of the background. Because the 'Just Blow' part of the text is written in a considerably larger text to the rest, which drags emphasis to it. As All Time Low are predominantly aimed at girls of approximately fourteen year old and upwards, this would be quite funny to them, once again achieving comedy.

The white background of the text allows the black font to stand out, and the same is about the yellow highlighted questions of the text.

The subheading of the main headline doesn't stand out from the text, because of the white text placed on a black boxed background which is then placed on the dark coloured background of the image. However, this is not necessarily a problem as the focus of the main headline will draw the reader to look at the sub heading whilst doing so.

Music Magazine - Rocksound! - Double Page Spread Analysis - Murderdolls!

 This double page spread is taken from rock music magazine, Rocksound! and features the band 'Murderdolls'.

Murderdolls are seen as being quite 'heavy' which is clear to see just by looking at the article. There is a lot of black and red used, which is often associated with the Gothic image that murderdolls pursue. The colour white is also used within this double page spread, which could connotate to the white faces that stereotypical Goths adopt when taking up the style.

The rocksound logo is also made clear as the yellow background of the image stands out from the dark colours which are consistent throughout the article.

The masthead of the article 'Murderdolls' is written in a bold text, and in capital letters which is a convention you would expect to find in a music magazine. By adopting this convention, it makes it easy for the reader of the article to read what it says, whilst also allowing the reader to know that it is the name of the article without causing an confusion.

'Two's Company' is the sub heading of the article, and I personally don't think that it is very well placed. The dark red of the text combined with the black background of the general article doesn't bide very well, making it unclear to see.

The connotation of the sub-heading could be linked into the generalised assumption of Goths that they are quite anti-social, and prefer to be left alone. 'Two's Company' could be backing up the generalised stereotype that people have on that specific sub-culture.

The main image used is what can only be guessed as been two members of the band, and their Gothic appearance is made evidently clear. They are wearing leather jackets which are black, silver jewellery, white make up to make their faces white, and black hair - all of which are the general image of a typical Goth.

There is a quote taken from the article which is written in the middle of the article, with a rugged white shaped background. This stands out which is a positive factor because once again, this allows it to be able to be read by the reader.

The main focal point in my opinion is the main and only image used. As there isn't a vast amount of the colour white used, I think that the deathly white colour of their faces allows it to 'jump' off the page, thus making it a focal point to the reader.

The target audience of this article is aimed at fans of the band, though I think that the Gothic scene will also be targeted at also due to the main image used, and the genre of the band too.

The magazine as a whole is published by a French publisher - Editions Freeway. As there is a limited number of magazines within the UK which adopt the 'Rock' Genre, then there is a possible chance that Editions Freeway chose to publish the magazine to fill a gap within the magazine market.

Music Magazine - Kerrang! Analysis - Double Page Spread

The image that Taylor Momsen (feautured in this article) portrays, is easily reflected in this double page spread.

The main colours; red, black and white, could be linked to the colours that she is usually pictured wearing, due to her style. She has bleached blonde hair which could relate to the white colour. Her eyes are usually outlined deeply with black eyeliner, and she wears a lot of black coloured clothing etc.

'Wild Child' is the main headline of this article. The wild bit is written in a scruffy font, coloured in red. The general denotation of red could just simply suggest that she likes the colour red, maybe. But the connotation of the red could signify danger, which may be the resukt of being a 'wild child'.

The 'Child' part of the main headline is written in white, which the connotations could suggest 'innocence' which you would expect from a child etc.

Each question asked in the interview is distinctively seperated from the answer. The questions are written in red, and are in an increased font to the answers of the questions which are written in white and at a smaller font.

The subheading is written directky underneath the main headline, and as the headline in my opinion is the main focal point, this means that the subheading is also a distinct part of the double page spread, meaning that more people are likely to read it.

There is only one image in this article, and that is of Taylor Momsen.She is dressed in a leather jacket which is black, has her blonde hair, and has her trademark black outlined eyes done thickly. In some ways, she looks quite bored, which could link to the general stereotype of teenage girls that they are quite moody, which is what she also looks like too.

I don't like this double page spread, as I feel that everything looks really out of place, and therefore I shall not be taking an inspiration from it whilst creating my own music magazine.

Music Magazine - Magazine Analysis Contents Page - Rocksound.

The layout of this contents page taken from the rock magazine 'Rocksound' is quite basic. Despite the simplicity of this text, it is quite informative, and therefore gets the information across to the audience easily.

The headline of each article is visibly separated from the captions that explain in a simple sentence about the subject of the article. The headlines are written in a white bold font which don't necessarily 'scream' from the page, however, they are easy to reader making it much more efficient for the reader of the text, which goes along with general conventions.

The repeated use of the word 'Page' is non existent throughout this text, also going against general conventions. Instead of repeating the word 'page', in it's place is just the page numbers, which also happens within the content page of Kerrang! and similar music magazines.

Jacoby Shaddix is the main focal point of this contents page, with his image being accompanied by a pull quote taken from the article that he is featured in. The quote says 'Hmmm...maybe I am a closet Justin Bieber fan'. A page number of 38 is also next to the pull quote, meaning that if fans are intrigued about the quote, then they can simply flick to the page number to find out more. Though, because of the way that the audience of the magazine read, for example, from left to right, the pull quote may not be as noticeable as the publishers were intending to achieve, therefore not directly directing them to the audience of Jacoby Shaddix immediately.

The black, white and baby blue colours used as part of the general colour scheme are taken from the top that Jacoby Shaddix is wearing. The use of the baby blue and white however, could be to simply get away from the general associations that people in such magazines with the genre like 'red and black' which is often associated with the goth/emo/mosher sub-cultures within society.

'Rocksound' the masthead is clearly labelled at the top of the page in the left hand corner, written in the font and font size that it is always written in.

Underneath the masthead, the date and the issue of the magazine can be seen. The number of issues previously sold before this specific contents page is 141 and that is also including the current one that I am discussing. This could suggest that they are quite a successful magazine, if they have released 141 issues, on a monthly basis.

Kerrang! Contents Page Analysis.

This contents page is taken from a Kerrang! Magazine and is Issue Number 1286.

The focal point of this page in my opinion is the main image at the top of Oli Sykes from Bring Me The Horizon with two fans. Because of the colours in the photo which are all quite bright and vibrant, I think that this allows the image to stand out more than the rest of the page, as everything else on the page is quite plain colours. The second focal point of the contents page is the ’30 Seconds to Mars – Poster Special’.

’30 Seconds to Mars’ part of the text is written in bold, red text, and placed on a black square background. Once again, this allows the reader to notice this as the black background contrasts with the white background of the page, allowing it to become a focal point.

The magazine’s masthead is written across the middle of the page in white, and the font used is the font that is typically expected when seeing the logo of Kerrang!.

The contents page and each article is separated into different sections, and this could be to ensure that it is easily readable to all fans of Kerrang! If all the articles featured were placed under one section of the contents page, then readers of the magazine may get confused, which could result in them choosing to purchase a different magazine of the same genre.

Each section title is easily readable on the contents page, and the yellow font and the black rectangle background headlining each section, is larger than the contents of each section. In the bottom right hand corner, there is an example of advertising made by Kerrang!

The advertising is relating to Kerrang! Subscriptions. As the box which contains the advertisement is placed underneath a photo, then the likelihood is that many readers of the Kerrang! Magazine are likely to see the advertisement.

The advertisement is also probably placed on the contents page as the majority of readers of ANY magazine look at the contents page, and as that is the only page that the majority of readers do look at, then it makes sense to place the advertisement there.

Kerrang! Is published by ‘Bauer’, as they are the publishers of the music magazine. Bauer specialise in a number of magazines with a huge variety ranging from men’s lifestyle, to music. Kerrang! Is the only music magazine which Bauer publish which is of the specific genre.

As there are not many magazine which are available in the UK to purchase which do specialise in this specific genre, then by Bauer publishing Kerrang!, they are likely to broaden their audience, therefore make a lot more money. Ideology;

The main ideology of the contents page could be about Bring me the Horizon. As the main image of the page is Oli Sykes (vocalist from Bring me the Horizon) signing something for a fan, then this could suggest that the band are quite involved with their fans, something which fans do tend to respect quite a lot. Audience; Due to the appearance of the people in the main image (Oli Sykes & fans), then it would be suggested that the target audience of this cover page are people who are fans of Bring me the Horizon, and bands/artists of the same genre.

The constant use of the colour black would also back this idea up. Representation; Once again using the idea of the main image, and linking in again with the ideology perspective of Oli Sykes being more involved with his fans, this could be the overall representation of the contents page.

Music Magazine - Finished - Double Page Spread

This is my final product of my double page spread.

Music Magazine Anaylsis - Rocksound - A Day To Remember.

This magazine cover is taken from ‘Rock Sound’ magazine, and it features the rock band ‘A day to Remember.’

The masthead is written in capital letters, in a black font. The black font contrasts against the white background of the masthead.

‘Rocksound’ sounds like it is spoken as two words, if you separate the two words, it reads out as ‘Rock’ and ‘Sound’ which relates to the genre of the majority of the bands that are featured in the magazine. Even though the masthead is partially covered by the main image, it doesn’t need to be fully available to see, due to the popularity of the magazine as many fans of the magazine are likely to know what the magazine is, without having to see the full masthead.

The faces of the main image, the whole band of ‘A day to Remember’ can be clearly seen, and eye contact is made. The screamer of the magazine is ‘A Day to Remember’ written in yellow, capital letters, which is eye catching and appealing as it contrasts against the black background which is the clothing of the two band members which the screamer is placed over.

Underneath the screamer, it says ‘The sound of now’ which is also written in capital letters, and like the masthead is written in black over a white background. Because of the facial expressions of the band, it looks like they are trying to create the effect that they are shouting or screaming, which relates back to the genre of their music – rock.

A skyline is included in this magazine cover, and is about My Chemical Romance, which says ‘Dangerous Days with My Chemical Romance’.

The most recent album released by My Chemical Romance is called ‘Danger Days’, so the wording of the skyline could be a play on words so it could be associated with both the album, and the band.

There are two thumbnail images on this cover; one that accompanies the skyline including My Chemical Romance, and the other thumbnail images are a cluster of three images which are posters which are free when bought with the magazine.

Thumbnail images not only make the front cover look slightly more attractive, some people are attracted to a product because of pictures, not words.

So fans might find a magazine more appealing if they see a picture of their favourite band, or a band they have an interest in on the front cover, as opposed to the name of the band written across the page.

By using ‘free posters’ on the front cover, it can be used as an incentive for people to buy their magazine, and it is likely to attract more customers as they are likely to feel like they are gaining something for their money, as well as the contents of the magazine.

The main two colours used on the front cover are black and blue. Blue is used as the main background colour, which attracts the attention of the reader to the masthead. By attracting the reader to the magazine’s masthead, this could mean for new customer’s that they do not, or have not heard of the magazine, therefore have never read it, so this could mean that they may try the magazine, to see what it is like. A possible reason as to why the band are clothed in black clothing, could signify the genre of the band – black is usually related to the genre of rock.

The barcode is at the bottom right of the page, like it is typically meant to be. The price is accompanying the barcode, and it is at £3.90.

Considering the magazine is released on a monthly basis, this is quite a reasonable price, which people are probably prepared to pay because of the content in the actual magazine. Based on the ‘fierce’ facial expressions, and also the hand gestures from ‘A day to remember’, this could relate to quite masculine men, which could be based around the genre.

The bright colours, blue and yellow, could relate to the female fans of the band, as these are quite feminine colours. The teaser is at the bottom of the page, and unlike Kerrang!’s teaser – it doesn’t go across the full length of the page.

The text is written in pink and black, but is written in a small font which is quite unreadable. However, the pink and black use of colour does stand out against the white background.

Even though A Day To Remember are one genre, the bright colours make it more ‘funky’ which could widen the choice of the target audience, as bright colours tend to attract more people as they are more eye catching towards the reader.

Music Magazine - Analysis - Kerrang! - Paramore

This cover is also taken from Kerrang! and features the band Paramore.

The masthead is the same as you would expect it, and never changes from each issue. It is in a large font, it is bold, and the white coloured text stands out from the dark background which means that it is eye catching, therefore more people are going to see what the magazine is called, possibly gaining more customers.

The main image is of the band featured in the main article, Paramore. The lead singer, Hayley Williams, is wearing light clothing, and her bright orange coloured hair stands out from the rest of the band who are stood in the background wearing dark coloured clothes which mixes in with the grey coloured background. Hayley Williams is seen as being ‘beautiful’ by both the male and female gender, and is deemed as being a good role model to the younger age of the target audience that Kerrang! is aimed at.

 Because Hayley Williams has her own sense of style, and tends to stand out from most female singers, she is a good example to use as a main image on the front of a music magazine as of the good reputation she leads, and also because more people are likely to buy the magazine if someone who is reputable is used, rather than somebody who is a bad example.

The screamer is ‘Paramore’ and is written in a white font, similar to the masthead, and like the masthead, it stands out from the dark ground. There is text written above and beneath the screamer, saying ‘ “We were sick of it all!” and underneath the screamer is written ‘Secret Conflict Revealed’.

The text written above and beneath the screamer is also in a white font, (which links in with the colour scheme of the magazine) and is written on a vibrant pink background. The way the pink background is placed, it looks like the white text has been highlighted, which could be a connotation that the article is of Paramore ‘highlighting’ a fact?

Barcodes are on every magazine that is being sold, and is typically placed in the bottom right of the page, which is where the barcode is placed in this magazine.

Because of the recession and the economic state of the country, people are only going to buy a magazine if it reasonably priced, and affordable based on the contents of the magazine.

The price of this issue Kerrang! is £2.20 which due to the articles, offers and free stuff that is often in the magazine, is reasonably priced. The colour scheme of this magazine cover is a mix between a vibrant pink, a bright yellow, and white.

All three of these colours are quite feminine, however, this could relate to Hayley Williams being the main image.

Another reason for the choice of the colour scheme could be because of the genre of Paramore, and they are quite a ‘funky’ band in some ways, which the colours pink and yellow also are too.

The skylines are at the top of the page, and go across the full length of the page. Usually, in the skyline it lists a few of the bands which are featured in the magazine, but in this issue’s skyline it says ‘Muse Hometown Invasion: Space Rock Takeover’ and a thumbnail image of Matt Bellamy accompanies the skyline.

Skylines are a good way to tell the audience what bands are featured within the magazine just by looking, instead of having to look at the contents page etc.

There are three thumbnail images which are on the front of the magazine cover; one that accompanies the skyline about Muse, and the other two thumbnail images accompany the anchorage of the ‘free posters inside’ part of the cover.

By offering free gifts in a magazine, or vouchers etc, more people are likely to buy the magazine, especially if they are unsure on whether or not to buy the magazine. The use of free gifts is a brilliant technique to use when trying to draft in more customers, as it is persuasive because people will feel that they are getting more for their money whilst buying the magazine.

Teasing contents are usually located at the bottom of the page, and usually spread across the whole length of the page. In the teaser on this cover, it says ‘Plus’ in big, bold letters which is eye catching so will likely catch the attention of the reader, and then goes on to state even more bands which are featured within the magazine.

By varying the selection of bands featured in the teaser section, and using a varied selection of genres, this means that the audience that the magazine is aimed at is widened. Ideology is what ideas, and what values are shown.

On this magazine cover, I don’t think that there are any significant values or beliefs that are clearly shown. However, you could look at the text about Paramore when it says ‘We were sick of it all!’ and ‘Secret conflict revealed’.

Judging by the way Hayley Williams is clothed in colourful clothing, whilst the rest of her band is in the background, standing in darker lighting, whilst clothed in dark clothing could suggest that there was some conflict issues within the band, possibly between Hayley Williams and the rest of the band.

The institution of Kerrang! is Bauer Media. Because of the number of magazines that Bauer Media are in control of, and because of the number of years that Bauer Media have in experience, the final product of the magazine is likely to be good.

The target audience of Kerrang! magazine is predominantly aimed at stereotypical groups such as ‘emos’ and ‘goths’ etc.

Because of the use of Paramore on the magazine front cover, this magazine cover is likely to be aimed at fans of Paramore, but people who are only fans of bands that have similar genres too Paramore, such as ‘You me at Six’ and ‘All Time Low’, who all have the ‘Pop Punk’ genre.

In my opinion of the target audience of Kerrang! is that it changes on a weekly basis, because of the genres and the varied use of genres which change, meaning that people who are interested in the genre, might not like the main genre of the next week’s issue of the magazine.

The individuals represented in this magazine cover is Hayley Williams. Hayley Williams is represented in a sophisticated way, because of the style of her hair, and also with the use of make up, and sophisticated clothing. This could possibly be pushing the idea that you can still have a fantastic career like Hayley Williams does, even by being yourself.

Music Magazine - Front Cover Analysis - Oli Sykes/Bring Me The Horizon

The magazine that I have chosen to analyse is a front cover from the famous rock magazine, Kerrang!

The masthead is at the top of the page, and is short and memorable which is a front page convention. On this cover, the masthead is written in a large font, and the ‘smashed’ effect of the font could be related to the rock genre.

The white colour used on the masthead allows it to contrast against the rest of the magazine front cover, meaning that it is eye catching to the audience.

The name ‘Kerrang!’ could once again be related to the genre because with the bands you see featured within the magazine, they are all quite loud, which you could associate with the word ‘Bang’ which rhymes with ‘Kerrang!’

The Skyline of the magazine is at the top of the page like it should be, and is written in red, black and yellow font. The red font is outlined in black, and like the black font – is written on a yellow background.

The yellow font what says ‘free!’ is written in capital letters, and is bold and written on a black background. The word ‘free’ is quite appealing to people, because quite often people feel that they are getting their amount of money that they paid for the magazine, depending on what the gift is.

Because the offer is from Oli Sykes’s clothing brand, and because Oli Sykes is the main feature of the magazine, this is a good way of attracting the people who would be interested in both the article on Oli Sykes, and also the offer of the ‘Drop Dead’ clothing brand.

Main Images can say a lot about the main article in the magazine. On this front cover, a photo of Oli Sykes is used from the band ‘Bring me the Horizon’.

It links in with the screamer on the front cover, and the caption of ‘You Don’t Know ME!’ In the main image Oli Sykes can be seen covering half of his face with his hand, which could link in with ‘You Don’t Know ME!’ as his hand over his face and his facial expressions also suggest a sense of mystery. Eye contact is made by Oli Sykes from the main image.

However, you can only see his left eye as his hand is covering his right eye. Despite this, by looking at his left eye, and the eye contact made, this could encourage the reader to read more into the story featuring Oli Sykes.

There are four thumbnail images on the main cover and are all complimented with information regarding what the photos are associated with within the magazine.

The majority of magazines tend to have thumbnails on the front cover because it allows readers to also see what other articles are in the magazine without them having to look through the contents page to find out the information.

With the text that accompanies the thumbnail images, the text is also in a colour that contrasts against the image and also sticks in with the colour scheme of the magazine.

For example, the thumbnail image of Marilyn Manson has three main images – black, white and blue. This is quite a ‘gloomy’ effect which is what you would stereotypically label the gothic culture, which you would also relate to Marilyn Manson.

The text written across the thumbnail image is written in white and red yet placed on a black background. Black and red are also colours you would associate with the gothic culture.

Every magazine has a barcode, and they are always at the bottom right hand side of the front cover as this is a front page convention. The barcode is usually placed at the bottom right corner of the magazine because most of the important information about articles etc which are inside the magazine are usually placed in the ‘left third’ part of the page.

The reason as to why important information is usually placed in the left third of the page is because this is what can usually be seen in the typical layout of a magazine shelf in a newsagents or supermarket. Depending on the way you look at the magazine cover, varies on the ideology and people’s opinions of the magazine.

For this magazine cover, my first opinion is that they are trying to focus on stereotypes given to people. The people who read Kerrang! and people who are interested in the bands featured within Kerrang! are often grouped with the stereotypes of ‘emo’ and ‘goth’.

When looking at Oli Sykes, you would associate him with the subcultures such as ‘emo’ because of his vocal type, and also because of his appearance (his tattoos etc). This could link in with the ‘You don’t know ME!’ as this suggests that people don’t know the real ‘him’ though he is suggesting that people think that they do.

‘Bauer Media’ is the institution of Kerrang! and owns and publishes many magazines, all from various genres such as Gardening, to magazines about cars. Because there are not many magazines relating to the music genre that Kerrang! do, this was likely to be an open market which ‘Bauer Media’ could make a profit from.

Kerrang! is predominantly aimed at sub cultures who are going to be interested in the genres of music that are featured in the magazine.

In this issue of Kerrang!, the target audience is going to be aimed at fans of Oli Sykes and Bring me the Horizon because they are the main article of the magazine, and have a huge feature on the front cover too.

Music Magazine - Finished - Front Cover.

This is the final product of my Magazine Front Cover.

Music Magazine - Finished - Contents Page.

This is the final product of my Music Magazine Contents Page.

Music Magazine - Images - Not Used.

This image is the original image I started my music magazine front cover with. After experimenting with various tools on Photoshop, I chose to not use this image as I didn't feel like I was able to turn the image into the music magazine front cover which I wanted to create.

Due to the lack of light, and the bad quality of the image, I chose not to use this photo as it would not have the professional look which I was aiming to achieve in the process of creating my music magazine.

                                               

I didn't really like this image, as I felt that it didn't look 'right' in a music magazine, which is my reason for not using this image within my music magazine. 

Once again, I felt that this didn't match to the sort of images which I wanted to use in my music magazine, which is my choice for choosing not to use it.

I liked this image of Abbie, as I felt that by Abbie holding two drumsticks, the genre of the magazine (music magazine) was shown. However, I felt that the images that I used of Laura related more to the 'rock' genre of music that I wanted to have within my music magazine, which is the reason I chose not to use this image in my final product. 

                                               

The facial expressions of Laura in this image is the reason I chose not to include it in the final product. If the double page spread article had been more 'fun' based, then the likelihood is that I would have chosen this image to feature in my final product.

This image would have been perfect to use in my final product as the genre of the magazine is clearly emphasised due to the drumming etc. After planning my magazine however, I decided that it would be easier to do my article based on one person, rather than a band, and as I had more images of Laura, that is my reason for doing so.

This image would have been good to use, though the poor quality of Abbie's face (On the right) ruined the image.

I also experimented with this image, using Photoshop to change the colour of hair to red, whilst also using photoshop to make Laura's face look paler to make the red more vibrant. However, I didn't like the end result.

I also liked this image, however, I didn't feel as though it belonged in a magazine with a rock genre which I was hoping to achieve.

Once again, I felt that this image did not belong in a rock genre magazine, which is why I chose not to use it in the final product.

The poor quality of this whole image is why I chose not to use it. If the quality of this image had been better, then I think that I would have chosen it to feature in the final product of my music magazine.

Music Magazine - Draft - We Are The Ocean.

This is the first draft I have created of the Music Magazine I am hoping to achieve. For the final product of my music magazine, I am hoping it looks professional, sophisticated and appealing to my target audience.

Music Magazine - Hand Drawn Drafts