Starting My Front Cover

These are my first attempts of making my music magazine, I obtained a font off of www.dafont.com for my masthead. The reason I chose this font is because it looks very individual and unique, this is how I would imagine the way my target audience would want to feel like and be like so this title would appeal to them. In addition the titles looks very modern and electronic-like. The reason I like it looking modern and electronic-like is because it looks up-to-date, also I imagine that my audience would have all the new and top of the range phones, mp3s, TVs, radios, music, cameras and games consoles.

The draw backs of this cover is that the photograph is so far away, the model isn't looking at the camera/audience and  I feel that this disconnects the intimacy between the magazine main image model and the viewer of the audience, I feel that this is a reason that Q is so successful because it uses well established artists (star appeal),  the artists are looking at the audience this makes it quite personal and it has a direct address which grabs the audiences attention instantly, and draws them in.

In my second attempt of the front cover I cropped the image and made it fit the screen so that the image was bigger and you could see the expression on his face also it made it look more magazine like because you don't often see a magazine with a long shot. I also edited the photo more, I put a filter on the image called paint dubs but what I found interesting and good about this effect is that it made the model stand out from its background, because the filter had less of an effect on the model as it did the background. The model still isn't looking at the audience, and this is the main reason I have chosen not to use this picture because you rarely don't have the model looking at the camera/audience in Q or NME which are both highly successful magazines.

As you can see I have put in a music related graphic, it is of two separate people holding a guitar it represents a stereotypical rock guitarist, this is part of the reason I have put it in, because my magazine audience would listen to mainly indie rock, so they would be able to identify this and the people types that the graphic represnts. Another reason I put it in is because it could be something that appeared in every issue, and when you saw a person doing it or a graphic like it, it would remind you of IDENTIFY the magazine, also it gives the magazine an original and quirky touch which my target audience it likely to enjoy.

I have chosen not to use this a my magazine front cover because of three things the photograph, the graphic and the colour scheme. I have not use the photograph of two things, the colour (grey it looks boring) and that the fact that the model is not looking at the camera. This photo is more likely to be used on a contents page of a double page spread.

Although I like the idea of the guitarist graphics it reminds me of something that should be in a children's magazine and this could effect who would read the magazine, if the audience felt that the magazine was in anyway childish they wouldn't read it which is not what I want and if the magazine were to go into production would not be something I wouldn't want to risk.

Finally the colour scheme is the biggest problem I have with the magazine, it is all grey, black and white, not only is this boring, and it doesn't grab your attention but personally I find it a bit depressing, if you were going to buy a magazine then you would buy one that had colour in it, because the one without colour suggests that it will be the same bland, boring and outdated information and pictures insides.

Magazine Basic Flat Plan for Cover

This is my basic flat plan for my magazine. This is how I imagine my final magazine to look but I will probably alter it to make it better, and more appealing to my audience.

Names for my Magazine

I've started thinking about what I would like to call my magazine. These are some of my ideas:

• YM/UM - Your Music
• ID/IDENTIFY
• MFY/M4U/MFU - Music For You
• IRM - Indie Rock Music
• BANG
• LOUD
• NOISE
• MUSIC
• WIRED
• CRASH

All of these titles sound like something my target audience and target genre would buy and read this is why I think that they are effective.

The possible mastheads like BANG and CRASH are onomatopoeias and if they are word which sound like they are spelt it could give the connotation that the magazine is going to do what it says on the cover an nothing less.

My inspiration for the possible mastheads like YM, ID and IRM came from the NME and Q magazines, I did this because I realised that they are very successful magazines and if I was to emulate either of them then my magazine would be quite successful too.

My favorite possible masthead is ID / IDENTIFY I liked this not only because it sounds good but because it is often what an audience will buy a product for, to belong to a type of group, to be identified by their music taste and thus the music magazine they by. This is tied in with the theories of: blumler and katz 1974 uses and gratifications theory and maslow hierarchy of needs pyramid.

On another blog I will be showing my test fonts of what my masthead is going to look like, and chose one that could be successful.

Music Magazine Analysis

NME Lily Allen Front Cover

The target audience of this magazine is typically young people between the ages of late teens to early 20s.

The main image of this magazine suggests that the magazine is very direct because Lily Allen is looking straight at the camera (audience) and also Lily Allen is looking very rebellious which suggests that the audience may be like that and that they would admire people who were being rebellious. It is a high angle shot which is typically used to make people look small and less important. So by having her looking up and the audience looking down on her it makes the audience feel very important and feel as if people look up and admire the audience making them feel good.

Some of the fonts for example LILY ALLEN TAKES ON THE WORLD is in a font which looks very newspaper like which suggests that the magazine holds a lot of information on the music subject and that it is worth the money you are spending. NME follows the same colour and font scheme ever time it is made the main colour used is red the connotations of red is dangerous (which would connect to the rebellious audience) but also another  connotation is passion which is how you would feel about the music if you were buying the magazine.

The font of NME is very bold with outlines around them, this is to grab your attention when you are looking on the magazine so it stands out, also it gives the statement of the audience being bold and confident so it hints at the audiences and the artist who feature in the magazines’’ personality.

Magazine Code and Conventions:

Many features are common to find in all magazines. Most magazines have:

• an advice column.
• a contents page.
• a letter page.
• some form of make-over article.
• competitions.
• an 'In the next issue page.

They also have general merchandising and/or review sections. Advertising is a very important source of finance for all magazines. Review sections are a subtle way of advertising, this is where a company give the magazine its product free in exchange for them to review it in the magazine.

Magazine front covers almost always have strong generic elements.

• Price, barcode and issue number/date.
• A photograph directly related to the feature article.
• A recognisable masthead.
• Various plugs and puffs on the front cover to entice the audience to buy the magazine.
• A link between the colours used and the month that the magazine is published as well as colour links between images and texts.

Magazines front covers are carefully designed to attract the target audience and to be easily identifiable on the newsagents shelves.

Audience of Different Genre Music Magazine

K MAG:

Genre:

• The genre of K mag seems to be a rock.

Key signifiers:

• Its audience is aim at men and women but mostly males read the magazine.

• The dress code seems to be quite punk rock; they also dress quite a lot in black and red colours. 
• The attitude of the audience seems to be quite hard core, rebellious young adults.
• The audience age demographic is 16-25.
• It seems to be mostly white people who are in the ‘K mag’ magazine suggest that there audience is the same.
• The music is very loud, there is quite a lot of screaming and shouting also there are many loud strums from the electric guitar and loud bangs on the drum. 

Downbeat:

Genre:

• The genre of ‘Downbeat’ is Jazz.

Key Signifiers:

• Men and women who possibly play jazz instruments.
• The dress code is quite smart casual for example e.g. smart shirt, jeans and shiny shoes.
• I would say quite down to earth, quite sensible and very calm.
• The ethnicity would be very different types of people all the Downbeat magazine covers I have looked at have a different ethnicity people on every time but the people who read Down beat would be people who are likely to play Jazz instruments.
• The music Downbeat is jazz, this is very instrumental for example Saxaphones are used a lot, also Jazz music is quite similar to blues.