Music Magazine Evaluation

1. Music Magazine Evaluation By Vineeta Sathiamoorthy

2. In what ways does your magazine use , develop or challenge forms and conventions of real music magazines? Front Cover My Magazine front cover uses conventions of other magazines like the model looking directly at the camera to engage the audience. Also there is the masthead, sell lines and banners that are seen in most magazines. Also the price of my magazine is as reasonable as other magazines so it will be cost efficient for many music magazine buyers. My front cover develops the convention of other magazines by using language that would appeal to the target audience e.g. ‘spills all on past mischief's’ which will intrigue the audience. Furthermore, it challenges other magazine or at least compared to the one presented here, my cover uses more than 3 colours to make it more attractive but also maintaining a house style. Also I have challenged other magazines by using a bright yellow background which is not subverting other traditional white backgrounds you see on other magazines, this makes the model look radiant and stand out if it were to be bought among other magazines.

3. In what ways does your magazine use , develop or challenge forms and conventions of real music magazines? Contents page My contents page conforms to conventions of other magazines by having contents written on top part of the page accompanied by the masthead of the magazine. It also has similar sub headings like ‘news’ and ‘features’ but these should be common in all magazines. My contents page develops the form of other magazines by having the text appear on the left hand side of the page but it also uses more than one dominant image to see what the magazine offers. My contents page challenges other magazines by having the editor’s letter at the top of the magazine as its usually seen at the bottom and I have also edited the pictures to add effect to the page.

4. In what ways does your magazine use , develop or challenge forms and conventions of real music magazines? Double page spread My double page spread conforms to the convention of normal magazines by having the headline at the top and having the article below it. Also it develops the format of having the image at a large scale as it would give the same effect as the article. It subverts others by having a unusual border and having extra information e.g. ‘Viola by Numbers’. This provides readers facts of the artist which most magazines say it in the article but I have opted to used it separately to create more visual features in the page.

5. How does your magazine represent particular social groups? Although initially my magazine does conform to the stereotype of young people being involved in deviant behavior, it subverts it by devaluing past mistakes and presents the youth as reckless but with a good cause. It also presents youth creativity and gives voice for this particular demographic to express their opinions through music. The language I used reflects the language my target audience relate to so it would probably appeal to the social groups that are interested in Indie Music.

6. What kind of institution might distribute your magazine and why? The main institutions that might distribute my magazine include retail shops that sell books, newspapers and magazines and alternatively clothes stores. One of the main shops that would sell my magazine are Whsmiths where every year, 70% of the population visit a WH Smith store, and there are over 560 high street stores. WH Smith sells 78 million magazines a year so would be an ideal place for my magazine to gain popularity. Also clothes stores like River Island are also an alternative as it is mainly known to represent indie fashion which is relative to the genre of my magazine. These can distributed and advertised when customers buy clothes. All these shops will gain exposure for my magazine. Other shops that compete with Wh Smith are supermarket stores like Tesco which are becoming increasingly popular in magazine consumption

7. Who would be the target audience for your magazine? I created the target audience based on a questionnaire I undertook whereby I asked individuals on who they think would be the best target audience for my magazine. The results showed that people aged between 19 to 24 year olds were the most appropriate for the genre of my magazine. Based on class, I think the target audience can be diverse but probably more popular among middle class and working class people and those who generally love indie music. I have decided to let my magazine appeal to both genders as then it will gain universal appeal but mainly steered towards teenage girls as suggested by the colour scheme so therefore have chosen to feature artists of both genders e.g. ‘Kings of Leon’ and ‘Viola and the Starlings’.

8. How did you attract/address your audience? To attract or address my audience I have used many features that would allure them such as using popular artists in the genre on the contents and front page of my magazine. Also in my questionnaire I found that the most likely articles people would want to see in my magazine are reviews of albums and artists and recommendations of new artists. I have used this in my contents page by including articles like e.g. ‘hot or not’ and ‘exclusive interview with…’. My double page spread would also interest the audience as it is an insightful article that will prompt readers to think and interpret the information. Furthermore I have used rhetorical questions in my contents page to tempt the reader into finding out more.

9. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing your magazine? In the construction phase of my magazine, I used a range of programmes in developing my magazine: When planning my magazine, I used Microsoft word, publisher and PowerPoint to make my questionnaire, genre research and drafts of my magazine. This allowed me to progress into using Photoshop CS3 where I created most of the drafts of my magazine which I used most when making the final draft of my magazine. I have learnt how to use many features on Photoshop like how to cut an image out of the background by using the quick selection tool etc. Also when editing my photo I used online site ‘Piknik’ to retouch the photos used in my magazine. I learnt how to airbrush and add brightness to an image. Furthermore I have used site like www.dafonts.co.uk to download unconventional fonts that I have used for my masthead and in my double page spread.

10. What I have learnt between creating my school magazine and creating my music magazine. How did the school magazine task help? Front Cover Compared to the preliminary task, I would say I have progressed much further. When creating the school magazine, I had no skills using Photoshop and therefore less confident in the construction of my magazine. I used basic texts and did not experiment with font styles but when creating my music magazine I have learnt to download different style fonts to suit the genre of my magazine. Also in the school magazine I did minimal editing to the photo as I did not have much knowledge in the area but it helped me to learn how to edit and retouch the photo I used in my music magazine. I would also say that my music magazine looks slightly more professional in the sense that it uses less primary colors but still manages to attract the audience. I have also managed to place the model on top of my masthead in the music magazine which I did not know how to do in the school magazine.

11. What I have learnt between creating my school magazine and creating my music magazine. How did the school magazine task help? Contents page In the preliminary task, It has a basic structure in that the text was seen dominating the page and not many shapes to attract the audience. In my music magazine I have experimented with text boxes and colors and made my picture predominantly bigger. Also in the school magazine I used neutral primary colors whereas in the music magazine I have opted to use colors like purple and dark blue to add a professional finish. This would appeal to the audience without making it look too dull and monotone. Finally I have also learnt to edit photos and choose a colour scheme suited to my magazine.