MUSIC MAGAZINE PUBLISHERS

  IPC media is a music magazine publisher, which owns a diverse amount of magazines. They have created multiple platforms across print, online, mobile and events. They engage with 26 million adults. This could be the ideal music publisher, which my Chaos magazine should go with, although they focus more on lifestyle magazines auch as, Style at home and Country Life. This isn't the right market for my music magazine.










Bauer media have more than 80 influential media brands. They have a variety of brands such as, Heat, Kiss 101 and Kerrang. They have brands that relate to the market which my magazine needs to be in. I think Bauer would be the ideal publisher for my magazine. It reaches a mainstream audience, which my magazine fits in to. They own over 300 magazines in 15 countires, which means my magazine would reach a wide spread audience.

MODELS

MODELS






This is Ash Kayser. I have used him as my main model for the magazine. His style and attitude matches the look and concept of the magazine. Also, his ethnicity represents the general perception of what people usually relate R&B music too. 

This is Zoe Williams. I have taken photos of her for my contents page. She also matched the style of what my magazine represents. I have used her image for my contents page as a 'next issue' article.

I used Leah Lambert, Elspeth Rutter and Imogen Woollard for my R&B band image 'Jagged edge'. They have good chemistry together, therefore I felt the image would work well. Immy is in the middle as she presents the most confidence. They all have a similar persona, which makes the picture work.

MOCK UP CONTENTS PAGE

This is my first try at figuring out the layout for my contents magazine page. I kept the background the same, to keep a consistency. I used the C from my magazine name 'CHAOS', because it creates more space and keeps it simplistic, therefore easier to establish. I have been trying to fit the word 'contents' around the page, but at the moment it is proven to be a difficulty. I don't want the C from chaos to clash with the C from contents. I am also trying to create a unique spin on how the wording is laded out. Also, the gradient tool I used has lightened the bottom of the page too much, therefore I need to re-do the colour scheme slightly so that it is darker.

MOCK UP FRONT COVER

MOCK UP FRONT COVER

This is a mock up of my music magazine front cover. I've used Braggadocio font- aztec type font. I think it fits in well with the 'festival theme' as aztec prints resemble a lot of festival themes. It's bold, therefore it makes a statement. I'm having the feature list on the right, top hand side of my magazine layout, as it's inline with the subheading below. It looks neat and not too crowded.  I'm using a medium shot as from my research, I established that a medium shot focuses on facial expression as well as there body language and there clothes(image).  For the features and the line at the bottom of the page, I used a minion pro font- Bold cond. Perhaps it needs to be slightly bolder, but i think the text is eye catching enough and clear. It doesn't distract you from the headline. I used WORD to create an arrow, and kept the colour scheme consistent with the background and font. I took this idea from Clash magazine. I thought it was a good concept to add in to the magazine as it has a focus on the 'free tickets' you can win. It's purpose is to advertise, therefore it's increasing the promotional value of it. 

MAGAZINE DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

MAGAZINES PAGES

I now need to analyse how double page spreads work and what doesn't make them work. It need to fit in with how i want the genre to be established, but also for the festival theme to be easily recognisable as well.

This is a double page spread which features 'The Black Eyed peas'. I have noticed that with any front cover, contents page, there's at least one image which stands out and this applies with the double spread as well. I think my image will be on the left side as people read left to right, therefore consumers generally get interested in the images first before the text. As my audience ranges around 16-20 year olds, they are particularly drawn in by the type of imagery portrayed on the page. They're interested in the clothes, colour, attitude and charism of the artist. This means the text can't be too overwhelming, but enough to be interesting and creative. As my magazine is publicising the festival scene, the text will need to develop on the idea of how spectacular, chaotic, and wild festivals can be. It's a social event,which many young adults attend and like to be involved in. 

They have used clothing which portray a sense of culture- they look very Egyptian. This elaborates on the sense of 'cool' they portray and how they like to be individuals. It's steering away from the mainstream look of R&B, but at the same time, the shoes, 'Fergies' exposure of flesh and the 90's look of baggy clothing fits well in to that genre still- those simple elements make it recognisable. Also, they have used colours, which are all in the same grouping. Gold,white,black, grey and shades of brown have all been used- i've noticed the majority of magazines use this scheme of contrasting colours. There is a big focus on the imagery, rather than the text, but when aiming a magazine at 16-20 year old, this makes the magazine more appealing. 

In my double page spread, i want to have my image on the left hand side- perhaps using  medium or long shot. I want the interview to focus more on detailed answers to the specific questions asked, rather than asking repeated or long winded questions. 

This is another example of a double page spread taken from a music magazine. Again, the main image used stands out compared to everything else. The thing i have learnt the most from researching magazines, is the detailed focus to imagery and how the image catches people's attention immediately. The long shot is something which i am considering using for my double page spread. It pays great detail to the styling of the artist, as well as there attitude. As Rihanna is 'smiling', with a relaxed pose(arms and hands carelessly in the air), this elaborates on the type of interview she's given. She's clearly in a good place. Consumers look at these details all the time, perhaps not knoingly, but it's a habit we all have picked up. The dress she is wearing has studs travelling down the sides, which reveals part of her flesh. It's a confident and sexy pose, which shows she is comfortable in her skin. All these elements contribute to the image of the artist and how they are portrayed.

They've used a quote from the interview as a heading. I may use this, as the quote is very interesting and perhaps bizzare. It relates to 'Lady Gaga' who wore a meat dress to an awards evening. People who know of this story would instantly be interested to hear Rihannas view and even if you hadn't heard of the story, you'd naturally be curious to see what she was talking about. 

The length of the interview is about right- i want it to be appealing to consumers, but as my audience is young, i can't overwhelm them with such a broad text.  

This is a double page spread, featuring 'Kid Cudi'. I like the page layout. For my magazine, I am going to have my image on the left hand side, therefore my writing will be on the right. By looking at magazines, i have realised that the structure of this is mainly the best, as the image captures the consumers attention. The name in the middle is bold and they have used a quote from the interview, to emphasise on what the story is about.

FESTIVAL MAGAZINES AND POSTERS

CLASH

I'm now analysing components which go in to creating a festival magazine.

Clash magazine is a popular UK music magazine, which looks at various music styles and also has a section which features festivals. Clash magazine focuses on music and fashion. The music side of things consist of particular topics. These include: News, reviews on artists and festivals, new artists and festivals; it's a versatile magazine. The festival section focuses on 3 main things- latest news, features and reviews.

Simon Harper is the editor of the magazine and in 2011 they changed their design, which led to a more artistic approach. This could be due to the fact that the style of music is ever changing and there are more genres of music dominating the typical, mainstream genres. This may be why they have quite a big focus on festivals- festivals used to be a niche market, but now it has become more mainstream.

The Clash Brand now extends to live events, as well as festival partnership. As a main part of the magazine's concept is based around festival features, this will be a good magazine to analyse. It well help me combine my festival theme with the genre R&B.

This is a front cover from Clash magazine. It's a feature with Kanye West. They have used a medium shot to emphasise on his facial expression, which is very serious( you can't see his eyes, which means you rely on the expression from his mouth to get a sense of his mood). As well, the sub heading relates to his sunglasses. I think I may relate my subheading to the expression or attitude my model has. He looks very edgy. The font colours, background colours and even the colour of his clothes, all contrast together. They have used a gradient tool for the background to blend a dark blue in to a slightly lighter blue. This links in with the white and blue font used, as well as the jacket he's wearing. The jacket also has black in it, which contrasts with his glasses. 

The title is bold, which makes it stand out. They have also reversed the 's' in Clash. It makes it unique, as well as it being easy to establish the magazine with this creative twist.  The text on the page which says 'featuring' is something which i may use, as a way of advertising the range of artists that will be included. Also, for people to establish that it's a festival magazine, I am going to do a similar idea and have a piece of text saying- Bringing you the latest festival music and trends.

This is a festival poster I found on the internet. The reason I chose to look at this is because I need to figure out the correct background and fonts for my magazine. The colours are typically 'earthy' and 'neutral'. Festivals usually represent this. I think that I will use a contrast of colours like these, to represent my festival theme. At the same time, I will need to consider the type of clothing my Artist will be wearing because as I have been researching magazines, I have noticed that more than likely, the clothing and font and background have a consistency to it and therefore it has an effortless flow. I think blue, yellows will be used quite alot throughout my magazine.

MUSIC MAGAZINE CONTENTS PAGE

This is a contents page taken from VIBE magazine. Instead of using there magazine name, they've just used a big V in the background. It makes the page less crowded, but you are still able to establish what it relates to. They have used very subtle colours(grey,black and perhaps a slight sepia effect) which matches his mood. He looks serious, but yet there is an arm around him holding a heart. It shows that there must be an interesting story behind this, which encourages consumers to read on- it makes it more appealing. The connotations you perceive from the red heart either shows romance or heart break, which reflects his personality(seems edgy but relaxed) and his facial expression. The artist (Kayne), fills up most of the page and by the serious, face-on expression, it directly engages an audience. He also has his hands in his pockets, which show that he's relaxed and confident.

The Features list is separated in to segments, which makes it easy to search for what you want to look at.The main head titles of the content are bigger, which makes it stand out- you are able to find what interests you quickly. It is unusual that the word 'contents' is presented in that way, but it works well as it doesn't intrude on the image or the V in the background. It creates more space, therefore the style in which it is presented in, looks abstract, creating an edgy look for the magazine, which will be iconic for them. The bold text also contrasts with the bold image, emphasising on the interest of the story.

Billboard magazine is based on the exclusive charts and reports latest music news, which include new trends across a range of genre. I chose this specific contents page as Keri Hilson is an R&B artist. 

They have still used their 'Billboard' logo in the top left corner of the page. This exploits the name even more by repeating it. As Billboard magazine talks about chart hits, they have a column on the left hand side which has a list of new music on the charts. That's a good way of exposing new music and consumers will immediately get attracted at looking at this as we tend to read left to right. The heading 'NO.1' stands out as the background is dark- the font used is the same for the heading 'Contents'. It shows a strong contrast of using a consistent font and it also looks aesthetically pleasing. 

The main artist on the page, 'Keri Hilson' is looking directly at you, which again engages a reader to keep reading. She has a serious expression, which shows she has a serious outlook on her music career-she means business. She is wearing simple clothing, which means you don't get distracted by anything, allowing her to be the key focus. Although, she has a chain around her body, which could suggest her type of personality- maybe she has a rebel type attitude. It makes her look like a strong character.

The font colours again are split in to 3(blue, black and white), although they do use a light green colour for some headings.  They contrast well together and the neutral theme looks simple but appealing. I personally think elements of this contents page looks aesthetically pleasing and I like how they have bold lines to section up the page.

MUSIC MAGAZINE FRONT COVERS

This is an example of a R&B magazine. VIBE is a very well known american music magazine. The image dominates the page; it represents what stereotypically R&B music is about. The artist (Usher) is shown to look serious, but at the same time he has an element of cool and 'swagger' about him. He is wearing expensive jewellery and R&B artists wear a lot of 'bling' as they would refer to it. The sunshades are also an accessoire which you associate with male R&B artists, therefore these elements are something which i should contribute in to my final images for my magazine. The hand gesture as well is something which you see R&B artists do frequentley on magazines, music videos and general photos. It's something ,which again, is associated with that genre.

The font suggests that it's aimed at a younger audience. They have used a microsoft sans-serif type font, which is bold, but simple. This particular front cover has used 4 main colours for the font(yellow,black, blue and white). Having four consistant colours keeps it fairly simple, but i personally think 3 is the limit, as it creates less complication. Although, they're not contrasting colours- which is perhaps quite unsual, but it works well as Usher is wearing basic coloured clothing, which allows the font colour to work well. The word 'Swagger' across the page is the only word which is red, which makes it vibrant, therefore it stands out. The font is fairly askew, which relates to how 'swagger' is quite cool and edgy. The barcode is also on the front which is common for a magazine to have. I can't tell if the price is at the bottom, but usually that is situated around the barcode or on the top right hand corner.

This is another example of a music magazine called XXL. The name of the magazine stands out as it's the only part which has red in it. The artist 'Ludacris', is covering part of the name, which suggests that it is popular enough that people can easily establish the magazine. It allows the main image to stand out. I prefer the close up/ medium shot as it covers more space, therefore the image looks bold and impressive, which catches your eye. The layout is simple, but looks well structured. They have used a bold font, which fits in nicely with the layout. The colours are simple, with only black and white being used, which again emphasies more on the image.

They have used a 'sell line'' 'Rapper ternt actor'. This draws in people's attention as it's changing the agenda. The magazine uses formal language, but as he is a rapper, they have linked in american 'slang' in what you could call another sell line. 'Ludacris will shoot yo' a$$'. They have used dollar signs for the 's' which contrasts well with the genre he is in. It's also the only font which is yellow, which makes it significant.

For my festival ,R&B magazine, these components will make it easy to establish the genre, although, there will need to be an element in it which makes it obvious that it is based on festivals. There will need to be particular elements which establish that.

This music magazine is called NME. The name of the magazine and the artists name, 'Mia' stand out compared to to the rest of the magazine. It's a good technique to use as they've used a quote from the content inside, which shows that she is making a statement. Consumers feel more attracted to buy the product when you show subtly the artist has an interesting interview. The font is similar to the magazine above. They have used 3 consistent colours again,(Red, white and black). They have matched the font colours with her outfit(Union jack colours). This could be emphasising on her british roots.  The characteristics of the magazine are fairly similar to the other magazines, with the barcode at the bottom right hand corner. Although, the price is in the opposite top hand corner. I think it keeps it simple and less crowded. Personally, i prefer that layout.

They have used a medium shot, which also looks as good as a close up/medium shot. As my magazine is based on festivals, i'm starting to think that a medium shot would be the best option. It establishes the clothing, therefore it will elaborate on the festival theme. 

Her eyes are slanted down slightly, which makes it seem as if she's looking down at you. She's smoking as well- contrasted with the baggy clothing, and messy hair, this image links together well, showing a care-free attitude. I've noticed that with each magazine cover, everything has a connection, whether it being the font matching the colour of the artists clothing, or the props used, which relates to the pose and attitude the artist has.

SURVEY MONKEY

My questionnaire/Results

The link below will lead you to my questionnaire. Would be really helpful if you could answer my questions.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HCVC983

These were the results I obtained. I only analysed certain questions, as I felt they were most important.


This clearly shows me that the audience my Music Magazine will attract will be 16-20 years. They were the overall majority, gaining a percentage of 52%.  That's over half of the people who took the questionnaire.                                                                              

As we can see, the concept of a festival magazine is very popular. 83% have chosen yes, which suggests that there is an ideal market for festival magazines. It clearly shows that there is a market out there for a 'festival music magazine'.

From these results, I know that performance(costumes and production) is the type of content which will interest consumers. Although, the next popular option was to incorporate an element of all 3, therefore I shall focus mainly on the performance, although I will consider adding in there feelings towards it, as consumers like to respond to the artist they are reading about.

  I chose the words which were listed most often, as well as the ones which related most to how I think festivals are perceived. From this, it's easy to analyse the perception that people have or feel when they think of a festival. I've decided that the name of my magazine will be called 'Chaos'. I think it sums up the atmosphere and the general feel that people get when they go to festivals. It can be chaotic in such good ways, sometimes bad, but that generally forms in to the crazy memories, which make the expierence worth it.

 

I've only analysed a few of the results, as these were the main results I needed to help me create my music magazine.

QUESTIONNAIRE

This is part of the questionnaire I have created. There will be a link to survey monkey, which will allow you to answer my questions.

MAGAZINE RESEARCH

In order for me to achieve the type of magazine I would like to create, I will need to research other R&B magazines. I need to focus on the way they present their material. For example, the way they present their images: clothing, poses(facial expressions, body positioning),background. The image of the magazine is very important!

Also, I will need to look at font and colour. These are elements which will portray the type of genre i am focusing on.

As it will be based on festivals that R&B artists have gone too, I will also need to reasearch how to incorporate that concept in to my magazine to make it recognisable that's what the magazine is about. The imagery and colours will also need to represent a festival theme. I feel the font type and colour of the name of the magazine needs to represent this, as well as having a symbol or piece of writing that refers to festivals.

QUESTIONNAIRE

My questionnaire will be up tomorrow! It would be really good if you could answer the questions so I can get some feedback and collect more ideas.

FESTIVAL MAGAZINE

I personally feel that R&B is the genre that I will pick. This is purely because I have a bigger interest in the music, therefore I am more engaged with the artists in the genre and feel I know more about it. I am still using my questionnare as a way of understanding the specific requirements that should be included in my magazine. I've decided that I am doing a festival magazine. Festivals have become more mainstream recently. They used to aim mainly at rock genres, where as now many R&B, Pop artists have entered that scene and it has become very successful. I think the concept of the magazine will be interesting to do and I think it will work really well.

DECIDING ON GENRE

I'm still deciding what genre to pick, but I have narrowed it down to 3 options. It includes: R&B, Rock and Pop. I need to do some research in to each genre and find out the audience and market for them. Once I have analysed this, it will become easier for me to understand the genre that I feel is most appropriate for the magazine I want to produce. I have also created a questionnaire to support my ideas and directly find out what people prefer.

PRELIMINARY TASK

Hello! Welcome to my blog for my music magazine. It will show the development of my ideas in to what my final outcome will be.

This is my preliminary task. Me and Alex created a mock up of a school magazine using Indesign. It was our first time using the programme. We kept the front cover simple but elegant, and used a gradient tool to contrast the white and black background together. We used a simple minion pro font, which looks formal and the white font contrasts well with the logo of the school. 

The contents page is a different colour as we wanted to contrast it with the logo, which is green. We kept the layout simple but it works well as a school magazine doesn't have many topics to address. It's a formal magazine which focuses on particular aspects of school life. The layout is parallel and we kept everything in line with each other to create more space.