Possible Photographs

These are the photographs that I am planning on using for my front page and my double page spread and I will edit them where appropriate.

Original Photographs

Potential Music Magazine Titles and Feedback

Potential Music Magazine Titles:

Magazine Name Survey - What's your favourite name?

• Plus - 3 votes
• Ambient - 10 votes
• Develop - 0 votes
• Pulse - 5 votes
• Tune - 0 votes
• Tempo - 6 votes

Feedback:

Although the people I asked in class decided that overall they preferred the name 'Ambient', after speaking with my teacher we concluded that the names that I  have chosen do not go with my music genre which is Indie/Alternative and that I should reconsider.

Update on chosen name:

The name I have chosen to use is 'Eccentric' I have chosen this name as it fits my genre which is indie/ alternative.The word 'Eccentric means a person or a persons behaviour which is unconventional or slightly strange, which collaborates well with the target audience associated with this genre who are also slightly strange and quirky.

Research on Indie/Alternative Magazines

'NME' Music Magazine - Third Front Page Analysis

The Masthead/ Title

The masthead/title 'NME' stands for New Musical Express. When the magazine first started it was called Musical Express, however with time it was converted to the acronym 'NME'. This was a good idea because it stays with and is remembered easily by it's audience due to its simplicity and unique style. Furthermore, it sounds similar to 'enemy' which could impact on its popularity and help determine its target audience. Also the actual lettering or 'NME' is written in white, bold, sans-serif font which is placed on a red rectangle which helps it to stand out and be recognised in the shop as it is extremely eye catching. Moreover, it's very popular as it has been used since 1978 with slight variations over the years, and again with this consistency it allows the public to familiarise themselves with the magazine.

The Headline

The headline is used to explain the image on the front cover which is of new British artists and enlightens us to what is also going to be inside the magazine. Throughout the cover there are roughly twenty artists making their own pose and putting across their own unique characters and this is shown further by their independent styles and the clothes that they are wearing. The headline again sticks to the house style as they have again used the white, bold, sans-serif font with the 'Young Britannia' on two separate red rectangular backgrounds and the '2013' on a smaller blue rectangle as the shapes have been designed to fit the size and length of the writing.


The Main Image

The main image is one third of a pullout and therefore looks slightly incomplete at first glance due to part of the image being cut off. The theme seems to be fire extinguishers which goes with the quirky side of the models that are being used and the white foam contrasts well with the simple blue background. Again, the blue background, the red fire extinguishers and the white foam all stay within the chosen house style perfectly. The main artists that are enlarged in the image are looking directly at the camera, so this enables us to almost connect and feel invited to look at the magazine in more detail. There is a mixture of male and female models so you know that their target audience is aimed at both sexes. Furthermore, they are wearing simple white and black clothes so our attention is more drawn towards their facial expressions and confident body position, for example, the girl is leaning into the camera slightly,  rather than what they are actually wearing.

The Cover Lines

There are not very many cover lines due to the design of the images, however the main cover lines are branched off of the masthead and it simply lists four artists and having those names may connect with some readers and help to entice they're fans to purchase the issue. This can be very effective in some cases as although it is subtle it does still have a prominence about it, where as on some other magazine front covers such as 'Kerrang' everything shouts at you and you do not know what to look and what is the most important. On the turnover cover, there is another cover line - 'Say hello to the future of British music', which again clarifies what the issue is all about and we could probably expect to see some of these names in a couple of years time representing Britain.

Furthermore, there are cover lines that label the different artists on the front cover, for example, Jake Bugg, who seems to be the most important artist due to the size of his image and Wolf Alice who is another important artist and this enables the reader to have more of an idea of what to expect in the magazine.

What Makes the 'NME' Magazine Unique?

I think this magazine has a unique style as there are other music magazines such as 'Kerrang' whose magazine front cover, for example, is much more full on, bold and seems as though it shouts at you a lot. But this magazine has a completely different layout and has not got as much content on the front page. What makes this unique is that it has a simple design and technique due to the 3 page pullout which is not commonly seen.

Inside the Magazine 'NME' and General Information 

Inside

How many pages are there and how many pages of adverts are there?

There are 68 pages in this magazine, the number of adverts that it contains is about 14. The things that are advertised vary from cameras, albums, ticket for concerts, men's L'oreal face wash, photography awards, music bands/ artist, fashion items, and upcoming tours.

How many double page spreads and advertorials are there?
Throughout the magazine there are about 12 double page spreads and they are often about the reviews, such as 'NME album of the week'. Also there are double page spread 'Young Britannia which is expected as this was the headline on the front cover. Moreover, there are a few advertorials scattered within the articles such as little gimmicks and products as this is an advertising technique to sub-consciously entice people into buying their products.

    

What is this magazines house style and why is it appropriate for the target audience?

The magazines house style is that 'NME’  has the title of the magazine in the top left hand corner in big, sans-serif, capital letters. The front cover is usually limited to about 4 or 5 colours, and the few cover lines that are used are kept very consistent with this. There are lots of columns and other bits of information in separate boxes so it fills out the page and there is a lot to attract the reader’s eye in the magazine so it is made interesting for the target audience which ranges from 16-30. Also a mixture of females and males are used to promote this magazine which is also appropriate for the target audience for this magazine as it is aimed at both sexes.

General

Which company produces the magazine?

The company that produces the magazine is IPC Media.

What is the target audience?
NME's target audience is 16-30 year old males and females. They have targeted a wider audience by producing articles likely to have a broader interest such as 'what's in the UK's festival drugs'. This headline targets most fans despite their music interest. The statistics show that NME's audience is 73% male and 27% female. The core audience is predominately males ages 17-30 (average 25), who are well educated with a high disposable income. The audience will have a passion for films, music and should be technology able. The audience will spend their disposable incomes on music and films and the use NME as a resource of direct information.

How much does it cost and how often is it published?

'NME' magazine comes out weekly and it costs £2.40 every week, which is a respectable price for the content that it includes.

What is its circulation?

The latest statistics recorded shows that since the 16th August 2012 the total circulation of the magazine is 23,924. This fairly high number of circulation which 'NME' has means that the magazine is successful and has a good understanding of its audience and what makes them want to buy their magazine.

Approximate monthly revenue streams from advertising and circulation:

Statistics show that the overall income of monthly revenue streams totals to £95,696 and this may vary from time to time depending on the year, either when people have more money or if the actual issue is bigger or has more content.

'Kerrang' Music Magazine - Second Front Page Analysis

The Masthead/Title

The masthead/title of the magazine that I am analysing is ‘Kerrang’. ‘Kerrang’ is a UK based magazine devoted to rock music, it is named after the onomatopoeic word that derives from the sound made when playing a power chord on a distorted electric guitar, Kerrang! The title connotes that the magazine is to do with music, such as, British heavy metal and also it is about the rise of hard rock acts. The actual word is a bold yellow colour which contrasts well with its background which is red. On the issue Brendon Urie's (who is modelling for the main image) head is in front of the letter 'A' of the word 'Kerrang' and also the letter 'G' is partly covered, this design is common among all magazines due to the name still being recognisable despite its lack of full visibility.

The Headline

The headline features one of the main articles in the magazine 'Panic at the Disco'. The style of the font is sans- serif, it is very bold and it is written in caps lock so it comes across as very loud and it stands out. 'Panic at the Disco' is written in yellow and it's accentuated  by the black background also the colours keep to the house style which is mainly yellow, black and red, so this meets that criteria perfectly as the background the headline is on is red. Moreover, this will enable the reader to gather more of an idea as to whether the contents of the magazine appeals to them and gives them an idea as to what will be in the magazine.

The Main Image

The main image is of the attractive Brendon Urie dressed in a suit holding a lead of a Rottweiler dog in each hand; the dogs are in mid bark and look quite vicious. The man’s facial expression is very serious and he has confident body language where his legs are slightly apart and his lower body is more forward. He is directly looking at the camera. The ideal reader that is identified with this main image would be someone who has a good sense of style, quite outrageous in their personality, bold, and smart and well-dressed yet has a scarier side to them as well.

The Strapline

The strapline is the yellow strip at the top of the page that tells you further what is going to be in the magazine further in this case it is about ‘Linkin Park’ and ‘Alter Bridge’ this is written in sans-serif font and it is written in red this time with a yellow background and underneath it is some more writing in black which gives it more detail.

The Cover Lines

The cover lines are all very bold and stand out almost as much as the main title. I think all the writing as a whole is a little too bold and this then makes the reader unsure as to what is the most important. The content that is promoted by the cover lines is information about emo’s ‘The A to Z of emo’ which have pictures that go with them to add another dimension, 'Bite Back' which is written in white with a black outline, we also know that there is going to be something in the magazine about ‘Of Mice and Men in the studio’ and lastly, it is going to tell you about a review of an album. Again, the cover lines help to promote what is going to be in the magazines to try and entice the reader in and to grab their interest.

The Connotations of Typefaces, Graphics, Colours and the Language Used

Design Elements 

The whole front of the magazine is very bold, and it is a mixture of serif and sans-serif fonts but mainly sans- serif. The main colours used are red, yellow, white and black. The title ‘Kerrang’ has a completely unique font from everything else. Some of the words go over the main image making a nice frame around it, and some of the words have a shadowing effect on them which makes them look bolder and again contrast against the red background.

Language Used

The main language feature that is used on this front cover is the use of alliteration which is the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connect words; they also use quite a lot of exclamation marks. There is a mixture of numbers and words also.

The cover says to its reader that I am bold, confident, quirky, sometimes a bit scary, and not afraid to stand out and into emo side of things and obviously that genre of music.

What Makes the 'Kerrang' Magazine Unique?

I think this magazine has a unique style as there are other music magazines such as 'Q' but that has a completely different layout and has not got as much content on the front page. What makes this unique is that all the writing is in capitals so it is saying that everything is important and that it is the best magazine to read. There is a range of font sizes and yet everything is in its own spotlight. 

Inside the Magazine 'Kerrang' and General Information 

Inside

How many pages are there and how many pages of adverts are there?

There are 63 pages in this magazine, the number of adverts that it contains is about 25. The things that are advertised vary from films, albums, ticket for concerts, joining up to ‘Kerrang’ on social networking sites,  signing up to more of their magazines, posters, music bands/ artist, fashion items, and memberships.

How many double page spreads are there?

There is a double page spread about ‘Of Mice and Men’ releasing their new album, there is one about the ‘Chinese democracy’ when Metallica arrived in China for their first ever show in the world’s most popular country. There is another double page spread about ‘Pearl Jam’ releasing their 10^th album – Lightning Bolt. There’s another one about ‘Feedback’. There is double page spread about ‘Panic! At the disco’.

Furthermore, there is another one about Alter Bridge, Halestorm and Shinedown who are about to ‘destroy’ arenas all over the UK together. There is one about ‘Linkin Park’. Lastly, there is a double page spread about the lives of recent rock stars. In total there is about 20 double page spreads all of the information that was on the front cover was a double page spread in the magazine. Some of the names of the double page spreads are on several.

    

Are there any “advertorials”?

There are several advertorials where there is a mixture of both an article and an advert on the same page and it is quite difficult to tell the difference, however, there is one in particular that does have an article on it about a group called ‘serial killers’ but also there are several adverts around the page as well and if you aren’t reading the article closely it’s easily overlooked as an advert.

    

What is this magazines house style and why is it appropriate for the target audience?

The magazines house style is that ‘Kerrang’ always has a big picture usually going over the masthead or just below it; the titles are usually very big, in capitals and mainly sans-serif. There are lots of columns and other bits of information in separate boxes so it fills out the page and there is a lot to attract the reader’s eye. This layout, which includes: bold font, text, and bright colours is all very appropriate for the target audience as it is aimed at teenagers to young adults that are into their emo music magazines, and this magazine is very appealing to that type of person .

General

Which company produces the magazine?

Here in the United Kingdom the magazine is published by Bauer Consumer Media and has become the world's biggest selling weekly rock magazine.

What is the target audience?

The magazine appeals to a specific niche audience because it concerns topics and themes that are relevant to people who listen to and are interested by rock music and its background. 'Kerrang' identifies its audience as 'individually minded, independent of thought and musically experienced, an audience defined by attitude, passion and loyalty'. This devoted audience of rock fans is made up of 60% males and 40% females with 'Kerrang's' demographic fall into social class D-C. The predominate ethnicity of the readership is white British with a target population of 16-24 year olds.

How much does it cost and how often is it published?

'Kerrang' magazine comes out every week, on Wednesdays. It costs £2.20 every week but on Christmas editions it can cost a little more and the magazine usually stays in the shops until Friday.

What is its circulation?

The latest statistics recorded from ABC's broadcast circulation systems shows that since the 25th of July 2012 the total circulation of the magazine is 42,077. The high number of circulation which 'Kerrang' has is evident that the magazine is successful and has a good understanding of its audience and what makes them want to buy their magazine.

What data is available about it on the NRS website?

The data that is available on the NRS website about 'Kerrang' is as follows:

Frequency: Weekly

Print: 813

Web: 90

Total: 903

Approximate monthly revenue streams from advertising and circulation:

Statistics show that the overall income of monthly revenue streams purely from advertising totals to £472,637 this may vary from time to time depending on the year, either when people have more money or if the actual issue is bigger, has more content or is a special edition and this will affect the price as well.

'Q' Music Magazine - First Front Page Analysis

The Masthead/Title

The masthead/title of the magazine that I am analysing is 'Q'. Originally, this magazine was going to be called Cue as in the sense of cueing a record, ready to play, but the name was changed so that it would not be mistaken for a snooker magazine and also they thought a single letter would stand out more and be more prominent in shops and on newsstands. 

The 'Q' is white and in a red box and on the front cover it is partly hidden, showing that it is still recognisable even if it is partly visible. 

The Headline

The headline features the name of the band on the front cover which in this case is the Arctic Monkeys. The style of the font is sans-serif and it is very bold, ‘Arctic Monkeys’ is written in white and that contrasts well with the dark background. Furthermore, this will enable the reader to gather an idea as to whether the further content of the magazine appeals to them and gives them idea of what will be in it. Above this is 'The 'Q' Interview' this is in a white rectangle so that this enables it to stand out and it is relevant to the headline as it informs the reader why the headline is the 'Arctic Monkeys' as they are being interviewed. Moreover, the text is in sans-serif again and is written in black apart from the 'Q' used in this sentence as this is written in red and it sticks to the house style.

The Main Image

The main image is of the Arctic Monkeys. The front cover is not too complicated and this image works really well creating a charismatic effect. All of the members in the Arctic Monkeys are dressed in black and this works really well as quite a lot goes with black, therefore the producers of the magazine have allowed themselves a good range of colours they could use. In the end they decided to keep it fairly simple using only, black, white, red and white, which in my opinion work well, as the white writing which goes over some of their black clothes is a good contrast. Each member in the group look very well groomed, smart and they are almost expressing their character through their unique hairstyles. Furthermore, each member is looking in different directions except for the male at the front and this suggests that he is the dominant one of the group.

The Strapline

The strapline is at the top of the cover and it is framed in a blue box which stretches across the entire width of the cover. On it reads ‘Manic Street Preachers’ which is in serif font and underneath this written in san-serif and in white reads ’25 years of triumph and tragedy by James , Nicky and Sean’. Furthermore, in the left hand corner in a silver circle reads ’17-page special!’ Now along the top is not that bold but it does draw the reader’s eye upon itself and if the reader is really interested in this then they will then got to this page and read more about it.

The Cover Lines

There are not many cover lines but the cover lines that are on the front cover are as follows: The first cover line reads ‘White lies on beards, booze and baking cakes for muse’ this is written in white sans-serif writing. This is an interesting cover line and it has been cleverly worded as it appeals to its entire target audience which is both male and females as ‘Beards’ is targeted at men and ‘Baking Cakes’ is more likely to be targeted at women and booze which is another term for alcohol is aimed at both men and women as it is a common interest that they both have.

The next cover line promotes the famous entrepreneur Richard Branson as it reads ‘Richard Branson “I’m choosing which band to send into space” This will automatically draws in the audience as this is such an unusual thing to say and not only will they want to know why he has made this decision, they will want to know how he is going to achieve this.

The third cove line reads ‘Arcade fire, green day, Nirvana, Haim, Rizzle Kicks’ this is very short and snappy and although it may seem a bit too simple to just be placed at the bottom of the front cover in the right hand corner it may have a better chance to enable them to relate to a wider audience.

The cover lines are grey and white and they are written in sans- serif font. This completes the sophisticated look that is carried throughout the whole of the magazine but as it does not stand out that much it does lose a lot of attention. The cover lines are interesting and although they are quite short and snappy this could enable a whole new range of readers to become interested in the magazine that perhaps would not have been before hand and they were clever as they used famous icons such as Richard Branson to grab readers attention further. Even though the cover lines don’t shout at you they do follow the colour scheme and they fit in well.

What Makes the 'Q' Magazine Unique?

This magazine has a very simple design so this is hugely different from the front cover of the magazine ‘Kerrang’ for example, however it is a similar design to the magazine ‘NME’ and a few others. But what makes it unique in itself is obviously the chosen fonts and the fact that there are selected points that they have made to look more important e.g. the ‘Arctic Monkeys’ rather than everything shouting at you like it is on the front cover of ‘Kerrang’. 

Inside the Magazine 'Q' and General Information

Inside

 How many pages are there and how many pages of adverts are there?

In the magazine there are 140 pages in total and the number of adverts is 24.

How many double page spreads are there? 

In total there are 41 double page spreads and often they are about different types of music and bands that are currently playing at various places. But also popular brands such as Hugo Boss and boots are also being advertised on these double page spreads.

How does the magazine achieve a unified house style and is this appropriate for its target audience?

The magazine achieves a unified house style by the use of colour, language and fonts. The main colours used in the magazine are red white and black which are used consistently throughout the magazine. The language used is also fairly formal inside the magazine and this is also consistent throughout as well. This house style is appropriate to the target audience as it shows that the magazine is for wealthier people, as for example ‘Hugo Boss’ is fairly expensive and it has an good range of adverts, articles and other interesting facts throughout the magazine also.

General

 Which company produces the magazine?

The company that produces the magazine is the Bauer Media group, and it was first published in October 1986.

What is the target audience?

The target audience for this particular magazine is for 25-40 year old males and females who like alternative music; however it’s not that specific due to significant amounts of people below that age range buying the magazine. It’s thought that the creators of the magazine in 1986 thought there was a niche market for the older generation plus it stood out due to its high quality printing.

How much does it cost and how often is it published?

The magazine ‘Q’ costs £3.99 to purchase and it is published on a monthly basis.

What is its circulation?

This magazine’s circulation is 59,980, “Mag ABCs: full circulation round up for the first half of 2013”, Press Gazette, 15^th August 2013 and it is retrieved 17^th August 2013.

Approximate monthly revenue streams from advertising and circulation:

The approximate monthly revenue streams from advertising and circulation is £239, 320, 20.

Research Mindmap

Preliminary Task - Contents Page

Preliminary Task - Title Page

Formal Brief

Preliminary exercise: using DTP and an image manipulation program, produce the front page of a new school/college magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in medium close-up plus some appropriately laid-out text and a masthead. Additionally you must produce a mock-up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate your grasp of DTP.


Main task: the front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine (if done as group task, each member of the group to produce an individual edition of the magazine, following the same house style).