Research An Planning: Questionnaire and results

Research And Planning: Contents Page Analysis.

Genre: The genre of this magazine I expect would be indie. I can see this by the groups and artists which are featured on the front, and the colors are fairly simple however the red stands out, these colors represent this genre as they aren't very vibrant or outstanding. I also see this due to the stance and manner of the artists feature on the contents.

Target Audience: I expect the audience would be both men and women of which are a part of the indie style and would be around the age of 18, I suspect they would be in the E social group. I think this is due to the artists featured and the sell-lines.

Layout: The layout of this contents is all organized and doesn't look messy when together. There is one main column running down the right hand side, and at the bottom there is a box with two smaller columns below the picture. There is two pictures in this contents, one being the more bigger and in demand one to attract the most attention, and the other being smaller which still attracts attention, however not as much as the larger one.

Representation: The artists on the front have straight faces and don't seem to be very happy. They seem to be expressing a more moody and constructed attitude, quite typical of a music magazine of this type. The clothing which the Courteeners are wearing, is quite simple they're all wearing black pants and only the front two are wearing graphic T-Shirts. This shows them as a simple band and the picture tries to emphasize the front two more as they're the main vocalist in the band and would be the most recognizable. The band don't seem to be very wealthy and in doing so would relate to the audience. The man at the bottom of the page is wearing quite the opposite, he is in a blue suit which represents quite a cool and calm color, and is leaning against a pillar again expressing a calm attitude.

Media Language: In the top photo the men are in a long shot, this is done to show the background and destination of the picture. It also shows all the men's bodily manners and their stance. It is also at a quite a low angle, as though we are looking at them from the bottom of the hill. This is to show how they're higher than us in rankings, we're reading the magazine whereas they are featuring in it. The picture of the man at the bottom, also being of a long shot, is eye level to the audience. This is maybe to signify a more closer relationship between this man and the audience, it shows he is at our level. The positioning of the pictures may also be done deliberately to show how the man at the bottom is lower in maybe the chart rankings, than the Courteeners, as this group is positioned much larger and above the smaller picture.

Research and Planning: Cover & Contents draft.

Research and Planning: My target audience

My music magazine is going to have a certain audience. The common age of my audience which I shall aim my magazine at, will be 17, preferably male due to the alternate style of the male characters and colors which will be featured on the cover of my magazine, made to attract the male attention.

I imagine my audience to be students in college, most of which would be studying a music related course, however some may not and some may have just have a strong passion for this kind of music. My audience would be the middle class as they're aspiring to do better and some may have jobs as well as their education.  Due to some of the students have jobs their wealth may exceed that of other students meaning that they would be able to afford the price of my magazine, although other students may be able to get £3 to buy the magazine, as it isn't really that high of a price.

Things my target audience may be interested in could include things such as a passion for music of course as this is a music magazine, but also things like festivals, instruments and interests into the lives of the musicians that my magazine would feature. Each of these things are associated with the music as a topic and would therefore attract this specific audience. As a result of the audience being students, they are therefore going to aspire to have a much better life and outlook on he future, which is why i expect that they're in higher education. My audience, may aspire to work in the music industry when they approach an older age.

I will reach to my audience by using effective colors which would immediately grab their attention, I would use pictures of bands or even solo artists in which they're performing specific poses and have a certain facial expression would be parallel to the genre of the magazine, by this I mean that you usually see quite aggressive or moody expressions for a genre like this, I would also use the sell-lines to emphasize the information in the magazine. I would all these features to grab the attention of my audience.

A typical example of a person that I aim to attract would be...

Research and Planning: Music Magazine Masthead

I downloaded a font on DAFONT called Cafe Nero and called my masthead cloud9. I used a backdrop and made the backdrop more bold.

Research & Planning: Front Page Analysis

This magazine has stuck to the 3 colour rule of red black and white. The picture of the 'Last Shadow Puppets' is quite calm and they're looking at the camera straight faced and don't really seem quite typically aggressive like what is normally expected  from a magazine of this genre. However, the artists are stood back to back and are wearing all black clothing which is common to represent their moody persona, another contribution to this would be their body language and mannerisms. This front page shows that it is of an indie/rock genre by using artists such as The Last Shadow Puppets, Rolling Stones, Panic at the Disco, The Courteeners etc.. Also the names Alex Turner and Miles Kane attract you to this magazine as it attracts the already existing fans of Arctic Monkeys and Miles Kane. A medium shot has been used to show the pair on the front I think this is so the consumer gets a better look at the artists to what they would have if they used an extreme long shot and it doesn't make the front cover seem to packed and have too much on the front. 

The audience of this magazine would be men and women rather than being children as the colours used here don't usually appeal to children nor does the attitude of the pair. In addition to this, all the text which is used on the front would appeal much more to literal adults rather than children who aren't capable of reading just yet. However the NME masthead and the red vibrant colours would stand out and draw the ideal attention to the front cover of this magazine. The red and black contrasts and tones balance out well on the white background and don't clash as they're set out appropriately so it doesn't mess up your eyes. The artists also contribute to the 3 colour rule as they're wearing black only, if they was wearing a colour like purple then it would make them stand out in a negative way. 

The fonts on this front all seem very similar, they don't look inappropriate for example having a masthead of bubble writing and the rest of the sell lines to be in a font like Times new Roman would make the magazine look tacky and stupid. The font doesn't differ much however the size does. For example the sell-lines are much smaller than the masthead and then the informative text underneath the sell-lines is even smaller still, I think this is done so that people will grab the magazine and bring it closer to their eyes so they read and then continue to the purchase. 

Research and Planning: Q magazine analysis

This magazine has stuck to the 3 color scheme of red black and white. The picture of the lead singer from muse is quite aggressive due to him smashing a guitar against the Q sign, the prop of the guitar represents the genre here as usually in alternative rock music, guitars the lead instruments are usually associated mostly with rock. It also shows the genre of the magazine by using the bands such as Beatles, Coldplay and Muse. Also the mans body gestures and expression suit the indie rock persuasion as it does have quite a moody setting and reputation. They have used a long shot on this man to show his full body and also gives a more effective point of view of him smashing the guitar.

The audience of this magazine would be men and women of any age expect children. I wouldn't say it is for children as it doesn't really have the attention grabbing factors of which children look for such as bright colors. Whereas this Q magazine using vibrant colors that would still catch attention like the red, they use the black in different shades and tones, they do this so the magazine doesn't look to plain and too dark as this wouldn't work as well with the red and white colors, the man on the cover also contributes to the colors as he is wearing a dark black suit, the magazine has stuck to the 3 color rule, if the man was wearing a pink suit it would look stupid and wouldn't sell as well.

The fonts on this magazine differ greatly. The masthead is the most bold and stands out the most due to its red and white coloring on the black background. This has to be done so people know which business the magazine represents. The sell-lines are effective as by using MUSE in block white letters it would attract the already existing fan base of which Muse has, making the magazine sell more.