Content drafts

 Content page drafts

 

This was my initial layout, I have included the in house style of the 'u' in left hand corner and the page numbering style. I like the layout of the photos and the polaroid design I've made for them as it fits in well with the colour scheme and also with the more unique and indie presentation I am going for, whilst still not being over powering.

 

 

The main change I have made is the font and masthead for the contents, I think the new change fits the classic and neat much better than the original, which was more cartoon like. I also made the decision to get rid of the 'u' as I found it to look out of place and over powering. I have made sub headings which now need filling in and a website address needs to be put somewhere.




For my content page, I have tried to follow through with the simplistic and minimalist look with the same colour scheme. I have added to it by finishing it off with a message from editor and moving the website name. This is my near final decision as it fits well with the theme of the front cover yet also includes a different selection of photos and fonts. However I may change the text placement and add social media links. 

Front cover draft

This is my first draft for the front cover. Although the main image makes a big impact the cover still needs more writing, but not enough to be over powering of the now dominant image. I would also like the masthead to make a slightly bigger impact on the page.

After reviewing the first draft, I have gone back to add a cover line relating to the image and double page spread, I have kept it quite simple so not to over power the main image but with the artists name in larger font. I have also added a drop shadow to the masthead and cover line to add to that impact. Along the bottom I have added a border with a strapline and price to fit into a house style of the magazine. I have also added in a barcode just to create the impression of a more real front cover.

Another small change I have decided to make is to put the masthead in capitals as I think it fills that space much better and also makes a bigger impact to readers of the magazine name. I have also put in what issue the magazine is and the date under the mast head.

Own photos for magazine

Magazine photos

 

 

These are images I've collected for my main image on the front cover. After comparing them I have decided to use the bottom right photo as I think it is the most dramatic and will make the most dramatic impact on the front cover. Because I would like to include all these photos whilst sticking to a similar theme throughout the magazine I have chosen to still use the other profile photos in the contents and double page spread.

 

 

 



Mock up plan of pages

Front cover

Contents

Double page spread

Artist planning

 

Feature artist Ali Grove

 

 

 

Existing female artists who helped inspire this is indie artists such as Lorde and Lana Del Rey. Their unique image and sound inspired me as I wanted a artist who is new and different to appeal to the target audience who are looking for something new and exciting in this magazine. This artists style was inspired but the mixture of indie but also slightly grunge image existing artists already have, I think this sort of imagery suits the unique indie image well whilst also being something which is eye catching to the target readership who may aspirers and explorers who would like to also venture out of everyday norms.

For the actual magazine, I think somewhere with a relatively plain or pastel background would be best for photos, this is because these settings embody a simplistic but also  theme but also to not draw attention away from the image of the artist. The simple pastel or cream will represent how the chosen artist is still down to earth. For makeup, something with splashes of soft pastel colour of glitter, like shown on the mood board, is something I'd like to include as they also represent the indie look. I will get my artist model to do a variation of photos from a up close and serious profile to things a bit different such as odd facial expressions or pulling parts of their face, which seems to be quite common on indie magazines. I also don't think any props are necessary, apart from an instrument as it implies her simple and independent persona.

For my content pages I will include a mixture of male, female and band names with a few different stories such as new albums, new band or people who are making a comeback after a scandal.

In house style planning



In house style designing

For my colour scheme I have chosen pastel colours as this was the most popular colour choice in the survey and fit an indie magazine the best. To vary the colour scheme and to make it not so repetitive I'm going to use a variation of shades of these colours like shown. I think I will stick to the lighter colours as back grounds or as boarders of the page that can fade into the background. However for the body copy I will just stick to black text as it is easier to read whilst using the colour scheme in texts like straplines, the masthead or pull quotes.

For the straplines on the front cover and inside the magazine I want to use a font that is bolder and a bit more informal than the ones used for the main body of text as it needs to be something more eye-catching and exciting but I still want it to fit the soft and elegant aesthetic of the magazine. I think the font I am most likely to use is 'Broadway' as it is bold and noticeable but also has a more elegant appearance, which fits to common font style in indie magazines, compared to a bold font like 'Bauhaus 93'. The informality is important to me as the personal side of the magazine is something that was popular with my target audience, so I therefore want to make as many aspects of the magazine give off this personal impression.

 

 

 

Visual features.

 

 

One feature I would like my magazine to have is a page number in black in quite a large and bold font like this. I would like to put it to the bottom left of each page because it will be easy to quickly find a page from the content but it also is something a bit different from a lot of magazine styles and I think it is one of the better and sharpest looking ways to label the pages.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the layout of the articles I also want to include a set design. I have decided to keep it to 3 side by side columns down each page whilst also leaving room for at least 2 pull quotes on each page. I have decided to frequently include pull quotes as the target audience for this magazine were mostly interested in personal interviews and other indie music magazine fans will want to read something new and different. Pull quotes will make this new and personal interviews very clear and apparent whilst also appealing to the readers more than just a big body of text would without them.

I would also like to include a logo in the top left hand corner of each double page. I would like the logo to link to one of the two possible mastheads, 'unique' or 'indi'. I will do this by either having the letter 'U' or 'I' in a bold font to the top of the page. I have been inspired by Q magazines 'Q' logo as I think it is a reminder of the magazine name to the reader and eventually becomes distinguishable on its own to readers, creating a good advertisement and recognisable house style

These are some possible fonts for the logo.
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Magazine mastheads and fonts

Indie music magazine mastheads

Unique  - this is a suitable name for an indie music magazine, as a more unique style and artist is something this target group are more likely to be looking for. This masthead will easily grab their attention and appeal to them.

INDI -  this masthead instantly sums up the style of music and also the whole feeling of the magazine. This would be quite effective for people who are interested in this genre as it stops them having to flick through other magazines to find the right genre, but instead instantly makes it clear and will attract their attention.

IM - 'im' standing for 'indie music'. This name is suitable in attracting new and old readers. New readers will be curious by this unique and slightly strange magazine name, but unique and strange may be the types of things that are appealing to an indie music fan, so it works will with drawing in their attention. It is also suitable to old readers as the in house abbreviation is going to be something they are familiar and fond with, so when they see it they will remember the times they've read this magazine before.

Aspire - a lot of indie music magazine fans fit into the demographic group of 'aspirers', therefore this single word as a masthead may appeal to what they tend to do when viewing magazines and artists. The more younger target audience of this genre music magazine may relate to this masthead straight away, sparking further interest.

Noise - this is a suitable name for a masthead as it instantly captures the sense of it being a musical magazine, this masthead may attract all music magazine reader's attention and further more the indie genre fans as they have a closer look at the magazine, but also people who aren't the typical indie fan but are now interested as they have picked up and genre they may not usually look at due to the more broad and wide masthead.

My final choices for a masthead is either INDI or Unique, as I think these are the two names that best sum up what the magazine is mainly about and the type of music, artists and features that will be included.

These are some potential fonts I have selected for the masthead of my magazine. The fonts with the star next to them are the ones I think I am most likely to use. I like the started fonts most as I think the sleek and quite elegant look is more suitable for the typical appearance of an indie music magazine, however although these fonts aren't overpowering and extremely thick or bold, they still make the impact I want them to.

Indie magazine mood board

 

Looking online, indie music magazines are most commonly targeted at females between the ages 16-24. These females are usually interested in social media as well with fitting into the demographic group of aspirers and explorers. Therefore, indie music magazines appeal to their senses by soft and more feminine colour schemes, with the more unique and edgy images attracting those who want to aspirer to someone, yet they want to aspirer to an artist who is different and new. 

Initial ideas for magazines

Indie magazine 



 

Rock magazine

Fashion music magazine

Final choice

Survey results

It is clear here that Pop music is the most popular genre in the 16-20 age range, however indie is the next most popular genre and I think I will be basing my music magazine on this because I feel that I will be able to come up with a better design that includes a better range of images as well.

The fact that young people mostly never buy music magazines or only so infrequently indicates that the market for this age range is doing something wrong, this makes me think that in my magazine I should include something that should definitely appeal to young people and something that is a relatively new and fresh idea.

This is a clear indication that magazines targeted at this age need to be sold at the lower price range to get the most amount of sales.

The most appealing colour scheme appears to be a soft colour scheme, this is also well matched to the typical colour scheme of indie music magazines so hopefully this will attract more readers to this genre of magazine.

Here it is made clear that to interest this target audience, the thing they most want to see is interviews of the artists, but also closely behind is promotions of new artist and singles. I will make sure to include some of these features in my magazine.

Magazine focus group

Responses to questions in focus group

 

 

 

My focus group was a group of 4 girls and boys aged 16-17. I have picked this age range as my focus group because this is the main audience age I will be trying to target with the magazine I am creating.

 

 

1. How often do you buy music magazines and why?

 

person 1: not very often, probably about once or twice a year, just because I find that a whole magazine just on music can get boring, I'm more interested in magazines with a larger variation of topics.

 

person 2: once a week, I buy one magazine which I have been reading for years, I haven't bought many others as nothing seems new or different enough to get my attention.

 

person 3: never, if I am to read anything about music it's only on social media.

 

person 4: maybe once a month, I just find they're too overpriced for things I can find out for free online.

 

 

 

    2. Are you more likely to read a music magazine online?

 

 

person 1: yes completely, then I can just look at the few topics that interest me for free.

 

person 2: no, I enjoy having the physical copy and looking through the photos, it's something I've always done.

 

person 3: yes, although I wouldn't be that likely to search that up either.

 

person 4: yes, I do this myself, its free and easier access.

 

 

  3. What features do you want to see in a music magazine?

 

person 1: artists talking more about fashion, trips to places and more personal interviews

 

person 2: news on new artists, tours and singles, specific to the genre of the magazine

 

person 3: short and snappy articles, maybe about new artists as well.

 

person 4: probably mostly stories on new singles that relate to the magazines genre and maybe a few interviews with well known artists. 

 

 

  4. What music magazines do you already view?

 

person 1: sometimes billboard, it has a bigger range of topics.

 

person 2: Kerang!

 

person 3: not really any, just music artists posts on social media.

 

person 4: NME or indie, but I usually view these online.

 

 

 5. What genre do you like?

 

person 1: pop mainly or indie

 

person 2: rock and pop punk

 

person 3: mainly pop or R&B

 

person 4: definitely indie by far


Overall, I have gathered that this age range aren't very big buyers of music magazines, this makes me feel that in my design I should really try to appeal to young people whilst including a new idea that might spark there interest. These young people also seem like they aren't too keen on spending lots of money on magazines as they would rather look for free, this indicates to me that the magazine should be kept towards lower price bounds. This age range also seem mostly keen on artist interviews and promotions of new singles, this more common result has impacted me to include this in my design. And lastly, this focus group has made me mainly consider pop or indie magazines, for my design, which appear to be the most common genre and the same result of this is also shown through my survey.




In house style magazine analysis

Kerang!

NME

Double page spread analysis

Content page analysis

Analysis of content pages

 



Magazine cover anotations

How has the internet changed the music press?

How internet has changed music press

With the fast development of technology, there has also been a big development in music press. Before the internet, people were dependent on record stores to go buy hard copies of vinyl's, which then started to move on wards to much smaller CD's. The smaller size of a CD seemed much easier and practical, but then with the fast moving of internet downloads were seen as even more practical. 

First of people were able to download music onto their PC's, however it usually took a long time and was no where near as good quality as the music we can download so quickly is now. As the internet progressed even more, apps like Spotify are now popular and readily available, but a big change with this is that the money from downloads no longer goes directly to the artist like it used to. 

As well as a change in the purchase of music, the internet has also changed a vast amount of advertisement of artists or albums, from print to digital. Before smart phones and laptops, all new music news was spread by just talking to one another or flicking through music magazines. How ever with the quick click of a button it was suddenly so much easier to access, and was also free. As you would expect, this rapidly lead to a decline in purchases of music magazines, but also new advertising strategies of the artists.

 With the popularity of the internet, artists are now more likely to want to appear as a pop up next to a YouTube video as advertisement instead of going for a promotion or interview in a music magazine in the way they may have used to do. 

However, it isn't all bad for the magazines, people who truly love the magazine can pay to subscribe on line, which is seen as more convenient and is keeping up with the trends of online purchases as subscriptions. This is another platform for the magazines to make themselves noticed on now, as in all reality lots of the young target readership of today will be spending a lot more time on line instead of at the local shop looking through magazines. The swift move of technology has also invented internet tracking, this means in google tracks repetitive searches of a certain artist or genre of music, on line pop ups of more relevant artists or magazines are available. This is another example of the internet changing music press to being at the click of a mouse.

The convergence of music press is merging the typical printed music magazines in with online outlets from websites to apps through different digital media platforms, creating a wider viewing for all. The synergy of the combination of online and physical music press is, in my view, creating a much better outcome for music magazines, making them much wider spread over larger generations of music lovers and also closing the gap between a more old fashioned approach to viewing music press and the more modern and fast moving way of discovery of music.

Overall I think the change internet has given music press is positive. Although some disagree about the way artists now receive their money, their music will only be available on these apps if they give permission and old fashioned records are still readily available, and can even be ordered to your house with the progress of internet now! Music press has changed for the better as artists can advertise and post themselves with much more ease and self control, up and coming artists have a much better platform to work from and more likely hood of being discovered and as for the fans, everything is now at their fingertips, whenever they want it.

Plenty of music magazines that were first printed can now also be found online, for example Q magazine, NME, clash and MOJO.
 

Music press history

 Music press history time line

1950's-  In the 50's era, the press were always positive about the artists. The press were very simple and only focused on upcoming events and the charts.  The magazine NME was released in 1952 and was the first magazine to feature a music chart.

1960's- In the 60's era, bands like 'The Beatles' and 'The Rolling Stones' arrived and brought with them a new music drug culture which would start to change the way music was written. 

Early 1970's-  The press still seem to be uncritical on artists until the 'Progressive Rock' genre came about as bands were criticized due to the amount of money they would spend on lasers and lighting. 

Mid 1970's-  during this era the music press starting splitting in two directions. one direction was magazine such as 'Melody Maker' which focused still on the simple proper music and techniques used. Whereas the 'NME' magazine took a different approach, where they'd focus on the meanings and the political side to bands and their lyrics. This change in NME's style was mainly due to the genre 'punk' with their anti-establishment lyrics. 

Late 1970's- NME rapidly decreased in popularity due to its new style of politics and how it no longer writes about the 'normal bands. 

1980's- Magazines started to mix it up with their styles by changing its layouts, content and fonts. this made the magazines more exciting and eye-catching for the reader. For  
example 'BLITZ' magazine became popular because of its new content.

1990's- In this era video technology came about and began to change to music press. Now this meant artists could become popular due to their new music video rather than the quality of their song. 'MTV', A new music video TV channel became very popular and helped broadcast songs and their new videos nationally. Nearly all new singles released came with a music video. 

Early 2000's- During this era the internet became very popular and with this so did blogs. this now meant the magazines decreased in popularity due to attention getting drawn to music bloggers who gave a more democratic view on new music. 

Present-  Nowadays 'music press' has lost its overall music magazines. As most magazines that still run have very specific music genres. Also due to the quick rise of the internet many magazines and even artists have their own websites so music fans can easily watch and listen to their favorite artists at any time.  These websites feature anything from music videos, to interviews which allows the users to explore and find out mostly anything about the music industry. Some examples of online music magazines now is NME online, MOJO and Q.

Target readership profile

Target Readership

   

This magazine is targeted mainly at women due
to its elegant font and the soft pink, white and grey colour
scheme. This is stereotypically a more feminine style that is
more likely to attract the attention of women.

Due to the demographic group due to class and age
 is more likely due to be targeted
at more middle class readers because of it's mid range
price and slightly more sophisticated strap lines
such as the Oscars and Fashion week. The age
range would be to young adults from about 18-25
as the main image is someone young people
will still be interested in but some of the
strap lines are targeted at a slightly more mature
audience.

Because of the psychographic segmentation, this
magazine is more targeted at aspirers and mainstreamers. This is because the magazine is including straplines and a photo of well know events or a person, this appeals to mainstreamers as they are more attracted to well known features. The mention of 'trends' and 'best dressed' applies to the target audience of aspirers as they well be interested in the materialistic side of the magazine including latest trends and appearance. The carefully thought out design which is quite simple but very attractive also appeals to aspirers as they are not necessarily looking directly at content but are easily swayed into buying the magazine by the first appearance of a classy and fashionable image.

Due to the demographic groups I think that this magazine is mainly targeted at young (16-25) males who are most likely to be working class to lower middle class. This is because the magazine has the main colour scheme of blue red and white which is typically a more masculine colour scheme, this is accompanied by bold and big fonts and a masculine and serious photo. Overall a tough and manly feeling is created, appealing mostly to men. I also think it will appeal to younger males as the music mentioned is prominently listened to by younger males who are stereotypically in a lower social grade to more middle class people who, as a majority, appear to be more attracted by more sophisticated and mature music and style.
I also think this magazine is more likely to appeal to black males as the rappers mentioned and cover photo are something this demographic group are largely drawn to as they may easily relate with them or things they make music about.
Because of the psychographic segmentation, the target readership of this magazine seems to appeal more to succeeder's and aspirers. I think this will directly appeal to succeeder's as VIBE is a brand are well known for exploring and researching many different social groups and ethnicities, these are the types of well known, caring and prestige brands they are attracted to. These rappers mentioned are also recognised for their confidence as well, another thing this psychographic would like to relate to.
This also appeals to the target readership of aspirers due to the big persona and charisma created by the strap lines and image on the cover, a feature this group are usually drawn to. 

85% of readers are between 17-24, 75% were African American males, 62% of readers were employed.

          Due to the floral patterns and predominately pink colour scheme, the main demographic group this is targeted at, is females because it is more likely to appeal to them furthermore this magazine also more likely to have the target readership of young females, around 16- early 20s. This is because the main image and straplines is about idols who are mostly popular around this age range. This younger age group goes hand in hand with the social grade this magazine is targeted at, who are most likely going to fall between middle class and lower middle class because they are likely to still be at school or living at home as they are buying a magazine that is targeted at a less mature and sophisticated group than a more upper scale branded magazine would be.

Looking at different psychographic groups, I think that the target readership is explorers, aspirers and possibly succeeder's. This would appeal to succeeder's as although the magazine is mostly mentioning pop music and various artists, there are straplines based on making money and how artists have built their success over time, this is the goal orientated and work ethic this psychographic group are interested in, so it may appeal to the younger section of this group as these stories are still mixed with popular celebrities. This also appeals towards explorers and aspirers as the magazine is a light hearted indulgence for young people who are likely to idolise and want to be like the people this magazine features.

71% of readers are between 17-25 and 82% are new college graduates or students.

Preliminary Project

6^th Form magazine plan

Readership profile

·         Age range – the target audience of this magazine would be for 16-18 year olds. There is not a very big range/age gap in the people who will be reading this magazine.

·         Gender – both girls and boys will be reading this magazine – front cover should appeal to both genders so both male and female are interested in reading it.

·         Personalities – in a school there would be a wide range of personalities, this means the magazine would be best if it had a varied content and also showed a wide range on the front cover.

·         Interests – the target audience will also have a lot of different interests, the magazine cover should show a lot of different elements so that it attracts/interest the most attention and people from the target audience as possible, e.g. Sport, art, drama. 

·         Things in common – all the target audience will be going to school and the same age. There will be lots of different interests but all readers will be taking their exams – exam/revision tips may be something in common that will appeal and be relatable to all of the target audience

 Magazine name

6^th form!– Clear name about what magazine is about, target audience will know it relates directly to them

Slogan – A guide to success – something all the target audience should be looking towards so this is a good way to grab their attention.

House style  
Masthead – Bold and big and an eye catching colour and font: 6^th form handbook

Colour scheme – because I have chosen an orange for the mast head the colour scheme will use mainly blues as they are complimentary colours

Photography

For a magazine cover I would like to take a photo of 3 students (mixture of boy and girls so both genders know the magazine relates to them) standing outside a classroom with school books and smiling to show they are enjoying learning. Preferably I could take this photo on a day with blue sky so that the background will link in with the colour scheme.

Features in magazine

In the magazine I will use articles that do not appeal to any gender so that both groups of the target audience. For example tips on starting 6^th form, this is something that both girls and boys will be interested in. I will also do the mast head in a colour that is not specific to boys or girls, just a bold colour that is eye catching to all.

I struggled with cutting out jake and jess, this was very time consuming and in future I hope that I can be quicker with this tool.

I like the contrast of colour on white background and how a blue border frames it well.

I've used a bold and complimentary colour to the border so that it stands out well and is clear to see.

For my next magazine cover I would like to try including that back ground of the photo instead of cutting the people out.