Initial Masthead Idea

I chose this as my magazine masthead, this is becuase it has a chrome finish, which represents rock n roll in a number of ways, such as the use of guitars and instruments to the genre of some rock music.

Initial Masthead Idea

I chose not to use this as a masthead as i thought it was unclear to read and not as eye catchy as existing mastheads.

Initial Masthead Idea

This was provisional idea for a music magazine masthead for a genre of electro. i chose not to use this becuase i felt the colour scheme was wrong, and did not match the genre of the magazine.

Glossary Of Key Terms For Music Magazines

Masthead – The name and logo of the magazine.
The Lead – The introductory paragraph of an article.
Body copy - Refers to the text of your written articles, which should be produced as a printed presentation to accepted industry standards.
Serif font – Fonts like Times New Roman, or Baskerville Old Face, which have little bars on the end of the letters.
Sans serif font – Fonts like Impact, or Agency FB, which do not have little bars on the end of the letters.
Drop Capitals – Really big letter, which start off an article.
Cross Head – Small sub-heading used to split up a large block of text.
White Space – White parts of a page other than text or pictures.
Mode Of Address – How the magazine talks to the audience.
Sell Lines – Text on the cover that helps to sell the magazine to the audience.
Banners – Text which stands out because its on a coloured background.
House Style – A magazines distinctive design that distinguishes it from its competitors.
Borders – The gaps at the edges of the page.
Gutters – The gaps between the columns of text.
Leading - The space between lines of text.
Kerning - The space between letters.
Strap Lines – A smaller headline, printed above the main headline.
Anchorage – The way in which text helps to pin down the meaning of a picture and visa versa.

5 Rules To Follow To Ensure Good Photographs

1. No cluttered backgrounds, so make it as empty as possible, make sure it is portrait rather than landscape
2. Make sure you focus on lead singer rather than guitarist for example
3. Leave plenty of room for a masthead, and dont put text or images over the masthead
4. No high angled shots becuase it looks distorted and out of position
5. Animate your band or subject and tell them to pose how you want them to pose

Final Draft Contents Page

Final Draft Front Cover

Lesson Objective

To finish my draft contents page

3 Ideas For Main Front Cover Image

Out of the three above images of Def Leppard, i have chosen to use the bottom photograph, this is becuase i wanted an image on my draft front cover which was mounted on a backdrop such as a white wall for example. this means that there is no clutter in the background, which is one of the 5 rules of photography. the other two images are of high standard of front covers, however i didn't want lighting as such behind the band. another reason for the bottom image choice is that as well as a backdrop, the band have instruments, this helps to distinguish the lead singer from the drummer and guitarists.

Rough 3rd Idea For Main Music Magazine

Rough 2nd Idea For Main Music Magazine

Lesson Objectives

• Draft front cover completed of magazine i am going to do

Rough 1st Idea For Main Music Magazine

Three Ideas For Main Music Magazine

1st Idea

Target Audience:
Niche target audience.
Predominantly male.
Aged between 20-35.

Sub-Genre Of Magazine:
Heavy Metal.

Masthead Title:
Metalhead-connotations are that a person assosiated with heavy metal are often called a metalhead.

Ideas For Main Cover Image:
Heavy Metal solo artist with guitar.

Splash Article:
Heavy Metal artist rise to fame, as inspiration towards the audience.

Other Content:
Tours and festivals, interviews, upcoming artists.

2nd Idea

Target Audience:
Mainstream Rock target audience.
Predominantly male. Some female.
Aged between 16-40.

Sub-Genre Of Magazine:
Rock.

Masthead Title:
Rock’n’Roll-connotations which can refer to populist rock songs. It can also be a term used to describe the rhythm of the song.

Ideas For Main Cover Image:
Band of four posing with guitars and appropriate costumes.

Splash Article:
Interview with the band about challenges in the music industry and how they overcame this.

Other Content:
The start of new rock genre.

3rd Idea

Target Audience:
Electro target audience.
Male Audience, however could be aimed at some women.
Middle aged.

Sub Genre:
Niche Electro Synthpop.

Masthead Title:
Beats & Bass-conotations include the sound of certain instuments make and the rhythm the songs make.

Ideas For Main Cover Image:
Electro synth group holding instruments, looking towards camera.

Splash Article:
Juxtapose the splash article with the main image cover. Such as reasons for choice of instruments etc. personal life.

Other Content:
Advertisements, promotions and future events.

Magazine Industry Media Essay

The current magazine industry is dominated by the two media conglomerates Bauer and IPC. Bauer of which is of German origin, but has now landed publishers in all of Europe including countries such as France, Spain, Portugal and the United Kingdom. IPC on the other hand is a media conglomerate based in the UK, being a leading UK consumer magazine. Bauer has ownership in many leading music magazines such as Mojo, Q, and Kerrang!

Bauer is the largest privately owned publisher in Europe; its success is acknowledged by the public due to its high circulation figures. For example Kerrang! remains the market leading music weekly magazine with a devoted audience of rock fans driving sales of 60,289 plus a week. Whereas Q on the other hand retains its pre-eminent position as the number one music monthly brand in the UK and across Europe of 112,532, alongside an ever-increasing digital reach via Q4music.com.

IPC owns over 80 magazines of all genre categories, ranging from music magazines to sport and leisure. IPC is owned by times incorporated and owns music magazines such as NME which is the longest published and most respected music weekly in the world. NME’s circulation figure of 2005 is as follows, as 76,792 copies were sold per week.

The 2008 circulation figures and readership figures for popular music magazines such as Mojo, Q, and NME are as follows. The sales figures were issued by auditing body ABC who revealed that Q had lost 21% of its readership in the second half of 2008 when compared to the same figures for 2007. The current circulation for Q stands at 103,017 readers per month, a marginally higher figure than Mojo. Of the music magazines owned by Bauer, I would say Kerrang! Has a particular niche audience, whereas Q is seen as a more broadstream magazine. I think Kerrang! Is niche because it targets a specific audience, such as heavy metal and rock fans.

Bauer Main Three Music Magazines:

Q
Mojo
Kerrang!

IPC Main Three Music Magazines:

NME
Guitar & Bass
Uncut

Bauer has a wide range of music magazines, so as expected, prices will vary depending on the amount of advertising space allocated in the magazine, the thickness of the magazine, and the relevance to the audience will all affect the price of the music magazine. For example, Q is a music magazine owned by Bauer, it has a price of

Bauer caters for both niche and mainstream music magazines; an example of a niche music magazine is Kerrang! This is renowned as niche because its audience profile is individually minded, independent of thought and musically experienced, an audience defined by attitude, passion and loyalty. This as you can see is very specific and as a result a niche music magazine. Kerrang! Has an issue price of £2.20.

Whereas on the other hand Q is aimed at a wider target audience and a mainstream music magazine. This is because advertisements within Q are aimed at related products. I think Q caters for a mainstream audience because its remit is more generalized than say Kerrang! Q has an issue price of £3.90.

Mojo can be categorized as niche; this is because its imaginary entity is reflected as being a young target audience, with a high percentage of male readers and viewers. I think Mojo targets this audience because it will receive vast amounts of money from companies wanting to advertise similar products of interest. This will benefit both Mojo and the company advertising in the magazine. Mojo has an issue price of £4.20.

IPC also caters for both niche and mainstream music magazines; an example of a mainstream music magazine owned by IPC is NME. NME has an issue price of £2.20

IPC’s Guitar & Bass is niche as its name suggests. Its target audience is predominantly male and middle aged. This means that related items and products. Posters are exempt from this kind of magazine as it is a sign that it is aimed at a more mature older audience. It has an issue price of a little over £2.00.

For the next part of the essay, I will explain and interpret the demographic readership of three magazines either from Bauer or IPC. The magazines I have chosen to research further into are Kerrang!, NME and Q. Kerrang! Has a specific demographic readership which consists of the target audience being individually minded, independent of thought and musically experienced, an audience defined by attitude, passion and loyalty. Kerrang! Has ABC figures of 52,272. Along with demographic readerships, Kerrang! Interprets its target audience image by using synergy, cross media, and other advertisements associated with that magazine. For example Kerrang! Is a teenage magazine, this is well known by the fact that it has ‘free posters’ on this cover below, this identifies it as teenage aimed as teenagers are expected to have band and idol posters upon their walls, which is sort of like a social convention. It will also use advertisements as pat of cross media to produce profits in exchange. For example in an issue of Kerrang! I found an advert for ‘my bloody valentine’ this is aimed at teenagers and young adults, which fits the demographic readership target audience of the magazine.

NME on the other hand is owned by IPC, its target audience is fairly mainstream, which means its demographic readership viewers appear to be drawn from the 25-34 age bracket, while the magazine’s readership continues to appeal to 15-24-year-olds. NME’s total circulation figures are 56,284. This is unsurprisingly more than Kerrang! NME uses advertisements directed at the younger age bracket to maximise exchange, products like upcoming gigs, tours and festivals. This is known as synergy.

Two Assesment Objectives

• Start my main magazine task


• Come up with at least 3 ideas for a magazine

Three Assesment Objectives

• To finish my essay research
• To complete my Bauer & IPC music magazine industry essay
• If time, to start my own magazine target audiences research etc

Brief Demonstration Of Photoshop

How to crop, resize, add text and background all in under a few minutes.

Preliminary Task Contents Page

Preliminary Task Front Cover

Kerrang Double Page Spread Analysis

• The masthead of the double page is 'metallica', this is made clear by the bigger and bolder font used.


• 'The lead' of the article is highlighted in a banner, this is used to draw attention to the article written about 'metallica'.


• The article uses sans serif font, this means it has no bars on the end of the letters.


• The main article uses drop capitals, for example 'in the' is highlighted as bigger bolder text than the rest of the article, this is to show the audience where the article begins.


• The article uses both teacher to pupil and peer to peer mode of addresses, this means the text will be informative while in a friendly sort of context.


• Banners are used on the article as a heading called 'how was it for you' where the audience at the concert express their opinion, they are put on a coloured background to standout from th main article.


• The double page spread doesnt use quite the same house style as the front cover, however the colours are predominantly masculine such as dark blacks and silver.


• The borders on the double page are very narrow, this could be becuase of the main image, which is spread across the two pages.


• The 'leadings' on the page are also narrow, this could be becuase the editor wanted 1 column of text and not two or more.


• Strap lines such as 'lives' are printed above the heading to give reference to kerrang's rating of metallica's live concert.


• Three types of anchorage are used on the double page spread, this is to juxtapose the text with the image to create an overall representation and corrilation.

Kerrang Contents Page Analysis

• The masthead of this page is 'contents' which is written in sans serrif font and uses house style of magazine, it is also highlighted and stands out on the page.
• The contents page uses anchorage to connect both text and images together to create a deeper meaning of what is being represnted, in this instance, quotes are added under each image to show a connection with the artist.
• A by-line is used of the person who wrote the article which in this case is the deputy editor, who has signed his name in the top left.
• Picture Credits are present on the bottom left of the page, which shows the audience where the cover picture was taken and by who. in this case it is retna.
• The 'kerning' of the letters is quite spaced out, this makes the text easier to read for all readers.
• Top article uses paragraph indents to show the audience the topic has changed in the article.
• The whole page uses kerrangs house style of black, yellow and abit of red, this clearly distinguishes it from its genre competitors.
• Sub headings in the contents list are a from of 'banners' as they are highlighted on coloured backgrounds, making them easier to read, becuase they have high significance on the page.
• Contents page uses parent to child mode of address.
• Pugs are present in the top right corner, to inform the audience of issue number and cover date.
• Text for the main image of 'all american rejects' is juxtaposed together to create a corrilation, showing and informing the reader who the image is of.
• Next to each image, page numbers are highlighted, these are juxtaposed under each image to show what page of the magazine the article will be on. this is convenient for the audience.

Kerrang Front Cover Analysis

• Red stars to sperate band titles, this is part of the magazine house style, which features repetitive colours throughout.
• Masthead features in bold white text and stands out on the page, uses onomatopoeia to connote a guitar symbol.
• Band names at top of page to attarct audiences attention to prefered bands.
• Cover lines, especially 'plus' which is highlighted in house style of red and font is anchored by pull quotes.
• Main cover line has much larger font size than pull quotes etc, stands out from black background. this means the cover line has significance and is used to sell the magazine.
• Exclamation marks connote excitement but are also part of house style as the title of the magazine includes an exclamation mark, i.e. Kerrang!
• Banner at bottom of page stands out from background.
• Main cover picture is of a major international star and relates to main article topic. It is anchored by the main coverline.
• Bar code at bottom of page.
• Stand out star quote featuring happy birthday heavy metal, this is used in house style.
• Pugs are the ears or top left and right of the page, which attract the reader’s attention. As such, they are used for information such as the magazine’s Cover Price and Date Of Publish.
• Target audience is primarily male audience, of both young and old, however it can attract female readers.
• Niche audience.
• Jimmy page's facial expressions show he is in a rock pose, performing live.
• Jimmy page's clothes represent dark masculinity, this shows that the target audience of primarily male audience, due to masculine colours used.
• Peer to peer mode of address.
• Teacher to pupil mode of address used to tell the audience that free posters are inside the magazine.
• Gender is represnted as preferably male audience and superior, becuase the cover of kerrang features no females.