Market Research Into 3 Existing Magazines (Contents Page)

Billboard Magazine

              

Language  

The colour scheme on this contents page is blue, white and grey. There is a masthead with the words content, with a font that stands out and is running in other locations on the page. There are 4 main images, and they have number next to them clearly showing which page they are featured on. I think this contents page has a lot of writing on it and can be confusing to the audience, so I wouldn't say its simple. Its also very formal,its not something that would catch the eye of their target audience.

Institution

Billboard are the institution, they create the magazine and also publish it. They are a chart website/radio show in America and they are always up to date with the latest music.

Ideology

This contents page is meant to catch the eye of the audience, and it helps them guide their way through the magazine, through the images and text, this should help. With having certain headings in bold, this should also guide them thorough the magazine much easier.

Audience

I would say 16-25 are still the target audience for this magazine, but by looking at the contents page, it shows that the magazine is more complex than originally thought. I would think now that the target audience would be around 16-30 now.

Representation

I think that music artists are being represented in this contents page, they want people to buy the magazine so that they get noticed, and if they are pictured on the contents page, then this will make people want to buy the magazine and read the article about them so they need to be represented in a good way. I also think that the pictures they have used have portrayed the artists in a positive way.

NME Magazine

Language
The colour scheme on this contents page is the same as the colour scheme on the front covers too really, the colours are black, white and red. The page is very simply laid out and is very easy to read and find out what pages are where. It also has a story to cover and an advertisement, which grabs peoples attention. It has a bold masthead telling you whats in the magazine this week. All the text is big and they have italic and colourful writing to get you to read that then the rest. The contents page is formal but works well with the magazine and it doesnt look completley different to the front unlike other magazines.

Institution
NME and IPC Media are the institutions, IPC are the ones who print the magazine, and NME are the one who publishes the articles and stories. They both are very popular and IPC don't just do music magazines, they also do other genres of magazines, like children's and fashion.

Ideology
Again the ideology is to help the reader guide their way through the magazine, NME have made this easy to do by simply placing the article and number on the page, they also have a story to help you see whats in the magazine this week. They are trying to convince you that the rest of the magazine is good by the contents page.

Audience
The target audience again is the same as the front cover, there is no difference as they match and they dont have anything explicit in this content page or front cover. 15-30 year olds, mainly men would buy this magazine

Representation
I think that new music and bands are being represented, if they are potrayed in a negative way on the contents page, then people wont want to go to thier page and read the article, but because they are potrayed in a positive way then people do want to read about them and the magazine gets more money and profit.

Q Magazine

Language
The colour scheme for this contents page is red, black and white, which is the same for most front covers that Q produce. There is a masthead, containing a date, website, heading and name of magazine. There is two images both of which are artists who are in the magazine, this helps the reader see whos in the magazine without having to read anything. The subheadings are in a red background upon white writing which makes it stand out, there is also an 'Oasis' section which is in gold writing, which makes this seem more of an important article than the rest. Everything is clear, and the contents page isnt too confusing.

Institution
The institution is Bauer media and Q magazine itself.

Ideology
To help the audience guide thier way thorugh the magazine easily, without having to read the whole magazine to get to a certain story/article they might like. It also gives you an insite to whats in the magzine, so if you was in a shop and you wasnt sure if to buy the magazine or not, just flick to the contents page and it will tell you whats inside that week.

Representation
I think that this is representing music and the bands, if they are shown positivley then people will want to read and flick to there story. Since its pretty simple, its also representing the magazine in that way too, that there wont be any confusing or complicated storys in the magazine. Its also being represented in a good way because there are no negative images again, like of someone drinking or doing drugs, they are just normal photoshoots of the artist.

Market Research Into 3 Existing Magazines (Double Page Spread)

Billboard Magazine

Language

On this double page spread there is no masthead, which is something that they need in order to engage the audience and grab peoples attention. The main focus on this double page spread is the images, and there are four. One is of Lady gaga at a festival in America, the other three are from her Monster Ball concert, these images are bold and make a clear statement. There is a quote that is in pink writing which makes it stand out more than the rest to give the audience and in site into the interview, but it doesn't really catch your eye straight away. The text is normal and plain which is good, as you don't want fussy text when your reading a full long interview. There is also a small circle/bubble design around the page which doesn't make it not look so formal.

Institution
Billboard are the institution, they create the magazine and also publish it. They are a chart website/radio show in America and they are always up to date with the latest music.

Ideology
The ideology is to try and get the audience to want to know more about Lady Gaga and actually read the interview and enjoy it. Also the whole point of the double page spread it to make the audience want to buy the magazine, so if this isn't good then they wont want to buy this magazine again, as this is the main focus point.

Audience
Again, It depends on who is on/in the magazine, Lady Gaga would attract around the 16- 25 range but if it was someone different this could change. Billboard are a very diverse magazine and they seem to suit most people.

Representation

This double page spread is showing Lady Gaga at her recent concert and at a recent festival so new is being represented here, because Billboard are all about whats out now and whats going to be future hits so doing this double page spread means that Lady gaga is popular at this particular time. They also wouldn't pick someone who would represent the magazine in a bad way as people wouldn't want to buy it, so this double page spread is representing the magazine in a positive way, as its showing a popular artist.

To me, this is a bad double page spread, by doing this research and analysing it, its made me think differently on how I'm going to do my own. I think its too simple and needs to be more bold to be the main focus in the magazine

NME Magazine

Language
On this double page spread, there is an image of Lily Allen on the right hand side, the background is plain white and there isn't much a colour scheme as the colours are mainly black and white. The headline looks like it should be out of a newspaper and the font really stands out, and is bold. The introduction to the article is in italics and makes it more noticeable than the rest of the article which is quite boring. There is no design around the article which also makes it more boring. The way Lily Allen is posing, shows that she is tell you something, and have a engaging talk with someone and trying to get a point across. The font all seems to be on the left page and the image all on one right page, this means that when people are flicking through the pages, you will instantly see Lily Allen first and it will make you stop and read.

Institution
NME and IPC Media are the institutions, IPC are the ones who print the magazine, and NME are the one who publishes the articles and stories. They both are very popular and IPC don't just do music magazines, they also do other genres of magazines, like children's and fashion.

Ideology
I think that message been put across here is that she wants to tell you something, and shes not afraid to, there is also a message that she wants to try and make a stand. The image works really well with the headline. Shes going against what shes put in the headline, shes posing as if she is an attention seeker, which makes people want to read on.

Audience
The target audience is for people who usually like Lily Allen, so girls around the age of 15-30, she widens her audience as quite a lot of people like her, boys like her too but not to the extent of girls.

Representation
I think that she is representing power in this spread, she also is posing in a rebellious way, which is something that the magazine usually focus's on, and they usually have bands and artists who are quite rebellious and they usually smoke and drink.

To me this is quite a good double page spread, its really simple but so effective, it makes me want to read the article and if I was flicking through the magazine, I would notice it and it would make me stop.

Q Magazine

Language                                                               On this double page spread there is an image on the left hand side of the page, and on the other there is a full article, there is also a header in bold red writing, this stands out and makes the artist stand out to people who don't know who the artist is. There is an introduction in bold writing, this makes is easy for people who maybe might not want to read the whole of the article, get a better idea what the article might be like. There is also a bold R at the beginning of the article which also makes it stand out to people. The image is of Rihanna with a megaphone, this shows she trying to tell people something about her music or whats shes feeling.

Institution

Bauer Media are the publishers who print off the magazine, Q are the ones who write the magazine, and decide what images and what stories go into the magazine. On this occasion they have picked Rihanna

Ideology

The message is that shes angry and she wants to tell the whole world about it. The megaphone makes it more clearer on what she is thinking in the image. Megaphones are also something that make you loud, so this is been represented in the magazine, they always do artists who are always producing loud music.

Audience

16-25 year old girls would be the target audience, boys also like Rihanna but the majority are girls. Q magazine is a magazine more for boys though, so to get the target audiences attention for this spread, they would have to show that there is this interview on the front cover.

Representation

As I said before in language, she is representing power and being loud and outspoken.

I love this double page spread, its formal but at the same time, it makes an impact and it would make me read the article and the rest of the magazine. I might do something like this in my magazine, depending on what my front cover turns out like.

Market Research Into 3 Existing Magazines (Front Cover)

I am going to be doing a pop magazine, I have decided this through my research and by analysing these 3 different music magazines, it helps me get an in site to what different conventions they use, and what I should and shouldn't use on my magazine. I have analysed one pop magazine, one indie and one indie/popular music magazine, then I know what different genre of magazines use.


Billboard Magazine

Billboard is a popular music magazine in America, the music they cover is usually pop music/ chart music.

Language
The masthead is white and very basic and simple. The writing doesn't stand out very much accept from the little pieces of colour that make the writing abit more exciting. The cover stars head covers the writing a little bit but the writing is still very easy to read. The image is of Miley Cyrus holding the initial of her name it stands out and makes a stand. She looks very powerful and like shes proving a point. The tag lines are very boring and do not stand out for a cover font.The headline doesn't stand out, its boring white and the font has no excitement. There is a barcode and price tag along with a date and a website. There is only one main image, no others. The main colour scheme is purple, a dark yellow, white and green and blue. The font size is also very small, so it can make it hard to read, and makes it not stand out so much.

Institutions
Billboard magazine is an institution within its self, it has its own chart and website. There doesn't seem to be a certain publisher. Billboard magazine are clever as in they produce the magazine to suit the needs of most people and generally dont have a certain genre accept chart music. There could be a major gap in the market for a pop magazine with people like Miley Cyrus on the covers as its very rare that they have magazines like this in the UK

Ideology
The message in the front cover. I think that Miley Cyrus is pulling a very serious yet powerful face. So it proves she trying to get a message across, maybe the interview is intense and has a meaning, so the pose tries to convey it on the front cover

Audience
I think that the target audience for this certain front cover would be 13-20 year old girls as Miley Cyrus also played the role of Hananah Monatana so this makes her more popular with the younger generation, but the magazine in general is for around 13-30 year olds both boys and girls. I think it just depends on who is on the cover as its such a popular magazine.

Representation
Girls are being represented in this magazine and young teenagers as so is the cover star. I think that she looks strong and powerful so the image is coming across as an negative image. The music artist is very popular too so the magazine front cover comes across as popular and something that most people would buy.



NME Magazine

NME is a very popular indie/alternative music magazine. This is an English magazine.

Language

The masthead is very simple big and bold, it stands out and the colour makes it very bright and bold. The colour scheme is Red, White and Black. The image is a long shot and has all of the band in the image. The bass players head cuts of the masthead but it still is readable and still is clear and bold to read. The headline saying 'Kings of Leon' is very clear and stands out. The date and price is in italics making it easy to spot it. The image of the band is very powerful, they look like there stood there trying to engage the audience. The tag lines are very small but certain words are in bold and are bigger than the rest of the text, this is very effective and makes the read just look at the bold words and if they like what they see, they want to read on and even buy the magazine. The magazine is very full on too, there is a lot of writing and a large headline in the middle, Its not simple its more complex. Plus it has artists in the corner of the page which makes people also want to read on and buy the magazine, its also smartly positioned in the right hand corner of the page.

Institution
NME magazine has a publisher that publishes the magazine. That in NME's case is IPCmedia. IPC media do lots of magazines, they do another music and movies magazine too, which is called 'Uncut', but this is a different genre as they have movies in the magazine too. IPC were clever as there is a gap in the market for a magazine like this even though its been around a while, there are other magazines like Q competing for the top spot in the magazine industry. NME is also the institution as they are the ones who created whats put into the magazine.

Ideology
The message on the front cover is that they look very powerful like there trying to talk to the audience and there pose is very engaging and it makes us want to see an in site into there world. The band on the front cover go really well with the magazines image, as they are there type of music and they are breaking no rules.

Audience
The audience for this magazine is for people around the age of 16-40, this is because its a indie music magazine and people who usually like this music are around this age. I think mainly boys will buy this magazine as of the cover stars, although some girls do buy it, the majority are boys. Younger people wont read this magazine as it could be seen as inappropriate as indie bands drink and smoke even in images, and the older people wont find this interesting, as they don't like the younger generation and will even find it hard to know who some of the artists are.

Representation
This magazine is been represented positively, this because the Kings of Leon are a very popular band, and if they are on the front cover of this magazine, then its a good thing. The colours are red black and white, red means passion and warning,so this could mean that they have a new song out that they are very passionate about and they want to get something across. Warning because they are out and they are telling other artists they are out to compete. Its also trying to represent new music.



Q Magazine

Q magazine is a popular English magazine, it usually has popular artists on the front and likes indie/chart music, but only chart music like Take That or Lady gaga, that are very very popular.

Langauge
The masthead is very simple but stands out so well. Since the band is Take That and they are popular within their self's it stands out anyway, but the size of the text helps, and the colour black makes it easy to read. The colour scheme is Black, White and Red, these are the usual colour schemes for Q magazine. It also has a hint of a dark cream colour. The tag lines are very smartly positioned and they only cover a bit of Jasons arm, so it shows off the image very clearly. The image is the main on the front cover, it really stands out, and makes the magazine front cover look fun. The tag lines are all bold and easy to read. The barcode, date and price are positioned in a different place than usual, they are usually places in the right hand corner but instead its a little higher so it doesn't cover up the image.

Institution
The institution is Bauer Media, these are the people who publish the magazine. Q is also an institution as they are the people who create the text and what goes into the magazine. Q magazine has been going since 1986, so this proves they are a very popular music magazine to be going all that time.

Ideology
The message on the front cover to me seems like fun, and since they have just made a come back with Robbie, they will want to show that they are fun. Since Q magazine is a magazine that have music like Muse, they will be experimenting with Take That, because the music isn't very Q magazine, Take That do pop music, and Q magazine rarely have people like that in their magazine, but because they are so popular I think they don't mind having them on the cover. This magazine is very similar to NME magazine.

Audience
For Q magazine, the audience is a little bit older than other music magazines, this is because Q magazine has been around since 1986, so the older generation like to look at this magazine because there are usually artists who can relate to them and artists they know, like recently there was a Paul Mccartney special, the magazine would have sold a lot as the audience would know who this is. The main audience for the magazine is still 16-40 year olds. Younger people still get the magazine as they still have younger cover stars like Lady Gaga and Cheryl Cole.

Representation
I think that fun is been represented in this magazine, its a very positive message they are trying to bring across, and its showing lots of energy on the front cover which makes people want to buy it. Its representing new music too, as they have a new album out and they will be promoting this

Identifying Music Genre's

Rock - rock music magazines usually have dark colours on the front page. They usually have a band in a mid close up shot, posing as if they are in power. The font is usually black and has some sort of grunge look to it. The bands always wear dark colours and have sunglasses on to show power. They usually have some bits of colour to make the front cover not so boring. It has other pictures and cover stories on.

Target Audience - 18 - 30

Examples of Rock magazines - Kerrang

Rock Bands - Avenged Sevenfold, Paramore, Green Day

Would I Choose This Genre For My Magazine?- I think that this genre is too dark and would like to do a colourfull magazine and do popular bands and singers.

Pop- pop music magazines are usually very colourfull, they usually have edited images and involve lots of information but keep it simple and to the point as the target audience is usually young. The colours they use are often pink, light blues, bright colours like yellows and greens, and they have designs and patterns on them to not make them boring and more exciting.

Target Audience - 14 - 17

Examples of Pop magazines - Top of The Pops magazine is the only pop magazine around, there isnt any other. Most are american

Pop Artists - Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, The Saturdays, Pixie Lott

Would I Choose This Genre For My Magazine? - I think this would be great to do a pop magazine as there is a gap in the magazine market.

Hip Hop - Hip Hop magazines are usually dark colours or male colours like blues and reds. The magazine is usually simple and rarley have a lot of writing on the front page. There is rarely a big design on the front and it lacks in excitment.

Target Audience - 18+
Examples of Hip Hop magazines - XXL, The Source and Hip Hop
Hip Hop Artists - 50 Cent, Lil Wayne, The Game, Eminem, Jay Z

Would I Choose This Genre For My Magazine? - I dont think I will choose this genre for my own magazine, I think that the magazine is too simple and would be boring, I also think it would be hard to potray a hip hop artist.

Classical- Classical music magazines are very simple, they have a large font, and they rely on the image and the main story to draw the audience in. They have the same conventions as other magazines, but dont stand out to most people and audiences.
Target Audience - Older people, as younger people dont tend to listen to this genre of music
Examples of Classical Magazines - BBC Music Magazine
Classical Artists - Paul Potts, Il Divo and Katherine Jenkins
Would I Choose This Genre For My Magazine - I personally dont like classical music so i think that this would be a bad genre to do my my own magazine on as I dont know much about it, even after the reasearch.

Dance - Dance magazines are full on they have lots of colour and a full image with lots going on. The fonts are bold and the fonts are exciting and stand out. The colours are bright colours like pinks, blues and yellows. Neon colours are also used often as they represent dance music, as they use glow sticks.

Target Audience - 40 and under

Examples of Dance Magazines - Mix Mag and Core

Dance Artists - DJ's like David Guetta, Tiesto

Would I Choose This Genre For My Magazine? - I would definantly think of choosing this genre, because the covers are exciting and seem fun to produce, I also like the colours used and the images they use too.


The reason I decided to identify music genres this way is to explore the different way that different genres create there magazines. By doing this reasearch its helped me decide more and its help me cross out some genres, by the conventions they use.

LIIAR Interpretation Of The Brief - Main Task

Language - All magazine will consist of a masthead, an image and coverstories. Most images used on the front of a music magazine are medium close up but if there a band they are usually a full body shot, they can vary depending on the artist and genre of the magazine. Depending on what type of music it is EG. Rock, the colours will be dark like black and greys but if the magazine is a pop magazine, the colours will be more colourfull like pinks and yellow.
Insitution-A music magazine always has a publisher, publishers such as Future and Revelopment. The band itself can be an institution. The media are there to make a profit and sell there magazine
Ideology-The media including a music magazine can send a message through the way its represented. That message can be through the images or through the stories in the magazine. The magazine cover is usually aspirational and can make us want to be like the cover star or model.
Representation-Who is being represented? This varys due to the genre of music in the magazine. If the magazine is a rock magazine then the target audience is usally around 18-30 year old boys, but if the magazine is pop and has someone like Lady Gaga on the front then the target audience would be 16-25 girls, as young girls usually like pop music.

The Brief For The Main Task

The front page, contents and double-page spread of a new music magazine. All images and text used must be original, produced by you and be a minimum of four images.