Analysing Music Magazines

 Analysing Music Magazine Covers

Main Cover Trademarks

In general main cover trademarks are a large masthead, a main cover image usually in the centre of the page and large text usually about the main cover star/s. Then down the sides you can have little sections that draws the audience in about whats inside the music magazine. The colour schemes are varied but usually match the main cover image in some way.

Analysing Music Magazine Contents Pages

Contents Page Trademarks

In general contents page trademarks are a large masthead saying "contents" or "this week". Then a way to display all of the contents inside using numbering. Either a column down the side of the page or maybe even labelled photos. It may also have a section about the maincover star/image or the magazine editor.

Analysing Music Magazine Double-Page Spreads

Double-Page Spread Trademarks

In general double-page-spread trademarks are a large image on either side of the page along with a reasonable amount of writing about the person/people on the photo.

Conclusion

Overall, analysing these has really helped me and gave me the knowledge about the different colour schemes, layouts and features that are popular in the Industry of the main covers, contents pages and double-page spreads in music magazines. After doing this it has given me lots and lots of ideas with designing my own music magazine. I already have a lot of ideas in mind and will start sketching out several different layouts for the main covers, contents pages and double page spreads.

Institutions Research

Top Companies Of The Music Magazine Industry:
Case Studies & Cover Analysis

The New Musical Express (better known as the NME) is a popular music magazine in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It was the first British paper to include a singles chart. In the 1970s it became the best-selling British music magazine. The paper's first issue was published on 7 March 1952 after the Musical Express and Accordion Weekly was bought by London music promoter Maurice Kinn, and relaunched as the New Musical Express. It was initially published in a non-glossy tabloid format on standard newsprint.
Editor: Krissi Murison


NME Magazine Covers Analysis 

I don’t like this NME music magazine at all, it was produced in to 1970’s and you can definitely tell. It looks old fashioned, un-appealing and un-colourful. I think it is too dark and miserable looking and could do with a splash of colour to brighten it up. However, I do like the photograph and the expression on the persons face. I think that would be the only thing that draws the audience in to buy it because it’s as if the person is looking at you. It also has a sense of mystery to it which I also like. But overall it’s too dated and un-appealing.

This magazine is definitely an improvement to the first magazine from the 1970’s, this one is from the 80’s and I really like the colours on it, I like the colour scheme of red, white, black and yellow which I have noticed is a popular colour scheme for most of the other music magazines I have written about from Q and Kerrang! aswell. I have also noticed that a red background with yellow writing is a favourite colour combination as the colours complement each other (complimentary colours). I also like how the full word of the NME initials is displayed in the letters.

This is one of my favourite magazine covers out of the other magazines from the other big UK companies. I absolutely love the colour scheme of pinks, purples and whites. I think it’s quite controversial however having such girly colours alongside a very well-known “bad boy” figure in the celebrity world; but it works. Overall I love everything about this music magazine and will it take into consideration when producing my own.


NME's Typical Reader Profile
Males or females aged between 15-60 depending on what style of music they're into. NME appeals to people who are interested in rock/indie music mixed in with a couple of comercial bands etc. They are interested in knowing about their favourite bands and reading interviews with them. They are also wanting to know where the latest Giggs are.



 Q is a music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom, first published in October 1986, the magazine was sub-titled "The modern guide to music and more". Originally it was to be called Cue (as in the sense of cueing a record, ready to play), but the name was changed so that it wouldn't be mistaken for a snooker magazine. Another reason, cited in Q's 200th edition, is that a single-letter title would be more prominent on news stands. Q Radio launched in June 2008 as a full service radio station. There is also a Q TV television channel in the UK. Q also holds a yearly awards ceremony called the Q Awards.
Editor: Nichola Browne

 Q Magazine Covers Analysis

This Q magazine issue is from the 1980's, i quite like how the cover is set out and the colours are ok in my opinion. I don't think i would be drawn to this magazine if it was in a shop. I don't particularly think it looks appealing either. I think one of the main selling points of this particular magazine is the free gifts that comes with them, this one says in large text "free book!". I also like the funny photo at the top of the cover next to the masthead, i think it adds a humorous element.

This issue if from the 1990's, i don't think that it is any different in the style compared to the 80's cover. This cover in particular reminds me of the modern day newpaper, However i do like the large black and blue image layered behind Rod Stewart and the free CD. One similarity of the 90's and 80's issue is that both covers display red bold font infront of a bright yellow block of colour. I like how they've used this because it makes the text pop out of the page because of the contrasting colour.

This Q magazine cover is from the 2000's, this is my favourite cover out of the 3. Obviously it looks more modernised than the previous 2 magazines and i love how they've played around with the masthead and located it in the center of the page surrounded by photos of Courtney Love. However, i think one bad point about the magazine cover is that they're isn't enough text on it to display what the audience can read inside it. But i think it can also be seen as an effective look.


Q's Typical Reader Profile
Males or females aged between 15-60 depending on what style of music they're into. Q appeals to people who are interested in rock/indie/chart/pop music mixed in with a couple of comercial artists etc. They are interested in knowing about their favourite bands and singers and reading interviews with them. They are also wanting to know where the latest Giggs are and getting free gifts with the magazine. The 200th magazine above appeals particularly to females.

 

 

Kerrang! is a rock music magazine published by Bauer Consumer Media in the United Kingdom. The magazine's name is onomatopoeic and refers to the sound made when playing a power chord on an electric guitar^. Kerrang! commenced publication on 7 June 1981 and was edited by Geoff Barton, initially as a one-time supplement in the Sounds newspaper, which focuses on the genre New Wave of British Heavy Metal and the rise of other hard rock acts. AC/DC appeared on Kerrang!’s first cover.

Editor: Paul Rees

Kerrang! Magazine Covers Analysis

This Kerrang! Magazine issue is a recent cover,I really like this cover of kerrang!. I love the vivid colour schemes of red,black,white and yellow and how they match and intertwine with the main cover image. I also like how the main cover image is layered over the top of the Kerrang! masthead showing that people already know what the magazine is so the image can cover some of it which makes it more effective. I also like how they’ve incorporated the person’s bright red hair into the colour scheme as well.

This issue is again another recent Kerrang! cover; the first thing that jumps out at me on the page is the main cover image. Due to the two men’s appearance, gestures and expressions it really shows the audience what type of genre the magazine is- Rock. In a way it’s almost a stereotypical view of heavy metal band members however it appeals to its target audience and in my opinion draws the consumer in. I also like how both of the men are looking into the camera and one of them is pointing as if its pointing to you which can bring in an aspect of Integration and Social Interaction within the magazine. The offensive gesture the other man is doing is offensive but again shows the audience the personality and genre of the music magazine.

This recently produced Kerrang! magazine is again very similar to the two other Kerrang! magazines. They all have the colour schemes of red, black, white and yellow which can be seen as a trademark within the appearance of the front cover. It also makes the magazine recognisable to the audience by just the colour scheme and look of the magazine without even knowing which magazine it is. However, this is my least favourite magazine out of the three, I don’t like the main cover image- they look too boring and in my opinion uninteresting.


Kerrang!'s Typical Reader Profile
Particularly men (or women!) who are into the heavy metal/rock genre of music. They are wanting to know about their favourite bands and knowing about the lastest types of guitars out for example. They are also wanting to know ehre the lastest giggs are at.

Regulation and Control

Regulation and Control basically means what should and what shouldn't be allowed in Magazines, events may regularly occur within the industry which debates how free the press should be controlled and regulated.

A code of practice was agreed to by editors and owners of News Papers/Magazines which is essentially a form of self-regulation. However due to events like the death of Princess Diana for instance issued a tighter control into the public domain. This code which was introduced covers:

• The right to reply for individuals that are written about
• The need to distinguish between comment and fact 
• Accuracy & Not to mislead
• Privacy and harassment
• Misrepresentation
• Cheque book journalism
• Intrusion into grief or shock
• Identifying relatives and friends of convicted individuals
• The reporting of issues relating to children
• Dealing with victims of sexual assault
• Confidential sources
• The definition of public interest

Because of these issues that are under tight control, when producing my music magazine i will take these regulations and controls into consideration.

Producing Process
To briefly explain what happens when producing magazines there are several stages. The first stage is important meetings with the magazine production team: editors, journalists, photographers, researchers etc. In the meetings they discuss what they want in the next issue of the magazine and talk about layout and other features. They then produce a draft copy of the magazine and send it to a higher person on the editing team who decides what goes where, recommend changes to improve the magazine and overall decides if it is good enough to  be produced as the final cover. When the final draft is eventually decided they production team design it on a computer using a programme such as "quark" for example. Once the team have produced the magazine, layout, photographs, text etc, it is finally printed and distributed.


Publishing Companies

One world wide magazine publishing company is Condé Nast Publications. Its main offices are located in New York,Chicago, Miami, Madrid, Milan, Tokyo, London and Paris. Condé Nast is run by S.I. Newhouse Jr, and is a division of Advance Publications, who have owned the company since 1959. Condé Nast is credited with creating a used magazine marketing strategy emphasizing magazines focused on a particular class or interest, sometimes known as lifestyle magazines. Many Condé Nast magazines have their principal focus in fashion, although the company's publications also include travel, food, home, culture, and other interests.


(Information Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cond%C3%A9_Nast_Publications)

Just some of the magazines Condé Nast have produced are:

Vogue, Teen Vogue, Mens Vogue, GQ, House and garden, Vogue Decoration, Brides, Golf for women, Golf World, Wired, Vanity Fair and the New Yorker. To the left is a collection of different brands of magazines produced by Condé Nast. I really like every single one except "The New Yorker" and "Vanity Fair" because i really don't like animation for the main cover image. I think it looks old-fashioned, boring and un-appealing. My favourite one especially is the 1st Vogue with Kate Moss. I love the layout, colour scheme and mostly the photo of her as its very high fashion and appealing to women aswell as men.

Audience Research

Defining The Audience
As Mass

For many reasons, Media producers and Institutions like to consider audiences in groups. This is particularly true of advertisers, who have led the way in targeting groups of consumers. Producers and Institutions quickly identified that there was not just one audience or one market, the audience can be segmented and marketed into different ways depending on the way they have been defined.  Some obvious ways to classify audiences are age, gender, race and location. 
However, you can also classify audiences by their class:


A:  Upper Middle Class
Top Management, Bankers, Lawyers, Doctors and other professionals.
B: Middle Class
Middle Management, Teachers, many "creatives" like Graphic Designers.
C1: Lower Middle Class
Office supervisors, Junior managers, Nurses, Specialist Clerical Staff etc.
D: Skilled Working Class
Skilled workers, tradespersons (White collar)
E: People at lowest level of income
Unemployed, Students, Pensioners, Casual Workers.


(Information Source: Audience Research Booklett)


Primary Research: Questionnaire

In my opinion, people's taste in music is classless. However, to find this out i am going to put together a general Music Questionnaire to find out if there is any connection between people's: age, gender, race and class with what their favourite style of music is. This will help me identify my audience for my Music Magazine and if there is any connection between the class of the person to what type of music style they enjoy the most. 

I'm going to print out 75 simple, straight to the point questionnaires and hand them out to a variety of different people of all ages, races, genders with different occupations.  

 To the right is the exact questionnaire i handed out, i asked for the person's "job" so i could match it up with their class because most people aren't aware of their class.

Questionnaire Conclusion: I found no correlation between class and what style of music was preferred. However, i did find that students (class E) aged between 15-25 circled more than one music style on the questionnaire except Folk, Jazz and Country whereas several people (mostly class B) aged 45+ only circled one particular style of music which was generally Rock, Country and Disco. This shows me that the older generation prefer mostly one specific type of music compared to the younger generation who likes a mixture of music styles.

To allow the questionnaire results to be consumed easily, i have constructed it into a bar chart (to the left) displaying which music styles were most popular within certain age groups. The bar chart shows that people within my age (the red bar) favoured Hip-Hop, RnB and Pop music the most. Because of this i am considering making my Music Magazine about Hip-Hop/Rnb/Chart Music. I am interested in targeting people of my age and upwards because i know what the lifestyles of people of my age are all about and i can relate to what they want. This bar chart has helped my view my questionnaire results more clearly which is alot helpful.

Defining The Audience

As People

Uses And Gratifications Theory

According to this theory, we all have different uses for the media and we also make choices over what we want to watch. This means when we encounter a media text, its not just some kind of mindless entertainment- we are indeed expected to get something from it; some kind of gratification. In this model the person has the power to select a media text that best suits them and what their need is. 
The four kinds of Gratification that have been identified are:

• Information: When we want to find out about society and the world- satisfying our own curiosity about what is happening around the world. This would fit into when watching the News or watching Documentaries, they give us a sense that we are learning.
• Personal Identity: This is when we are wanting to look for models in the Media for our behaviour. For example, we may identify with characters we see on a soap like in "Coronation Street". These characters help us to decide if we agree with other characters actions and even the own character's actions. Also if the particular character succeeds in something then we feel better about ourselves. For example that warm, happy feeling at the end of a programme when a character triumphs.
• Integration and Social Interaction: This is when we use the media in order to to find out more about the circumstances of other people, watching a show helps us to empathise and sympathise with the lives of others and maybe even of the characters in a programme as friends even though we might feel a little embarrassed admitting it! Also television programmes help us to get on with our own lives and maybe even talking about it with friends. 
• Entertainment: When sometimes we may just use the media simply for enjoyment, relaxation or to fill time.

(Information Source: Audience Research Booklett)


The Uses and Gratifications Theory is extremely important when creating a Media text. When it comes to Information, I need to put something on the front cover that makes the consumer want to know about something that is in the magazine. For example if something has happened in the music industry, people will want to know and learn about what has happened. Personal Identity is also essential, putting someone who is healthy, attractive and in some cases a real person (not been edited to be made look skinnier/prettier) makes that person want to be like them and look like them. You don't want someone looking un-healthy and un-attractive on the front cover as this could set a bad example to the targeted audiences and people wouldn't want to buy it. Integration and Social Interaction is important in the process of creating a magazine, even just simply having the main cover image looking into the camera would make the consumer feel drawn to the magazine and instantly interested. If the person was looking down, the audience wouldn't be able to connect with what the magazine is all about. Entertainment is again very very essential when designing and producing a Music Magazine, the cover and contents of the magazine needs to be bright, colourful, full of information and layers to make it look exciting and aesthetically amazing. The magazine cover with the most stuff on it will attract the audience more because of how exciting it looks.


Consumer Habits
Consumer habits is the study of when, why how and where people do or don't buy a product. 
When would you read a Music Magazine?
When it comes to music magazines people would normally read them at any time of the day, either in the morning at breakfast, or during the day or at night time when relaxing in bed. Overall it is in the person's power when wanting to read the magazine.
Why would you read a Music Magazine?
 When studying why people would want to read a music magazine there are several reasons, maybe to read about their favourite music idols, look up on touring dates for bands and solo artists, wanting to ring up and buy tickets, looking at the latest fashions, reading about the latest music orientated gossip and news, maybe even to collect the issues and if there are free gifts, to collect them aswell.
How would you read a Music Magazine?
When reading a music magazine there are a variety of ways people prefer to read them. Some people like to read each individual page in order taking in all the information and images. However, people who are in a rush might just have a flick through and stop at something that might take their fancy at that particular time like for example the fashion pages. People of a young age might just flick through and look at the pictures and some people might buy the magazine just for the latest gig dates for instance.
Where would you read a Music Magazine?
You could read a music magazine anywhere, at home, at work, on long journeys in a car/train/bus or plane.

Main Task & Action Plan

Main Task Brief:

• 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 the candidate(s), minimum of FOUR images per candidate.

The deadline for the portfolio research and planning is the 17th December 2010. To maintain excellent time management i am therefore going to write an action plan to keep on target and organised with the main task research and planning. 

Action Plan


Research Into:
Audience:
Categorisation/How the audience is targeted
Consuming habits
Audience effects theories
Interests
Expectations/Engagement
Audience Prompting

Institution:
Key companies
Regulation and control
Production processes
Distribution processes
Marketing and promotion

Conventional Features:
Case Study of AT LEAST 3.
Laura Mulvey
Web 2.0 (Tim O'Reilly)
Media Studies 2.0 (David Gauntlet)
Mediasphere: 360-degree environment for consumption (John Hartley)
Any Audience Theory ("Uses and Gratifications" and "Reception Theory"
Postmodernism 
"We Media" (Gillmor, 2004)
Genre (Mark Reid)
Narrative theory (Nick Lacey, 2000)
Narrative Theory (Todorov)
Character Theories (Propp or any others)
Theories on representation


Action Plan:
(10th November- 20th November).
For my audience research i am giving myself around 10 days for the whole section. 
 For categorisation i'm going to be looking into how music magazines are presented to target audiences by using the layouts/colour schemes according to different genres and types. For consuming habits i will be researching into consuming habits by looking at what the consumers gets out of the magazine like what they're looking for and what they do with it after purchased. I will also be researching Audience effects theories like "Uses and Gratifications Theory". I will also be looking into Audience interests possibly by interview/questionaires/direct questioning. Expectations/Engagement and Audience profiling is also other subjects i will be researching into to gain knowledge of what the audience wants.


(20th November-30th November)
For my Institution research i am giving myself around 10 days to complete.
For key companies i am going to looking into popular publishing companies for magazines like "IPC Media". Regulation and companies which means making the magazine appropriate with no swearing or nudity otherwise it could offend the consumer and put people off from buying it. i will also be researching Production processes, Distribution processes and marketing and promotion. 


(1st December-17th December)
And again for the 3 case studies i will be giving myself around 17 days depending on time-consuming each of the three subjects are to complete.  I will be choosing an appropriate subject according to what is appropriate for the print based main task. 

Final Preliminary

Final Front Cover

I am very pleased with my magazine cover, i think it looks professional, well set-out and i really like the text font and style. However, i do think i have made the overall look of the cover too girly and only appealing to girls. It is suppost to be an all-girls school but this magazine will be sent to parents aswell. To improve the cover i would change the colour scheme and add less girly colours like yellows and greens for example. I would also change the badge to something that makes more of a statement instead of just a love-heart with the school name inside. Also i would have a photo of a student with more of a convincing smile to convey the sense of achievment and happiness.

Final Mock-Up Contents Page

I decided to include the same colour scheme displayed on the front cover to make it look like the same magazine. I think it is a simple layout but obviously including photos and font it would look aesthetically pleasing. When constructing the Main task contents page i want it to look very overloaded with different fonts, colours and images but i want them to all to look co-ordinated and not messy otherwise it will look less effective.


Typical Reader Profile


The typical reader of the "Sunny Side News" School Magazine is children attending the school 12-18 years old. Also parents and grandparents etc of the children. Teachers at Sunny Side may also read this magazine.

Preliminary Task

For my preliminary task I have chosen the print based exercise. The exercises states: Using DTP and an Image Manipulation Program- produce the front cover 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 candidates must produce a DTP mock-up of the layout of the contents page.

To begin I thought it would be appropriate to conduct some research via the internet to provide myself with more knowledge of existing school/college magazines. I searched via “Google” “School magazines” and I came across a large variety of existing magazines online. I found that most of the magazine covers had the signifier of the school’s pupils stood up smiling having fun which signified success, positivity and happiness. The colour schemes were always well organised, colour co-ordinated and positioned well along with the main cover image. I also found that the colour scheme always matched the main image, for example if the pupil on the photo had a red coat on then the writing for instance would be red. On the other hand I also found a very simplistic approach to a school magazine cover, the only items displayed on the cover was a photo of the school and the year the magazine was issued for. I thought it looked very professional, classical and effective even though it was so minimalistic. I also came across a cover with a child’s painting as the main cover image with only a few words displayed which was also different but an effective approach.

Based on my research, I want my new school/college magazine to look very professional and not as if an amateur produced it. I want it to be colour co-ordinated, aesthetically attractive but not too cluttered with too much going on otherwise it’ll look poorly constructed.

I have decided to design the magazine for “Sunny Side School”; an all-girls school of Arts, simply because I want the magazine to include girly colours like purples and pinks for example as the colour scheme. I also want a long-shot of our own school’s reception with a medium close-up of a teenage female student with thumbs up whilst smiling which connotes success and happiness. I’ve chosen this because I don’t want too much happening with the main cover image because I think it will look too cluttered with too many photos. When it comes to the mock-up contents page, I am basically going to colour co-ordinate the colours for the front cover onto it and label where text and images will be displayed. To the right is a rough, quick plan i drew of the Preliminary Magazine Cover, as you can see it is very similar to the actual final result.