My Metal Front Cover

My Metal Magazine has a colour scheme of black and red; which are stereotypical dark colours that mirror the music genre. The font is informal, bold and in capital letters to show the agressiveness of metal music. The font also seems quite gothic but not too childish. The colours can appeal to and attract male and female audiences, aged from about 16 onwards. The photo is very effective as its eyecatching, bold and dark which again is projecting the stereotypical image of metal music. I chose this photo because the guitar is important as it establishes the music genre and again its black which is a stereotypical colour of metal music. If I had the chance to do this magazine cover again I would look at other metal music magazines and use some of their ideas; as they already have existing customers and audience for that genre. So therefore it would be somewhat easier to create the metal music look. I also think if I had a better editing programme I could have developed more of a proffesional look.

My Indie Front Cover

My Indie front cover features a big photo of a stereotypical indie boy. He is wearing a blazer, skinny jeans, scarf-tie and brogues with scruffy hair. The pose is also stereotypical and quite feminine which immediantly shows the readers the genre of this magazine. The spelling is correct and appears formal as there is no slang; this again informs the readers on the music genre, as Indie magazines are usually in full english. The headlines are in different colours to appeal to males and females and the content can also apply to both genders, for example men and women would both want to read '100 albums of the decade'. So therefor the target audience would be men and women with a wide age range. I chose the title 'newcomer' as the magazine is new and it seems as if listening to Indie music is the latest thing. The magazine also includes bands such as 'My Chemical Romance' and artists such as Rihanna; who is turning more Indie and rock, the latest news on them can attract more readers. In comparison to the r&b magazine there is more choice of colour in the Indie magazine. The r&b magazine colours; pink and black are simple and represent the laid back, more feminine and body image craze music genre. Overall I think this magazine appeals to the target audience, but if I had to do this again I would spend more time looking at other examples of Indie magazines- as they feature more colour, images and text and create my own closely using their layout to attract the right readers.

My R&B Front Cover

My R&B magazine appears the most simple yet most sexual out of the three. The image is the main focus and attracts several readers through this; which is stereotypical for an r&b magazine. R&B music is very much associated with appearance and body image so I used this image of a famous woman with an amazing body and a confident striking pose. Men would love this photo but women could be very envious; so both genders could be readers. I think this photo would appeal to a target age of 16-24 as younger people are more interested in this music genre and body image. I also featured a smaller photo of a very popular artist Nicki Minaj and a headline for her; this would attract readers. The colour scheme is just black and white; very simple yet creates an effective sophisticated look. I chose the title 'Obsession' because it reflects the r&b music genre; again r&b plays an important part about an obsession with body image. I think the cover looks quite smooth and similar to an r&b magazine but I could have made it much better by adding more images and content and perhaps a different colour scheme. I think it would be much better if I could have used a proffessional program and if I had used more ideas from existing r&b magazines.

'Crowd' Reader Profile

My magazine readers are passionate Indie/Rock music fans who wish to be informed with the latest music news and gossip. Music is not the only interest of the readers in this magazine, but fashion and appearance plays a big role in the Indie/Rock culture and has had a big effect on the way that fashion has changed. The average ‘Crowd’ reader spends £550.00 on clothes per year which supports the whole importance of fashion in the Indie/Rock music industry.

From the questionnaire results I found out that 82% of readers were aged between 16-25; the other 18% were aged between 26-34. From this research I comprehended my intended audience are for the younger generation. I also found out that 68% of readers were male and 32% female. Correspondingly the data concluded that a large percentage of readers buy the magazine as it features upcoming gigs and how to get tickets. Our readers are intellectual people who read frequently and their favourite artists are The Klaxons, Bombay Bicycle Club and Kings of Leon.

Vibe Contents Page Analysis

 I chose this contents page from the R&B magazine 'Vibe'. Vibe magazine contains the latest R&B music, news, exclusive interviews and photos. The contents page differs from other music magazines as its really simple- one large photo for effect which intends to be quite sexual. The photo is a long shot which shows readers the women's bodies and  less clothing- this can be interpreted as R&B music being very different to other music genres. The page also lacks colour which could be done purposely so the women stand out as bursts of colour. The pose is also striking and readers see an exterior of confident women which is very stereotypical for an R&B magazine. Males can admire this photo and the magazine can attract a number of readers this way, however female readers can be envious of their perfect bodies. Again this shows R&B music is more about body image and apperance. I think Vibe magazines target audience is aimed at males and females from 16-28 years; a wide range of audience. The layout is also simple and clear. The font is basic and black but creates a sophisticated effect, whilst the subheadings are more fancy and feminine in italic. In addition the background is kept plain and simple in order to compliment the font and colour scheme. The page contains minimal information, just enough so readers know what the different pages contain. The heading 'Contents' is different to other music magazines which could act as a symbol of difference to other music genres.

NME Contents Page Analysis

This contents page is from NME music magazine and by looking at this page I think this magazine would appeal to men and women aged 16 to 26. NME magazine is Indie music which features music news, reviews, concerts, exclusive interviews etc. The layout is clear as there are two large photos which immediantly draw the reader to read the main headline "Oasis kicked off their world tour" as this seems to be the latest top news. The photo on the left hand side could suggest that the readers are almost looking up to the Oasis star as the shot is taken from a low angle. The contents is positioned on the right hand side with the sub headings highlighted; the colours contrast; black and white to stand out. However the colour scheme; pink and black could seem more feminine and aimed at women, even though without the pink the page would be quite dull. The font is simple, not too over the top, so it can appeal to males and females. The subheadings are also quite bold which makes it easy for readers to find what they are looking for without hassle.

Mixmag Contents Page Analysis

I chose this contents page from the magazine 'Mixmag' which is a dance music and clubbing magazine. Mixmag is portrayed as being an adventerous magazine, which features interviews from the best Djs, dance artists and acts. It also features the charts music, new clubs, reviews and the latest news etc.  The contents page consists of only 2 images which are used sparingly; the main one is big and placed to the left whilst there is a small image of a woman next to it, the headline reads '50 Celebrity Djs'. The big image is the main focus as immediantly readers are drawn to the eye catching, colourful and exciting photo. It instantly conveys a party lifestyle to its readers, which is its aim. I think this magazines target audience would be young women aged 20+ years as it seems quite feminine- the pink colours and model photo. However the colour scheme and layout could suggest that it perhaps appears more masculine as its more dark; the white font contrasts with the black background and touch of lime green. The darkness and neon colours could however just be used to project a party lifestyle for both males and females. The layout is pretty clear, some writing tends to stand out more as it is bold- a heading to each page. The layout makes it easy to read as it doesn't contain too much writing, just simple information for what is featured in the magazine.

Magazine Questionnaire

From carrying out this questionnaire and analysing the results, I found out that 68% of readers were males and 38% females aged 16-25. This immediately gives me the idea that Indie/Rock music is idolised by a younger generation. Furthermore the data showed that 9 out of 10 people bought magazines monthly as they preferred to read intellectual books, and read a magazine to catch up on the latest music news. Most people don't in fact have too much time on their hands, so they spend 1-5 hours per week watching television. This illustrates that people do not look for adverts for products in music magazines and answers question 6. This questionnaire also shows that people are passionate about live music and 54% attend a gig at least 2 times a year. We also found out they have a serious passion for fashion and their favourite clothing brand was Levi’s. They loved vintage Levi denim shorts that could be worn with virtually anything. These findings will make it much more simpler to create an effective magazine as it will have to be priced quite low as people usually spend £1-£2.50 a month, meaning they have a low expendable income.

Here below is a questionnaire sample.