Fonts

I have lots of fonts that i could potentially use for my music magazine, including the front page and the contents page. Unfortunately i cant post the different fonts on my blog because the website wont allow it, but i have at least 3 different fonts for every aspect of my magazine, which i will decide on once i begin my front page, contents page and double page spreads.

Initial ideas for the front cover of my magazine

My initial ideas for my magazine will have to be based around something that my target audience can relate to. My target audience, as i have explained already, is a wide range of people, which doesn't make it very easy to grab the attention of them, as there are so many different types of people to attract. This means that i will have to find some common ground which all of these people share, and that is that music that i will have in my magazine. Popular music can covers a very wide range of music, it can be music from any geographical location, music from any generation and era, any genres, from rock to rap and rave to jazz music, any music can be popular, my magazine will just include these popular songs and artists that are well known so that a wider range of people will be interested in them and want to read my magazine.
My front cover is going to have to include a recognizable artist or place, which everybody will know of and will make them interested about what it/they have to do with my magazine. I will most likely use a large picture of a famous place so that people will take notice of it when they see it on the shelf amongst other magazines, but i want the layout to be in black and white or perhaps dark, with the icon within the picture to be in colour or bright colour, making it stand out even more and catching the attention of the readers. I will perhaps use a controversial image like this:

This would be a good image for catching the attention of my readers, but unfortunately i did not take the photo so i cant use it, but it is a good example of something that a wide range of people can relate to such as those of my target audience, it has nothing to do with the different genres of music that they like or the different artists that they will like, but would still just draw their eyes onto the front cover and are more likely to read the other features on my page. On my front cover i will also have a logo of my magazine, which will indicate to readers exactly what magazine it is. This logo should display what my magazine is called and create an image for my magazine. This should be located at the top left of my magazine, so that it is out of the way , but still noticeable on that page so readers will not mistake my magazine for a different one. In the centre of my page, i will obviously have my image covering the entire page, but on top of this i will have an enlarged quote that will relate to something inside my magazine, most likely one of my stories or interviews with an artist. This is a good technique that magazines use to draw attention to a certain story or something, usually one which they are likely to be interested in and can easily relate to. This enlarged quote will only be a couple of lines long. This makes it easier for a reader to just quickly glance at it and read it, and if they are interested enough, will hopefully make them look again.
Something else my front cover will consist of will be some smaller captions that relate to other stories inside, which will have small sub-titles underneath implying what the pictures relate to within the magazine, probably with a page number close by. These pictures will not be in black and white unlike the main image, because i need them to stand out on the front cover, i want them to show the readers what is inside the magazine and make them want to read further into it.
Lastly i want to have some sort of competition visible on the front page, with a chance for any readers to win tickets to a concert or something, which will be at a concert of one of the bands inside my magazine so that the readers actually want to win the tickets as they like the band(s). Obviously i will have a price, barcode and address of the printers somewhere on the page too.

Audience Demographics

Knowing how to analyze your audience is key when you are trying to create a media product, such as the music magazine that i am creating. There are factors that must be taken into consideration, and they are things such as the income, age, sexuality, type of employment, where they live, and anything else that should determine whether or not they will be able to buy my magazine, or choose to. It is vital that I can relate to my target audience, as this will help me to work out how to grab the attention of the people who could buy my magazine. The difference between understanding what my target audience prefer and not understanding what my target audience prefer is going to determine the success or failure of my product. I must target my audience, and compile to research about what they prefer and don't prefer.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Need.

Maslow's hierarchy of need is a theory in physcology proposed by Abraham Maslow. The theory can be represented in a pyramid with the largest and lowest levels of basic needs at the bottom and slowly working its way up to the more luxurious items. The theory can be used in media products, for example advertising a brand of food is a low form of advertising so would be on the bottom of the pyramid where as when the products need more creative skills to help the product sell such as a magazine cover then it would be higher on the pyramid. Basically, the theory is that on the lowest layer of the pyramid, there are the things that are needed to stay alive, e.g. food, water. and as the pyramid gradually goes up in levels, the products inside become more luxurious and are things that people do not need as much.

My Target Audience

My magazine is going to be built around the theme of popular music. Because it it quite a broad genre of music it can attract a wider range of readers. My magazine is probably going to consist of lots of different genres as there are lots of different artists that are popular with all types of people. My magazine will most likely attract a younger generation who keep up to date with all music that is being produced. My magazine will have lots of information about new bands and music that is trying to establish itself, and also bands that have established themselves within the industry already. My audience are likely to be mainly around my age, as the only adults that tend to buy magazines are women who read gossip magazines like OK and Hello! I will be looking to have as many different types of music within my magazine as possible, so that people who like several different types of music can read about all of the different artists and the information that i will try to include in my magazine. I will have features in my magazine that will be about music that is currently quite popular or getting popular in the charts, so people will know what i am talking about, and are more likely to be interested in what my magazine has to say about them, and any information and news that my magazine will have about them.

So in conclusion, the main people who are likely to buy my magazine are those which keep up to date with any music that comes out and is in the charts. They are likely to listen to a lot of music too, perhaps play a musical instrument and download/purchase music often.

Analysis

This Contents page is from the magazine 'Mojo'. The title Mojo is present in the contents of the magazines name. The font is consistent throughout the magazine it's all a 'sans serif' which is useful for a magazine like this as it isn't too mad and wild but is easy to read and is relaxed. Different colours have been used to outline different parts of the text e.g. gold for page numbers, red for sub headings and black for the actual content. The images are large and down one side of the page with the writing on the other and down the bottom. This is useful as it makes the page look more interesting and fun to look at and they all relate to the stories that are on the page and aren't just random ones. The colour scheme is bright and colourful which gives the page a fun look and makes it interesting to read. The background is white which makes the text stand out and gives it a professional look, i might use this idea on my pages although i will probably do the opposite and use black as the background and have the text in a bright colour. The layout is tidy and well laid out with the images on one side and the text on the other, the whole page is divided into two which is a good layout for a magazine page as it's simple and lets you lay everything out quickly and easily.

Analysis

This contents page is from the magazine published in America 'Hip Hop'. It's very minimalistic and uses one image to cover the entire page, which draws the attention of the reader to the page and intrigues them about what the articles are about and whether any of them are linked to the image that is being displayed. The typography on this contents page is much like the rest of the magazine, and is written in small, white writing with bold headings. This is meant to attract the readers to the titles which should be catchy and interesting enough to make them want to read the entire article. The date of the issue is also on the contents page so that it is obvious as to which edition they are reading and can know the clear date as to which it came out, which ensures the readers that the rest of the articles in the magazine are up to date. Therefore, the bold, orange image will draw attention to any readers who see it.

Contents Page Analysis

Analysis

The mast-head is at the top of the page and written in bold, white writing. Also the layout of the Mast-head is different to usual, as the word has been split up into 3 different lines. The top line says 'co' second says 'nten' and the last obviously says 'ts'. This makes it stand out and encourages readers to take more interest in it. Underneath, the features are written in smaller black font. Each 'feature' is written next to a number, which relates to the page number of the feature within the magazine. It then has a small sentence or two explaining what the 'feature' or article is about, the first is about the artist Ciara, the second is titled 'Boys to Men', and the third is about 'The white boy who turned you out'. The image on this contents page is of the artist Ciara, laying down with her legs up in the air and facing the camera side on. She's dressed stereotypically as a dancer and an R & B performer.

Kerrang! double page spread analysis.

Analysis

In the top half of the double page spread there is a headline that says "We're being the Best MCR we can be!". This is written in red and white writing thats bigger than any other writing on the page, to make it stand out as much as possible. The main theme of the double page spread is in red and white, with pictures of the band 'My Chemical Romance' in the background. The main area with text in is the top right part of the double page spread. The text is probably a story about the band, and above there is a sub title that says 'My Chemical Romance invites Kerrang! to their recording studio..." The text of this story is in a very small font and in white. This makes it just about readable but doesn't distract you from the pictures or headline. The rest of the page is just made up of pictures of the band members in a recording studio, presumably their own, and they have been displayed in black and white.

Centre of the page, there is a headline reading 'NME loves The Teenagers'. 'The Teenagers' is in bright blue block print with black writing, and is larger than any other writing on the page. This makes it the first thing you look at when you see the double page spread. Underneath this headline is a subtitle, written in black, bold writing and says 'Young, Dumb and full of.... Filthy tunes'. This is basically a summary of what the band is going to be portrayed as in the article. It means that most probably the whole article is going to be about how they are like what the sub title says. Bottom left, there is a box that has 'need to know: The Teenagers' written as the title above some text. The text is written in a format where there is a few words written in black and then a colon and an explanation in white. The usual format used in profiles. On the far right on the double page spread there is a black box with a few pictures inside, and a title saying 'Everyones talking about...'. This is followed by some band names which have pictures underneath them. This is obviously an article about what bands are doing well at the moment and perhaps why 'everyones' talking about them. Half way down the main article there is an enlarged quote. It has a block background which is bright blue and made to stand out as it is clearly one of the most important pieces of the article.

Analysis

Top right, there is a big red box with a Q inside, which indicates that the magazine is called Q and that is the logo that they use to distinguish there magazine from the others. Centre of the page is a big picture of Cheryl Cole standing in the rain, looking straight at the camera and seems to be licking something on her finger, probably a ring. This picture is almost guaranteed to catch the attention of all of the target audience of this magazine, and possibly another type of customer too. The banner at the top of the front cover reads “The UK’s Biggest Music Magazine”. This is obviously not a fact and is just an opinion of how the magazine sees itself and what they feel the status of the magazine is amongst its competition. This will also make customers who see the magazine think that they have won an award of some sort for a ‘biggest magazine in the UK’ competition. This will probably show the magazine to be good quality and show how confident they are about the quality of the content inside. Just below the picture of Cheryl Cole, there are 3 lines of writing, getting bigger and a different colour each time. The first line says “3 words”, which is obviously a song by Cheryl Cole and any fans that see the magazine will realise that, also the words are in medium sized red writing. The next line says “Cheryl Cole”. This is in large white writing and is very noticeable, and makes it pretty obvious that it’s related to the picture covering the page, of Cheryl Cole. The last line contains just one word, written is very big red writing; ‘Rocks’. This is insinuating that the magazine has an article or double page spread inside about how much Cheryl Cole ‘rocks’. Any fans of Cheryl Cole will see this and most likely buy the magazine just to find out about Cheryl Cole and why she ‘rocks’ so much. In the top right area of the page, there is an underlined sub title, which reads ‘2010 previewed’. It then goes on to explain in the same format; ‘introducing the 10 best new acts’ then another, smaller sub title which says ‘New Interviews; The White Stripes; Courtesy Love; U2; Paul Weller; Biffy Clyro and… a Hamster’. This is all pretty self explanatory, that there is going to be articles inside analysing their 10 favourite new acts, followed by interviews with all of the bands named above and probably something to do with a hamster. Below this is a grey circle, with the following written inside ‘John Lennon’s lost weekend, the untold story and the unseen pics’. This is pointing out that inside there will be an article or interview about John Lennon and something he did over one weekend. This will obviously attract any John Lennon fans and make them intrigued about what he has done and the pictures of him. Finally, on the left side of the page, there is six block printed lines all in the same format. The first is in red block print and says ‘Them Crooked Vultures’. The next one says ‘Vampire Weekend’ and is in white block print. The next says ‘Muse’ and is in white block print too, followed by ‘John Mayer’, ‘Midlake’ and ’50 cent & more’. All of these lines obviously mean that these are the things that will be inside the magazine with either articles, pictures or interviews on them.

Analysis.

Top left, there is the magazines logo so that their magazine can be identified by readers. The big red box will attract the attention of people who see it and the big 'Q' inside it is written in white, which makes it clear to read and also stands out.

At the bottom of the page, there is a block background, which uses white writing with a navy background. This makes it easier for reader to see as they wouldn't be able to read it on the white background which the writing would be on if the navy block background wasn't there. The writing inside it is just 4 different statements. The first one says Elbow, which suggests there is an interview or a story in the magazine about the band 'Elbow'. Then there is a red and blue forward slash which separates it from the next statement which says 'how to buy queen'. That suggests that there is going to be something inside the magazine about how the best ways to buy queen music is. Next, using the same eye-catching forward slash, says 'Pete Doherty'. This obviously shows that there is going to be an interview or article on Pete Doherty, which will attract any fans that he may have who see the magazine. Lastly there is a statement that says 'The hardest working corpses in music'. This is suggesting that there is going to be something inside that will tell readers their opinion of what dead musicians are having to 'work the hardest'. Across the middle of the page there is a horizontal heading that says 'Lily Allen', and just below in smaller writing it says 'and her wicked, wicked ways'. they colour scheme that this writing has been written in is half black and half white. This could have been done to try and represent her as a 'Cruella Deville' type character and obviously saying that she has wicked wicked ways is trying to say that there's is going to be an article inside proving that she has done something wrong. There are two panthers either side of Lily Allen, which is making her look dangerous and adds to the comparison of Cruella Deville. 

Top right there are 3 bullet points with big blue arrows pointing them out to readers. The first one is written in big black writing 'U2', and then next to it in smaller writing it says' Good lord, it's their masterpiece'. 'plus 181 more reviews'. This is making it pretty obvious that there is going to be 181 reviews about U2, and that U2 have had a concert or released an album recently that they have reviewed as their 'masterpiece'. The next bullet point, done in the same as the first, says 'I am a tiger, OASIS!' This is saying that there will be something about OASIS in the magazine and they have a new song called 'I am a Tiger', either that or there is something to do with the band OASIS and a tiger. The third and final bullet point says 'The 55 pint interview, Exclusive interview with The Stone Roses, Their own story in their own words'. This is showing that there will be an interview inside with The Stone Roses, and by the way its written it seems to be pretty casual and the '55 pint interview' is implying that there was 55 pints drunk throughout the interview. This will attract any Stone Roses fans. Last of all, to go with the theme of the front cover, there is a black and white circle surrounding text saying 'the 25 best rock movies'. This is again saying that there will be an article or a list of somebody's opinion 25 best rock films.  

Analysis

In big, bold white writing the Masthead 'Kerrang!' is written, as thats the name of the magazine and it needs to be obvious what magazine it is. At the very top of the cover there is a banner, reading 'Reading & Leeds 09, Rated! 8 page pullout! That shows that obviously there is going to be an 8 page pullout inside the magazine that rates the festivals in 2009. The main image on the cover is of the lead singer of Green Day with a Guitar, which looks like he's playing it. In green and black block print there are two quotes, one saying "this is the best show out there!" and under it says "Exclusive US tour report". That shows that there will be a report on Green Days tour around the United States, and that the overall theme of it is that its one the best if not the best show at the moment. To the left, there is a statement saying "WTF?! Harry Potter joins Gallows". Its pretty obvious what WTF means and thats the reaction to Harry Potter who has apparently "joined" a band called Gallows. Below this, on the left, there is a black box with inside written "New albums, The K Verdict, Muse, Megadith, All Time Low." and next to that there is a star with "Plus! over 20 more reviewed". That is saying that there will be album reviews on all of the bands named and plus 20 more inside. This will attract any fans that like the bands that are listed in the box. On the right there is a yellow box with a picture inside, presumably being Slipknot, as it says below it "Slipknot Storm Memory Line". 

The headline on this double page spread is a pull quote from the text, meaning that the headline is obviously related to the text below. The background is the same all over and is uncluttered and white which makes it easy for readers to concentrate just on the picture and the text. Lily Allen, covering the entire right side of the double page spread, has been dressed in a bright red checkered shirt, which stands out from everything on the other side of the page, and obviously its the first thing that readers will look at. The article is started off with a 'drop capital'. The text is separated into four identical columns, separated by gutters. Lily Allen is stood with her hands on her hips, with her wrists facing upwards to show the tattoo on her right one. This is done to make her look more rebellious, which people who buy this magazine would be interested in. Her face and eyes are directly looking at the camera, connoting a demanding and attention seeking image for her. At the bottom of each page is a the page number, the name of the magazine and the date. The name of the magazine is in the house style font and colour as it always is whilst the date is in a smaller font and is in italic. This helps to create a house style which is the magazine's design that distinguishes it from the other music magazines. The by-line is written at the side of the head line in the same style as the main coverline and Lily Allen's name in the lead. Lily Allen's name is written in the top right hand corner of the page in a black box. This tells the reader who the article is about.