Music Magazine Title - Conventions

For the title I wanted to pick a title that was catchy and could link into the music world, specifically the genre of music, I also wanted to keep the title to one word to keep it short and make it memeroable to the reader. I played around with a few words but settled on 'Culture', the word is catchy and links into the 'popular culture' genre of music which my magazine is all about, it also isn't too short or too long. The title will run along the top of the magazine in a bold font inspired by my style models.


My first draft of my logo started off with a plain black and white logo:

After looking at my style models and other music magazine examples logos, I noticed that most magazines including my style models had various colours going on so I played around with the colours red, grey, white and black to come up with a logo that fits in with the other music magazines and also looked at embossing my logos and the stroke and outer glow on them:

After looking at my style models again and other music magazines I noticed that most of them have flat logos and it was rare to find one with an embossed/3D logo. Because of this I have chosen the top logo which is red and grey with a black outline because the simplicity draws in readers and a lot of music magazines just consists of a simple logo. I may make a few changes to my logo in the future so it fits in with the front cover.

Camera Angles

My camera angle used for my front cover will be inspired from my 3 style models and I'll be using a medium close up of my models face, I feel a medium close up works well on a front cover as a main image and draws readers to the magazine, it also keeps the magazine simple but its effective. For the double page spread ill be using a wide shot to fit in the whole of my model, which will also allow her to bleed from one page to the other. For my contents page I'll be using a medium close up but have my model use different poses to the front page to add a variety of shots to my magazine.

Props

For this photoshoot I will be using no props. On my front cover the simplicity of just my models face doesn't require a prop as it could potentially make the photo too busy ruining the front cover, for the contents page the image will be similar to the front cover but in a different pose and possibly a different angle and for my double page spread it will just be my models on one page bleeding into the other which won't require a prop.

Costume

I will be using a very plain costume which will just be a black top for my front cover and a leather jacket for my double page spread and contents page. The front cover image will be a medium close up so most of the costume won't be seen, the inspiration from this is from my style models, comparing the Q style models against the billboard style model has shown me the different between a dark top and a light top; the light top takes a lot of focus off the face and makes the focus point bigger whereas the artists in Q have used darker tops which keeps the focus on the face and makes the photo seem less busy. I'll also be using make up within my shoot, I'll be using powder on Erin's face to stop her face shining from the light boxes which will allow the camera to have a better focus, I'll also be using subtle pink lipstick to add colour to the lips, and a thin layer of eyeliner along the top of the eye to keep unto date with current make up styles. I will also be using mascara on Erin to make her eyelashes stand out and look big and feminine.

Lipstick Example

Eyeliner and Mascara Example

Location

For my photoshoot I'll be using a very plain location with low lighting which will allow me to use light boxes to direct the light on the face onto the face which will allow me to give the face even lighting. The reason I have chosen this is so I can easily remove the background as the picture will be on a plain wall and will allow me to put in a grey gradient background.

Style Models

 I have chosen 3 style models for inspiration for my magazines, I will be using these to refer back to for the layout and design of my own music magazine. What drawn me to these magazines was the darkness of the background on all of them, and the brightness of the face. For the Q magazine featuring Amy Winehouse the way the picture of her overlaps the logo of Q but still allowing the readers to see most of the logo. For the magazine featuring Lily Allen the brightness of her picture draws me in and inspires me to do something similar for my magazine. The Q magazine starring Cheryl Cole inspired me as the background is very dark and has a slight grey gradient to it and it makes the viewer fully focus on Cheryl's face. I will be using small elements from all of these magazines to inspire me to create mine in a professional manner but also with my own touch.

Actors

For my magazine photo shoot I'll be using Erin Evans as my model. On all 3 of my style models the artists featured all have dark hair which helps to bring out the brightness of their face and helps to define their face from their hair which gives the reader one thing to focus on. Her hair will likely blend into the background which just leaves her face making it a focus point for the audience. Erin gives off a gothic but popular look and fits in to the current chart image. She will be wearing a black top which will draw more attention to her face as it will also blend into the background.

Research for my magazine

My previous posts have looked into/explored/analysed the popular culture genre magazine's and researched the design of them and what sort of content they feature. I used the internet to look into how the popular culture magazines are laid out and content featured on the main page. I also researched into the price of the magazine which helped me to establish its target audience and also helped me work out pricing and content for my target audience.

Therefore my age genre that my magazine is going to be aimed at Teens to Young adults aged 16-22, this is because my content is going to be more mature and feature a range of popular artists who are in the charts. My magazine is going to be aimed at both genders as it won't feature gender aimed content and the style of the magazine and the content will be equally suitable for both genders. After researching all the genres my magazine's genre is going to be popular culture as that is what my target audience is aimed around and it's also the genre I have the most knowledge on. The job status of my target audience will be students either in college or uni as the pricing and content is aimed more towards that age due to maturity of it. My magazine will cost from £3.50-£4.50 which isn't suitable for a younger audience as it will cost to much, but for the students it will suit their income and be affordable for them to buy. It will feature artists such as Justin Bieber, Adele, Sigma, Sam Smith and many other artists who are hitting the charts with alot of the their hits so they will fit into my magazine.

Featured Stars

Alot of the stars featured in the magazines Q and Billboard are worldwide stars and are from all over the globe with artists such as Justin Bieber, Adele and many others. Whereas Top of the pops features more british based artists with some American acts featured.

Q

Q is aimed at middle class people, it is also aimed at young adults and older teenagers as the style of the magazine suggests that it isn't suitable for younger audience's and the artists shown uses more explicit language compared to other artists aimed at different genres. Q is a unisex magazine and from the style doesn't have a main targeted gender. 

Billboard

Billboard is produced weekly at a premium priced so it is aimed at people who are once again upper class. It is aimed a young adults from around 18-30 and features mature content which wouldn't be suitable for most people under the age of 18. It is a unisex magazine and isn't aimed at a certain gender

Top Of The Pops

Top Of The Pops is aimed at working/middle class people. it is aimed at the younger generation from around 7-14 years old and features quiz's and games aimed at a younger audience, it also has artists featured that create age appropriate content. It is mainly aimed at females as the main house style colour is pink and it likes to focus on girls fashion and male crushes.

Owners of Style Model

Q

Q is owned by Bauer Media Group, who are a worldwide media production company who own various Magazines, Radio Stations, Tv Programs and more all over the world. One magazine owned by Bauer is Kerrang, and many other aren't music based. 

Billboard

Billboard is owned by Prometheus Global Media, they're known worldwide but based in the United States and most of the content is based off American Artists. Prometheus own 4 magazines that are all based on different genres but are also known worldwide. 

Top Of The Pops

Top Of The Pops is owned by Immediate Media Company who is one of the most well known Media based business' in the UK. It also owns the BBC's magazines and many others  aswell which have a range of genre's and hobbies. 

Style Models

The three magazines I'll be choosing to looking at in more detail are Q, Billboard and Top Of The Pops.

Q

Q is a magazine that provides content on the latest artists and the genre is popular culture. Each magazine is £4.20 per issue and issues are distributed once a month and currently have 354 issues. They have a big logo which is simple but well recognised as it is just a big "Q" on the left hand side of the magazine. 

Billboard

Billboard is a magazine that consists of contents of the latest artists and the genre is popular culture. The magazine is £5.50 per issue and has 127 volumes and 36 issues, it produces a new magazine weekly as it provides weekly updated content for readers. It uses the same consistent logo to keep a consistent house style and to allow the readers to recognise the brand. 

 

Top of The Pops

Top of the pops is a popular culture magazine that is aimed at young teenagers and children and provides age suitable content and artists aimed at teens and children. They're monthly magazines and priced at £4.75 for each magazine, they also include other content not including music such as youtuber's to try and expand their audience. They have produced 269 issues and the magazine is run by the BBC.

What Magazines Interest Me

The genre that interests me is the popular culture genre as I enjoy and know a lot about that genre as it is my most listened to and also the genre I have most knowledge on

Magazine Genre's

Each music magazine is targeted towards a certain genre of music to make the content specific to the audiences preferred genre.
The magazine examples i used provide array of genre's.
Q - Q's genre provides content on all the latest music and mainly uses artists that have recently brought out music that is popular and within the top 100
Billboard - billboards genre is similar to Q's and mainly uses content which is current and popular
Kerrang - kerrangs genre is rock and only features content for all rock fans
Mojo - Mojo's genre is also rock but more classic rock for fans of older content
We Pop - We pop is a pop genre aimed at younger children which provides content on the latest pop artists with popular hits
Top Of The Pops - Top of the pops is a magazine that provides content of the music in the charts and provides content from the artists features in the charts
Rolling Stones - Rolling Stones magazine also features popular content and features content from artists who are currently popular

Music Magazines Examples