Music Magazine Evaluation

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Name: Lucy
Candidate number: 2434
Centre: 33435 Aquinas College
AS Media Studies
OCR G321: Foundation Portfolio

 Amongst my target audience, clothes and shoes are the
most popular fashion items to buy. Followed by makeup
and the ‘other’ option. This has helped me in terms of the
fashion side of my magazine.
 The majority of people interested in the
contents of my magazine are women, this
helped me to decide of my target audience.
Q1: Who would be the audience for your media product?
 The most popular shop amongst my readers is Topshop, other
popular shops are New Look, Zara, River Island and Miss
Selfridge. Due to this the largest fashion article is based around
Topshop clothing, but there are also other fashion items so that
it appeals to a wide market.

 Only 1 person who answered my survey said they haven't
been to any gigs since January 2012 and all the others said
they had been to between 1 and 5 or 6 and 10. This shows me
that my readers enjoy music events and will be interested in
the latest gig information.
 None of the options for this question had less than 30% and
the most popular options were, going shopping, going to
parties and clubs and going out with friends. This shows
that my target audience being active and going out, to cater
for this I included a cover story called ‘where to go’ which
suggests indie based events that my target audience will be
interested in.
 My target audience said they spend most of their money
on clothes, makeup and gigs. This shows me what
articles they would be interested in, such as the gig
guides/reviews and the clothing compassions.

 My target audience chose 5 indie bands/artists as there
favourite, this helped me to chose which artists should
feature in my magazine and which artists should play a
larger part in the articles.
 The most popular festival amongst my target audience is
Reading and Leeds, this helped me because I wanted my
main festival article to appeal to my target audience so it had
to be based on a festival they are interested in. my
competition prize is also festival tickets so I had to chose a
festival that my target market would want to win tickets to.
 My target audience said the existing publications they
already read are Look, Company, Cosmopolitan, NME and
Kerrang. This gave me an idea of what to base my magazine
on in order to give my readers what they want.

 My magazine has a similar target audience to existing magazines Q and
NME; however it specifically targets women as I feel there is a gap in
the market for an indie music magazine aimed at females. This would
be my unique selling point. The females I am targeting my magazine at
are aged 18 - 25 and are likely to be in education (university) or work.
Q1: Who would be the audience
for your media product?

18-25 year olds
Women
People who are in
education (university) or
work
People who shop at
Who spend money
on..
People who
go to gigs
and festivals
People
interested in
indie music
People who
are influenced
by

 Based on my audience research, I have found
that my young female target audience are
interested in fashion as well as indie music, so I
have decided to create a niche magazine that
combines the two.

 NME’s target audience is
specifically males aged 16-
24 which is shown by the
colour schemes they use. I
wanted to create a
magazine that covers
similar contents but is
aimed at women of a
similar age which is why I
have chosen to use purple
as the main colour on my
publication.

Primary audience:
 My primary audience is my target market of females aged
18-25 who are in education or work and who are interested
in indie music and fashion.
Secondary audience:
 My secondary audience is people who may read my
magazine because a friend or family member has purchased
it. My magazine content will still be aimed at the primary
audience but this may not be the only reader.
Demographics:
 The demographic for my magazine would be based on
people who do not like the mainstream music that is played
in the charts and who want something different from what
is already available for them.
Audience idols:
 In my research I have been looking at which celebrities my
readers would aspire to be like and enjoy reading about;
Beyoncé, Florence and the machine and Lana Del Rae are
popular choices amongst my readers.
Ideal readers:
 My ideal readers would be people who aspire to be like the
audience idols I have included in my magazine; they would
model their hair, fashion and style on them. These are the
artists that have their own style and do not follow the
mainstream crowd which is what my readers aspire to do.

Q2: How does your media product
represent particular social groups?
Representation
 Representation is how specific messages are sent to audiences but filtering a person,
group or brand.
 Representations aim to include the desired target audience and exclude groups of
people that would not enjoy the magazine.

Mode Of Address:
By using intertextuality within my features, I have
created a code that the audience of my publication
would understand. By saying ‘this is who we want to
be’ I have related the story to my readers attitudes
because they are the type of people who want to be
different and stand out.
Q2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Ideal Reader:
My target market are interested in indie bands and music acts, so I have chosen my
cover band because they represent the stereotypical band that my readers would aspire
to be like. Their pose looks genuine and realistic showing that there is no gimmicks
which is what my readers want. The girl in the band is who my reader would aspire to
be, she is wearing a red baggy jumper with a gold spiky necklace and her hair and
makeup is quite natural which contrasts to the typically female
cover girl who would be completely made-up and
dressed for a photo shoot. Going against the traditional
look for a cover girl shows that she has a rebellious side,
which is what my readers like in their idols.

 In order to appeal to my target audience, my cover star needs to be
an idealistic version of my reader; someone they can aspire to be. My
audience want someone who is fun and different but also who is a
real person just like them.
 On the next slide there is two images of Beyoncé (a celebrity that my
readers are interested in) showing the difference between her on
stage and off stage

 On the left you can see that on
stage, she wears little clothing
and a lot of makeup to
enhance her performance
which is what my readers like
because she is expressing
herself and being different.
However in the right hand
photo we see that she is more
natural and wearing street-
appropriate clothing because
she is spending time with her
family. This is how my readers
aspire to be.

COVER STAR:
 I tried to make my cover star represent the idealistic version of my reader, she is
the same age and gender as my target audience which makes it easier for them
to relate to what she talks about. In all the photographs of my star, she gives off
an edgy, rebellious side which is what appeals to my readers, I feel this is
created by the half-smile facial expressions she is pulling and by the spiky gold
chain she is wearing in two of the images.

Q3: What kind of media institution
might distribute your product?
DISTRIBUTION
 IPC media (the publisher of NME) would publish my magazine and I
intend for it to be a sister magazine to NME that focus’ on the female
side of their target market.
 My magazine will be published weekly to keep my readers up to date
with all the upcoming gig information that they require and to regularly
let them know what we thought of previous gigs. The price will be £2.10
every week.

Q3: What kind of media institution might distribute your product?
Front cover
DPS
 By including the website address on the front page I am immediately
telling my readers that there is another option of information for them. It
is also a good way to attract new readers because they may want to look
at the website to see what the magazine is about before they start buying
the weekly issues.
 I have also included a magazine twitter account which can be found on
the double page spread, along with the twitter address of the band. This
will be interesting to the readers because they can get in touch with our
editors and request the content for the next issue or give feedback on
what they thought of an issue.

Front cover
Contents page
 On the contents page I have specified a website feature in the ‘every
week’ section. I have given specific detail about the direct link between
our website including the gig information and a ticket website where our
readers can get the tickets they are interested in.
 One of my aims was to encourage my target audience to make it a habit
to come to INDIvidual for all their information and lifestyle choices, by
having a direct link between my magazine’s website and a ticket sale
website, my readers will no longer need to waste time looking for better
or cheaper tickets.
 Having this link will encourage brand loyalty meaning my readers will
continue to buy my magazine, this will mean that my advertisers will
continue to pay for magazine space.

 DISTRIBUTION is the ways in which the audience to find your product.
Ways I have done this are:
 Twitter links with celebrities
 Subscription
Magazine website
INDIvidual
@individualmagazine
Indie music news, updates, events and more
Tweets by @lucyhanson and others
www.INDIvidualmagazine.com
Magazine twitter account
Merchandise

Q4: In what ways does your media
product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real
media products?

Front Cover
Q4: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms
and conventions of real media products?
The forms and conventions of real media products, that my magazine
used are:
 Main image and headline – the majority of the space on the front
cover is occupied by the main image of the ‘cover star’ band which is
accompanied by the main headline and pull quote describing the
story. I got my inspiration form the front cover of NME, I think the
dimensions of the main image are interesting to look at which is
what I aimed to create with my own main image, I also got the main
headline and pull quote idea from the design on the NME magazine.
I also used the ‘plus’ section idea from NME but made it individual
to my magazine by including secondary images to accompany the
text.
 Masthead – the mast head is bold and takes up the full width of the
magazine at the top which draws attraction to it. I used the idea
shown in billboard, where the masthead is in front of the main
image, I feel that this highlights the magazines identity. For the font
of the mast head I took my inspiration from Q magazine where it is a
block square with the letter inside, this gave me the idea of how to
highlight ‘INDI’.
 Secondary stories – besides the main story there are 3 other
secondary stories and a ‘plus’ section at the bottom of the page. This
is to give the reader more information about what the magazine
contains. I took my inspiration for the layout of the secondary stories
from the Q font cover, I liked the way the were set out to the bottom
left hand side of the page.

Front Cover
developed are:
 Colour scheme – the usual colour scheme for an ‘indie’ based media
product is red, white and black, which can be clearly seen in the excising
publications Q and NME. I used some elements of these colours in my
magazine but my main colour scheme was purple. I used the colour purple
because it reflected my female target audience but didn’t patronise them in
a since that a bright pink colour would of done.
 Banner/ pugs – I liked the simple text above the masthead of Billboard so I
wanted to do something similar with my magazine. After trying out
several ideas I decided that the most relevant thing to put at the top of my
magazine would be the pug. I took the idea form NME to have a
competition as my offer and I know my target market are very interested
in Leeds festival. In contrast to the pug at the top of NME, I wanted to
make sure my pug stood out but not more than the masthead so I made the
text smaller but made the bow around it a darker shade of grey.
challenged are:
 Target market – Q has a unisex target market but has a wider music
genre base, NME targets indie music specifically like my magazine
but its main target market is males aged 16-24 and billboard is an
indie-pop magazine that targets women. My target audience
inspiration came from NME’s indie fan base but aimed at billboards
market. I chose to make a magazine aimed directly at women aged
18-25 because I feel that there is not a publication specifically for this
audience.

Contents Page
The forms and conventions of real media products, that my magazine used
are:
 Page numbers – I used the typical idea seen in NME and Q to have my
page numbers in a different colour to the rest of the text. I did this
because I feel that the page numbers are one of the most important parts
of the contents page.
 Sub-headings – I split my contents into 3 sub sections; every week, new
features and on the cover. To make these obvious I highlighted them in a
purple box which contrasted against the grey background. I took my
inspiration for this from the Q contents page which is what I based my
contents page on. I also made the font colour of the subheadings
different from the other text, I got the idea for this from the billboard
contents page.
 Editor letter– although it is not shown on my magazine examples I have
included an editors letter because in every magazine there is one
included and I felt that this was the most appropriate place to out it as
the first main page inside the magazine.
 Consistent colour scheme – it is a common feature for the colour scheme
of a magazine to be consistent, this can be seen in all three of my
examples; Q, NME and Billboard. So I made sure that my background
colour was white and any main texts or boxes were purple so that my
contents page linked to my front cover. I also used black and white text
on my contents page to like with the secondary images on the front
cover.

Contents Page
developed are:
 Layout – most contents pages use more than one image to give the reader
an incite to the contents of the magazine which can be seen on the
billboard contents page. I only wanted to use the one main image like
NME as I felt this highlighted the most important feature of the magazine
issue. For my contents page I took my inspiration from the Q contents page
but to make it my own I changed the layout round so that the image was in
the bottom left hand corner and the text was above it and to the left hand
side of the page.
challenged are:
 Advertisements – I do not have any advertisements on my contents page
which feature in some contents pages such as the NME contents page.

Double Page Spread
The forms and conventions of real media
products, that my magazine used are:
 Dropped cap – most double page spreads
include a dropped cap at the start of the main
text, I used the NME idea to have a slightly
larger first letter but I used the Q magazine
idea to keep it the same could as the rest of the
front.
 Band name – I included a large cold heading
of the bands name to tell the reader who the
band are. I took the idea for my heading from
NME, I liked the bold square font and decided
it looked good in the left hand corner above
the main text of the article.
 Subheadings – to separate the questions and
answers in the interview I made the question
font bold and I also used red text to highlight
which band member was giving each
response. I took this idea from the Billboard
double page spread because I think the black
and red contrast worked really well.

Double Page Spread
products, that my magazine developed are:
 Layout – all double page spreads include a
main image but usually they are located
heavily to one side on the page as seen by all
of my examples hover the Billboard image
does stretch partly across the middle. This
inspired me to put my image right in the
centre of the page enabling me to include text
on both sides.
products, that my magazine challenged are:
 Twitter link – because I want to create a link
between my readers and the bands that
feature in my magazine, it is a regular feature
for a band/artists twitter name to appear on
the page which can be found next to the
bands name in this example.

Q5: How did you attract/address
your audience?
 The codes, conventions and features that I have used to attract my
target audience are:
Bold masthead - using a play on
words that appeals to the type of
person I'm aiming my magazine at.
Star’s eyes in top 1/3
Eye contact with audience – to engage the reader and
make them think that the cover stars are talking directly
to them
Star’s facial expression – half smile to show that they
aren't trying to please anyone they are just being
themselves, which is what my readers would want as
their idols

 The codes, conventions and features that I have used to attract my
target audience are:
Q5: How did you attract/address your audience?
Clear colour scheme and
consistent fonts to create
brand ID: purple, black,
white, yellow
Banner with prize – top
of magazine to catch eye
of reader
At least five features to
convey value for money
– including a plus arrow
at the bottom of the page
to add more detail
Price
Different size text to
show audience which
features are most
important – ‘Next Door
Girl’ is the largest cover
story as it is the main
interview in the
magazine

Q5: How did you attract/address your audience?
 To address my target audience:
From the cover band (mainly the girl in the
image) I intended to give the reader a rebellious,
different feel to the magazine to show that my
magazine is something new and worth reading.
The girl in the band on my cover will inspire my
readers because she is natural and relaxed in
comparison to the typical cover girl.
I used different shades of purple throughout my
magazine which is feminine but it not patronising and
typically girly such as the colour pink.
The mode of address I have used in my
magazine is informative (such as in the
reviews and interviews), friendly and
like an equal. This makes the reader feel
relaxed and comfortable which allows
them to take in all the information and
enjoy the magazine.
I have used bold bubble-writing
fronts to show that the magazine is
relaxed and enjoyable.

Q6:What have you learnt about
technologies from the process of
constructing this product?
 Using Adobe Flash player I was able to edit online fonts and remover
the back grounds of photos. On the next slides I will show you step by
step how I did this.

Q6:What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing
this product?
 Removing the background from an image
Using the magic eraser tool I was able to select and delete each section of the
back ground, in order to remove any smaller sections I used the eraser tool
which allowed me to pay specific attention to detail. Then on PowerPoint I
used the shape tool to add a grey square as the background.

this product?
 Using 2 images to create 1 image
Using the magic eraser tool, I was able to remove the background of each image and make
Hayden the only person in the 2nd photo. Then I opened both the photos on PowerPoint and I
positioned the images on top of each other where I wanted them and grouped the photos to make
one image.

this product?
 Changing colour of text and adding a stroke effect
Using this
colour pallet I
was able to
change the
colour of the
text once I had
pasted it into
photo shop.
Using the stroke tool I
added an effect to put a
colour around the outside
of the text. I also used the
eraser tool to remove the
back ground

Q7: Looking back at your
preliminary task (Aquinas College magazine),
what do you feel you have learnt in
the progression to the full product?
 Technology used:
 Publisher
 Adobe Photoshop
 Digital cameras

Q7: Looking back at your preliminary task (Aquinas College magazine), what
do you feel you have learnt in the progression to the full product?
FRONT COVER
 Pug in the top left hand corner
to attract the readers attention
 Bold main feature
 Larger font than other
cover stories
 Quotation marks to show
that it is speech linking to
the main image
 Black and white text
 The black text was
more effective against
the grey background,
whereas the white text
stood out better against
the image
 Secondary images
 The secondary images
add more detail abut
what is inside the
magazine

FRONT COVER
 Fonts:
 I prefer the fonts on my music magazine
because they link to my genre better than
the fonts on my Aquinas magazine.
 Images:
 I included more secondary images on my
music magazine because I felt that my
Aquinas magazine didn’t give enough
detail as to what was inside the magazine.
 Pug:
 I didn’t like the pug that I used on my Aquinas magazine because it is to dark and doesn’t
attract the reader, in order to improve this on my music magazine I made it into a banner
and used bright colours for the LEEDS button.
 Main headline:
 My main headline on my Aquinas magazine is small and the same as the other stories
whereas my main headline on my music magazine is bold and a different colour, I like this
because it shows the reader what the main focus of the magazine is.

PHOTOGRAPHY
 The cover star has direct address which
makes the reader feel engaged in the
magazine, it also creates a bond between
the cover star and the reader because
they feel as though the star is directly
talking to them.
 The background of the photo is a pale
grey which creates negative space and
highlights the photo, making the cover
star the centre of attention.

CHOSING A COVER PHOTO
 This image
made the cover
star look small
and as though
the reader was
looking down
on them.
 I chose the
image that
used direct
address
because I
wanted to
create a bond
between my
cover star
and my
readers

CONTENTS PAGE
 I anchored the text
to make it fit around
the picture
 The page numbers are
bold to make them stand
out in comparison to the
other text, this is because
it is the most important
piece of information on
the page.
 I separated the
contents into 5
categories to make it
easier for the reader to
find what they were
looking for; on the
cover, fashion and
shopping, TV and film,
music and sport.
 I used sub-headings to
show clearly what
topics my magazine
covers.

CONTENTS PAGE
 Layout:
 I prefer the layout of my music magazine
because it is more structured; having all the
features down the left hand side makes it
easier to view all the information and
having more information about each article
adds depth to my contents page.
 Images:
 Having more images on my music
magazine gives the reader a better idea of
who or what each article is about.
 Page numbers:
 By putting the page numbers in front of the article names and by making them purple in my
music magazine, I feel I have made them more obvious to the reader where as in my
Aquinas magazine they blend into the other text.
 Editors letter:
 I prefer the placing of my editors letter in my music magazine because it is still prominent
but does not distract the reader from the main purpose of the contents page.

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