Peer Feedback:

Jodie Winter-Brook

Overall Assessment: The blog is set out well and it 'flows' well too. You can see you have put a lot of thought into how you want your front cover to look in regards to costume etc... There aren't many posts, you could add more detail to your blog about extra research you have done and more inspiration of existing music magazines in your chosen genre. There are a lot of media 'things' on your blog such as prezi's and video's.

Strengths of front cover: The image actually looks music like and as if it belongs on a music magazine of your genre. The way you have positioned all of the text in each coverline makes them all look like the belong together and you can easily tell which ones belong together. You can easily tell which coverline is the main one.

Areas For Development For Front Cover: Although the model is very pretty some of the blank places on your front cover could have being filled by a different pose she was doing or you could even make the image bigger? Either that or you could add more coverlines.

Front Cover Drafts

  First Draft

This is my first draft of my front cover for my music magazine a few things needed to be changed but I was happy with the layout of the magazine and the font I had used. I needed to move the barcode to the bottom and make this smaller as it was to big and not positioned properly. Also it isnt distinctly telling you who the main cover story is about due to too big font for an Alicia Keys cover line. There was also a lot of moving about to do with the cover lines and little things to be added.

Second Draft

                                                          

On my second draft I had moved things about and added a website and price to the magazine as well as changing the quote but I felt this didnt suit my genre. Also the Alicia Keys headline was still taking to much away from the main cover story and again the cover stories needed moving around.

                                                                      Third Draft

 

On my third draft I wanted to make the magazine less busy and make sure it was more clear to the readers.

Fourth Draft

I was unhappy with the layout of my sell lines and felt the magazine looked messy. I added a new image with the model wearing a red top so that it wet with the colour theme of my music magazine.

 Fifth Draft

In my fifth draft of my front cover I added another image of the model so that the main story was clear as well as switching round cover lines and the barcode.

Sixth Draft

This is my sixth draft and after some feedback from peer and teachers I had even more little bits of conventional features to change.

Seventh Draft

This is my Seventh draft of my front cover. After asking many media teachers and other media students what they thought about my product I took into account that the footer needed more of a sell line and the image i added looked more like a poster give away so I changed this to a free give away to attract the reader. I got feedback that my cover lines were to wide so I shortened them and stacked the font on top of each other to attract the reader and then be able to have a better focus on the main artist within the middle of the front cover. I moved my plus section and added a sell line that links to my contents page which also attracts the reader as they're able to win tickets to a concert.

Eighth Draft

After feeling there was to much on the left handside of my front cover I decided to move the barcode to a horizontal way placing the date above. I also moved the 'Win tickets to a concert of your choice' into a circle and closer to the image of my model, this will entice and engage readers more as it will stand out more being on a block background it will also relate more to my genre as you commonly find this on pop magazines.

Nineth Draft

After moving the chance to win concert tickets I felt it stood out a bit more and was not good enough for the magazine, therefore I put three circles on top of each other to make a new shape and have my win content less structured and I was also able to add  and further promote my online website by saying that there is more online, this is not enough information for the reader to know whether there is more competitions online or posters of the artist, which is good as it will intrigue them and they may want to look online at the magazine website. I feel the 'win' article looks more of a common convention now as it stand outs against the regular articles that are stories and looks more fun.

Tenth and Final Draft 

After a lot of feedback from my teachers I came up with my tenth and final draft of my music magazine. I am happy with the product and feel that the little improvements that I have took action with have really helped it to be a better looking front cover.

Image Manipulation on Photoshop

Original Images for My Magazine Product

These are the images I took of my model for my magazine product but I feel some of them have come out better than others. I first started with the idea of a pink top with red and silver jewels on her lips I felt this made her look fierce yet expensive but when the images came out I wasn't happy with them and felt they was messy as the colour scheme didn't match. I then took some more pictures of my model with a red blouse without the tie at the top tied to give off a casual yet sophisticated look,t his time, taking the colour scheme into consideration but using a better lighting too to give an overall clearer look of the model.

Photoshoot Progress

Here you can see my model during the photo shoot sitting and standing for the front page, contents and double page spread pictures. I took a lot of images at the shoot to make sure I have a wide range of variety in images for my magazine with different lighting and shot angles used as well as taking the colour scheme into consideration with the clothing of the model.

Make Up Inspiration for my pictures

These are a few ideas of the make up design I would like for the front cover of my music magazine. I want my artist to have diamante lips to give off an expensive look of the magazine. I want my artist to have smokey eyes or eyes with black eyeliner as this highlights their eyes and makes them stand out, which i want my magazine to do. It also creates the mysterious look which attracts my target audience, as the well known artist could be their role model and boys may be attracted to the particular artist on my front cover.

Focus Group

In class me and Nadine did a focus group. We was asked questions to do with the genre of magazines we read and what we can do to improve magazines as well as other questions. This helps us out with the ideas of our final magazine as its gives me a perspective of what someone thinks about magazines from my own age group and then I can include my own ideas as this is what other people my age may want for a magazine as a pop/chart magazine which is mature for the 16-25 age range as there is a gap in the market for this.

Thought Shower and Initial Ideas

Target Audience Research on Prezi

                                     Market Research

 

I have been researching many different front covers, contents pages and double page spreas from different pop music magazines. Blender Magzine (front cover) have used similar colours to the Top of the Pops magazine with the blue, white and grey I think this is because the aqua blue stands out promptly from the white and grey/black colours used in the magazines which would attract us to the magazines. All three magazines have used very well known artists too which will be recognisable and role models to many readers across the world which will attract the reader to buy the magazines/ The Q magazine contents page is again running with a theme throughout as it used black, red and white on all of its pages this white writing is always made to stand out by a filled red or black background behind it, they use big bold numbers instead of the word page and have different sections for example 'every month' 'review' 'features' and 'women in music' this divides up the contents page as well its almost a long story short and gives us a glimpse of what that sections of the magazine will be about which makes us read on. I like this idea and may even use it for my own contents page. All three magazines use pull quotes which I am going top use when producing my magazine front cover, contents and double page spread as well as different fonts and sizes.

 I then looked at Billboards magazine front cover,Top of the Pops contents page and Q magazines double page spread. Billboard and Top of the pops have both used electric colours which instantly stand out to me. The billboard front cover uses electrifying red and I like how the girl is covering the end of the Billboard title but we still know which magazine it is due to it being a popular magazine which I could try out on my front cover. The different font colours and layout of the font on the front cover makes everything stand out and we can instantly read specific words that entice us to read on, also the way it is all on the left stacked on top of each other catches my eyes but different stories are separated by faint grey lines which I could use when producing my own magazine front cover. Top of the pops have used a specific layout that is used in every magazine. They have placed the front covering the contents and drawn arrows to the stories from the front cover and just placing page numbers which are big and bold to help us find the stories but then also added sections again like the Q magazine from about placing stories that relate to each other in a specific section. I am also going to take in account that have used images relating to other articles on the contents too. Q magazine have been very clever in this double page spread, again using their usual colours of red black and white with all the image relating with the font colours as Shakira is wearing the same colours too which I could take into account with my images but I like the cleverness of the font and that it is placed on a white box slant but its as if we're reading a magazine within a magazine due to it being on the slant and not filling the bottom half of the page. Like the top of the pops contents it has used a thumbnail image instead of using the one image.



The front covers of all the magazines I have researched are generally women which I have taken into account when I am going to produce my own magazine and are always the sexy looking pictures not fun pictures even on WE <3 POP magazine which is a target audience of children from around 8-13. When I looked at this front cover the artists name instantly stood out at me which they have used font bigger than any other on the front page which I could use as an idea for my magazine. It is a very busy magazine due to it being targeted at children this could show how busy and full packed the magazine is going to be if thats only the front cover which could be a key element to selling my own magazine this is unlike other magazine front covers which are for an older audience as they are less busy sometimes but more mature and simplistic. Fonts are highlighted and pull quoted have been used which is also used in the Blender magazine double page spread. Thumbnails are also used on the front page of WE <3 POP as well as the Billboard contents page. The front covers layout of the font is all over and even over the middle part of the picture as we recognise Katy Perry straight away. The contents page text is all laid out the left of the page and again just used numbers with a bigger font and bold which most magazine contents I have researched have used which I think I will use with my own magazine contents. Billboard have also put their name and the date of the issue in the top right hand corner which I like reinforcing themselves again to the reader. Red is a very dominant colour in magazines as I have noticed over my research which I may use in my own magazine as you can see this on the contents from Billboard and the Double Page Spread of Blender magazine. On the double page spread the image and large tect is very dominant and the text is more towards the bottom right hand corner which I like again with the re-occuring theme of red, white and black which is like the Q magazine. The atrists name 'Florence Welch' is in blue which instantly stand out to us too as it is the only text in blue on the whole page this is another idea for my own magazine.

Uses and Gratifications

The audience is active and uses or buys the text for their own gratification/pleasure. In this model the audience holds the power as it is up to them whether they buy the text or not. Therefore it is vital the producers meet the needs of the intended audience. In this model the audience holds the power as it is up to them whether they buy the text or not. Therefore it is vital the producers meet the needs of the intended audience. The uses and gratifications model demonstrates that consumers have wants and desires and consume the types of chosen media for individual needs.



Researchers Blulmer and Katz expanded on the Uses and gratifications theory and published their own in 1974, stating that individuals might choose and use a text for the following purposes

•Diversion - escape from everyday problems and routine.
•Personal Relationships - using the media for emotional and other interaction, eg) substituting soap operas for family life

•Personal Identity - finding yourself reflected in texts, learning behaviour and values from texts
•Surveillance - Information which could be useful for living eg) weather reports, financial news, holiday bargains

Since then, the list of Uses and Gratifications has been extended, particularly as new media forms have come along (eg video games, the internet) 

Music Magazine Target Audience Questionnaire

After looking at the demographics tables I decided to ask ninety peers to answer a few questions in relation to my magazine and this would help build and create my music magazine as well as put price and genre into perspective. 

How old are you?      

16 years old - 25

17 years old - 26 

18 years old - 18

19 years old - 10

20 years old - 10

21 years old - 5

22 years old - 3

23 years old - 3

24 years old - 0

Which genre of music do you most like listening to?

Pop/Chart - 28

RNB/Rap - 13

Rock - 15 

Indie/ Alternative - 20

Country/Folk - 5

Dance - 9 

Classical - 0

Drum n Bass - 0

Do you read/buy magazines?

Yes - 90

No - 0

Which of these magazines have you purchased in the past?

Q Magazine - 22

NME - 17

KERRANG - 12

Billboard - 7

Top Of The Pops - 15

Rolling Stones - 13

Other - 4

How Often Do You Buy Music Magazines?

Weekly - 16

Once a forntight - 29

Once a month -  35

Rarely - 10

Never - 0

How Much Would You Pay For A Music Magazine?

£1 - £2 - 32

£2 - £3 - 45

£3 + - 11

Other Amount - 2

Demographics For My Own Music Magazine

For my music magazine I have chosen to target the age band of 16 - 24. I have taken into account that a large percentage of the 16 - 24 band will either be in higher education, university, apprenticeships, part time jobs and working out what they want to do with their future. I have chosen this age range as most of the population at this age will not have sufficient income and so I would be making my magazine monthly and at the lowest price possible. I am also going to include a chance to win tickets to a concert of the readers choice due to them maybe not being able to afford this if at university or college. I have looked at other demographics and taken them into account. My magazine wont be gender or race specific giving me flexibility of colours and themes I use but  my magazine will have a specific genre of pop/chart music.

Maslows Hierarchy Of Needs

Maslows Hierarchy of  Needs is a theory in psychology proposed by Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper "A Thoery of Human Motivation". Maslow subsequently extended the idea to include his observations of humans curiosity. 

Physiological needs are the physical requirement for human survival. If these requirements are not met, the human body cannot function properly, and will ultimately fail. Physiological needs are though to be the most important; they should be met first. Air, water and food are metabolic requirement for survival in all animals, including humans. Clothing and shelter provide necessary protection from the elements. 

Safety and Security main needs include personal security, financial security, health and well-being and safety net against accidents, illness and their adverse impacts. Saftey and security also have the social stability aspect of being able to fit into a specific social group which I will be taking into consideration when creating my music magazine.

After physiological and safety needs have been fulfilled, the third level of human needs starts to happen which involves feelings of belongingness. This need is especially strong to childhood and can override the need for safety as witnessed in children who cling to abusive parents. This level can impact on an individuals ability to form and maintain emotionally significant relationships in general such as friendship, intimacy and family.

All humans have a need to feel respected, this includes the need to have self esteem and self respect. Esteem presents the typical human desire to be accepted and valued by others. People often engage in a profession or hobby to gain recognition. These activities give the person a sense of contribution or value. People with low self esteem often need respect from others; they may feel the need to seek fame or glory. However, fame or glory will not help the person build their esteem until they accept who they are internally. 

The level of self actualization refers to what a persons full potential is and the realization of that potential. Maslow describes this level as the desire to accomplish everything that one can, to become the most that one can be. 

Demographics Tables

This demographics table shows the social class of todays society. These tables are used to help businesses choose a specific audience they are wanting to target their product at and also helps to identify consumer wants, needs and lifestyle. Having a strong demographic knowledge helps to boost the sales of a magazine by the use of a reader profile. Demographics can help to let the business understand the type of people magazines are selling to and can then design their magazine around them for example if the magazine was to target at group E you wouldnt use expensive features such as adverts of expensive clothing and perfume but you would target CDs and clothing in their price range that they can afford. Where as group A would buy a magazine expecting better quality within the magazine and more artists/celebrities wearing designer clothing and advertising where they could get these. Demographics provide insight into the target audience and provide the information needed to be able to produce the right product for the correct group helping you to sell your product.

Understanding Demograpahics

A business owner needs demographics to identify the ideal consumer for his product or services and develop marketing strategies such as product packaging, advertisements, business location and pricing.  Any provider needs to understand demographics so that they can decide on exactly what their product will include. Firstly they need to reach out to consumers and get to understand who they are and about them having this kind of information about a persons age, gender, income and education tells a marketer how likely a person is to making a purchase. Understanding the demographics is important because if the business gets to know their target audience very well then this gives the business a better advantage at selling the product.

Demographics Definiton

Definition: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/demographic

A portion of a population, especially considered as consumers as well it can be seen as a statistic characterising human populations (or segments of human populations broken down by age or sex or income etc.)

My Reader Profile

This is the look I am going for with my reader profile. I have taken ideas from both of the previous reader profiles such as using gender ratio and age range from the Q magazine but also using images that represent my readers and what the readers interests are.

Reader Profiles

Q Magazine 

NME Magazine

http://www.ipcadvertising.com/resource/6dcz2moj66wp0swdpyx5rv3o.pdf

I want to create a reader profile more like Q magazine as it is the same genre of the magazine I intend to create. Its also clear and easy to understand but I do like NME's idea of using pictures to represent what kind of things their readers are into.

L - The word 'contents' instantly stand out at us as a reader as it is the strongest font on the page. The black font contrasts against the white background to make it stand out. The font is very big and bold which attracts our attention to it. The font isn't like any other font on that page which makes us notice it more. It is also positioned at the top to make us notice it. The main image on the contents page is a women holding a big blow up mushroom which is quite odd and makes us question what the article is going to be about it can connote as the artists personality being quite quirky and fun which makes it more interesting and makes the reader want to read on. This image also connotes as the fun and upbeat style of music the artist creates. By positioning the artist in the middle of the page the magazine are making her the main attraction and creating even more buzz of the fact the main article is about her. The magazine also use a pull quote in the bottom left hand corner to entice the reader in and get a glimpse of the article as well as four other main stories in the top right hand corner which are more main stories that the editor wants you to look at first and looking for one article you will have to skin read through the rest of the magazine with pages that are definitely going to catch your eye.

I - Blender was published by Dennis Publishing. The magazine began in 1994 as the first digital CD-ROM magazine acquired by Dennia Publishing in the UK it published 15 digital CD issues and launched on the web in 1997. It started publishing print editions in 1999 in its most recent form. The first digital advertisers included, Calvin Klein, Apple, Toyota and Nike.

I - The idea behind this contents page is its simplicity but wanting the fun and quirkiness of the image to stand out to us which connotes to us the fun and quirkiness of Katy Perrys music as it is adventurous and upbeat. Katys face expression is a shocked face this connotes as the shock of the magazine and its content on Katy Perry and the fact there will be exclusive content about her in the magazine and maybe a big shock. The magazine have also dominated the colour red in the magazine which connotes as love and passion this could be seen as love and passion the reader has for the magazine but also the love and passion Katy has for her music.

A - The target audience for this contents page would be people between the ages of 16-30 as the colour scheme and the structured layout wouldn't appeal to younger audiences and the quirky and fun main image wouldn't appeal to the older audience. The simplicity and modern look will also attract the 16-30 range. As well Katy Perry's songs are mainly targeted to this age range so as Katy is the main image on the contents she will attract this audience.

R - The contents page represents the full magazine as its the only page that gives you a glimpse of the full magazine. Blender used a simple and straight to the point contents page which reflects the magazine instead of using a jam packed contents. The artist used in the contents page is a popular artist which represents the magazine and its popularity as there are a lot of Katy Perry fans and it will be a popular edition of the magazine. Katy Perry is a well known pop artist and regularly seen in the charts letting the reader quickly identify the main genre of the magazine which is pop/chart music.

L - The double page spread from Q magazine instantly stand out to you letting you know as a reader who the particular article is about. This is due to an image that covers the pull page of the left hand side of the double page spread. The image instantly catches our eye and we instantly know who the well known artist is, Lady Gaga. The image is in black and white which could relate to her personality and image as Lady Gaga lives a very black and white life, we never really know what is happening in her personal life we only hear of her on stage and when singing, the black and white also shows elegance and the sex appeal of the image which is also represented through the fact she is naked and how her hair is messy but still looks glamorous. As well the fact that she is covering herself with her hands could be seen as although she is naked she still has respect for herself but could also represent the fact she has covered up a lot of things due to the media industry but we will finally get to know more about her in this article. We can also see that she is wearing, what look to be, chains around her neck, this could represent her wild and naughty side and chains connote as police, jail and something being locked up which could represent as she has been locking herself up but is letting it out in the article with Q. On the right hand side we see the page full of writing with Lady Gaga's name in the top corner lady is in an elegant font where as Gaga stands out to and is a very loud font which represents her personality. L is printed over the article in a big bold font which catches our eye as a reader, the use of red font connotes as love and passion for her music and fans but also red can connote as a cheeky colour which again represents her personality we see through her music videos.

I - Q magazine is alternative music magazine it is published monthly in the UK, its publishing company is Bauer Consumer Media. Mark Ellen and David Hepworth founded the magazine because they felt it was a niche market as there wasn't a magazine for the older generation who were still buying CD's. Q was first published in 1986 and was different from other magazines due to its highly quality photography and printing  as well as having an older target audience. The magazine was originally going to be called 'Cue', however it was changed to 'Q' due to possible confusion with it being a snooker magazine, plus a single lettered title is thought to be more prominent on news stands.

I - The idea behind the double page spread is so that we clearly focus on the one artist this is by using a large image of the artist and a page full of text to intrigue us into what the article is about as Lady Gaga is a mysterious but adventurous artist with music and style. The expression on Lady Gaga's face is very personal to the reader as she is looking directly into the camera, almost as if she is looking directly at us. Q magazine is to provide its readers with quality music as the price is £3.99 and the physical magazine is quality photographic paper unlike cheaper magazines such as NME which costs £2.10 and is made out of cheaper tabloid paper.

A - The target audience for the magazine is around the 16 - 30 age as the mature images and layout appeal more to the 16 - 30 age range and I don't feel would appeal to the younger age range or older than 30. I also feel Lady Gaga's music is aimed at this age range due to her raunchy videos and lyrics which can be used which is come across in the image of this double page spread.

R - The double page spread represents what Q magazine is about and that Q magazine are willing to pull out all the stops for their magazine readers. Q used a simple double page spread but it still looked busy due to the large image and text filled page. The double page spread represents the full magazine as this kind of layout and font is used throughout the whole magazine, the font and images are prominent which stands out to the audience and I feel is mature, this brings the reader in. As well Lady Gaga is one of the most popular artists to date and a lot of her fans will be attracted to this as the same kind of image is the front cover of this edition too, this also lets the readers identify the main genre of the magazine which is pop/chart/rock music, a wide variety to bring in more readers.

L - The photograph used on the front page of Billboard magazine is a medium long shot more towards the right than exactly in the center, of a well known artist, Beyonce, with her not being perfectly in the middle of the magazine it could connote as even though she has been crowned Billboard's women of the year she isnt perfect either. Beyonce is wearing a white dress which contrasts against the elegant dark blue background but also relates to the masthead of 'Billboard' as well as 'women's music' as they are both in bold white font. Beyonce's white dress could connote purity and elegance relating to the sell line 'our women of the year Beyonce'. The masthead clearly indicates in big bold font the magazines name 'Billboard' as in america there are billboards, which are giant signs, everywhere advertising products shows etc. Billboard may of used this name as they're a big company and they're seen as a big advertisement and popular magazine. Beyonce is placed infront of the masthead leaving us as the reader not able to see the 'o' in 'Billboard' but because of the magazine being very well known the reader can work this out immediately. Different sized sell lines are used in different fonts to stand out to the reader when on the shelf. The font is also in white and an ice blue colour to connote the purity and elegance of Beyonce again and white is also the colour related with an angel which is seen as higher than others which Beyonce is now that she is women of the year. Beyonce is also in capital letters to catch our eye to let us know that this articles main feature will be about Beyonce.

I -  Billboard receives hundreds of millions of brand impressions daily through many strategic relationships with major companies across various industries. These relationships give Billboards brand recognition, proprietary chart data and information resources to develop products, live events and print, television, radio, digital and mobile platforms. In addition to North America, Billboard operates businesses in Brazil, Greece, Japan, Korea and Russia. Billboard is owned by Prometheus Global Media, a diversified company with leading assets in the media and entertainment arenas. Tommy Page is Billboard's Publisher. He joined the company in June 2011 after several years at Warner Bros where he worked as a recording artist. During his time at Warner Bros he helped shape the careers of Michael Buble, Josh Groban and Green Day

I - The morals of the image on the front cover is showing that Beyonce is the women of all women, with her curves and beauty she is a main role model in the music industry. Through the way she is stood, showing off her curves in the slim fitted dress, she is stood facing a diagonal but with her head looking back over her shoulder as her eyes meet ours, this could connote as her looking back on her life which we will be able to do if we buy and read the magazine. beyonce is stood with attitude and a fierce look on her face which connotes that she doesnt care what you think about her but over looks all the bad and sees the good this could also be shown in the colour white because white is seen as a good and pure colour with a deep meaning which also related to the fact her article will be meaningful and full of exclusive information as they list 'Singer, Actress, Businesswomen, Philanthropist' in a sell line to show that Beyonce isn't just an artist but much more.

A - This magazine is clearly aimes at music fans but this specific edition could be aimed more at Beyonce fans as the main feature of the magazine will be articles on Beyonce but normal Billboard buyers will still buy this edition as there is more to the magazine than Beyonce as it covers most of the chart and genres.

R - Representation is the most important when it comes to publishing a music magazine as it portrays the artists through its images and language as well as telling the audience a lot about the ideology of the magazine and also what genre the artist/band are. Beyonce is seen a s a confident artist in the music industry and from the front cover you can see that Beyonce is stood up tall and straight with elegance and Beyonce is well known to be a strong a mature women but is also well known to be a part of the pop/chart music genre which is quickly identified when you see her through the representation of the image used and the text around her.

Popular Chart Music Magazine Research on Prezi

There are many charts around the world such as the singles chart, album chart, download chart, dance chart, digital chart, classical chart, rock chart, urban chart, country chart and regional charts!

Official UK Top 20 Singles

Today the UK Official Top 20 Singles Chart is combined on sales figures of the physical copy the public buy in shops as well as  the downloads off ITunes!

1. Swedish House Mafia (Feat John Martin) - Dont You Worry Child

2. Adele - Skyfall

3. PSY - Gangnam Style

4. Rihanna - Diamonds

5. Ellie Goulding - Anything Could Happen

6. One Direction - Live While We're Young

7. Leona Lewis - Trouble

8. Conor Maynard (Feat NeYo) - Turn Around

9. Flo Rida - I Cry

10. The Script (Feat Will.I.Am) - Hall Of Fame

11. David Guetta (Feat Sia) - She Wolf

12. Taylor Swift - We Are Never Ever  Getting Back Together

13. Ne-Yo - Let Me Love You

14. Otto Knows - Million Voices

15. Mumford and Sons - I Will Wait

16. Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen - Good Times

17. Little Mix - Wings

18. Maroon 5 - One More Night

19. Emile Sande - Read All About It Part 3

20. Nicki Minaj - Va Va Voom