Bar Codes

Barcodes are elements which are shown on the front page of the magazine which are scanned when the magazine is pruchased.
I think I will use a 3D barcode on my magazine as it is more conventional to magazine and recent products.

This is an example of a 2D barcode:

Although they are not used a great deal anymore, they can carry more data than a 3D barcode. 2D barcodes tend to all be the same style, they tend to be more of an old style barcode but are still used alot on magazine's. When considering what type of barcode to use I must consider how the size of the barcode and how identifyable the barcode will be for scanners.

This is an example of a 3D barcode which is the style of barcode which I intend to use on my magazine:

3D barcodes are the newer style barcodes, they are very recognisable and are a reasonable size for magazine covers.

Pricing Of Magazine

I feel that because I am making a weekly publication that it should be cheap enough so that the audience will be able to afford the magazine each week. I feel that the magazine should be around £1.50 to £2.50, I feel that the correct price for the magazine will be around £2.10 so that it will sell well enough as it is cheap enough so that people will buy it weekly.

Target Audience For My Magazine

I feel that the target audience for my new music magazine will be a niche audience. Also the magazine will interpolate the audience so that it will be specific to individuals and how the interpret the ideology of the magazine.
The demographics for the audience magazine will be both male and females around the 15-24 age range, I feel that the socio-economic group which my magazine will appeal to will be from around the C1-E category.
The psychographics for the audience which I have chosen for the magazine will also be people who are the majority of the time both inner and outer directed in life, I feel that this is a good audience because they will be both belongers and slightly society conscious.
Also I feel that on Maslow's hierarchy of needs they will be at the social stage because the people who read the magazine will want to belong to a part of a group.

LIIAR evaluation of Q Magazine

Language: The makers of this magazine have tried to make the magazine slightly more unconventional to other music magazine and other editions of the magazine because the magazine is a special edition.

The magazine cover has various unconventional images as it uses long shots for each of the images of artists shown. They have also used a different mast head to the one which they usually use it includes various different text styles throughout the on things such as cover lines and other anchorage.

They have also used a banner headline which is conventional for magazines, but it has not been shown in the various other magazines which we have looked at. This magazine has again used a colour scheme of black, gold and red which continues through to the contents page. The magazine has used a double page, this is unconventional to music magazines as they usually try to make the contents page take up as little room as possible so that it does not take away from the magazine. I think the magazine may have used this idea because of the fact that it is a special edition an wanted to show the audience the various special features which the magazine includes.

They have used a square style images throughout the contents page, I feel that this works well as it means the alot of images can be included in a small space.

Although the images on each of the five pages are old images from many previous features in magazines I feel that they work well with the style of this special edition of the magazine.

The double page spread consists of a large image and text mainly but the colour scheme of the page which is white and green i feel works well and the image of the Beatles is placed well on the page.

Also because of the text style of the masthead on the double page spread I feel that it stands out well from the other text on the page.

Institution- Q magazine is also published by the Bauer consumer media company, they are a large publication company who publish other magazines such as Take a Break and TV choice and Kerrang as well as many more. The company are based in Hamburg Germany and in 2006 the company turned over more than 1.7 billion euros.
The magazine costs £4.99 but because the magazine is a monthly magazine and a special edition, I feel that this is a good price for the magazine.

Ideology- I feel that this magazine represents an older generations music taste as well as a younger generation they include music that people listened to many years ago and are still very popular today.

Audience- I feel that this magazine has an audience for both 15-24 and the 25-35 . I would also say the magazine has a niche audience specific to the genre of music it is aiming to talking about throughout. I would say the magazine is aimed at both males and females, generally in the C2-E socio-economic group, whom are outer and inner directed group.

Representation- I would say that the magazine is representing an older generations tastes for music as well as representing the various artists which are included in the magazine.

LIIAR evaluation of DJ magazine.

Language- The front cover is again using a mid-shot image which is conventionally used on magazine covers they use this the majority of the time so that the audience can instantly recognise the artist shown on the cover. They also unconventionally use a slogan on the front page which is 'Living & Breathing Dance Music!'. The Anchorage on the front page is also placed in good places s that it does not take away from the cover image they have also included headlines on the page which go with the genre of music such as 'IBIZA 2010'. They also include a free CD which is not always conventional but magazines sometimes do this in order to boost circulation. They have also used a very eye catching colour scheme of black gold and red, which is not just in the artists clothing they have also used this colour scheme in the anchorage and masthead of the magazine. They also advertise a competition which will be included in the magazine this is not always conventional but they are sometimes used in order to boost circulation and intrigue the reader.

I feel that the contest page has a large contrast with that of the front page of the magazine, the house style which has been used on the contents page is very different compared to that on the front page, although they used a similar font style, the colour scheme and image style is completely different. The images used are almost in a Polaroid style form, which is nothing like that of the image which is on the front cover of the magazine. Also the magazine seem to have used a kind of miss-matched choice of colours. Magazine makers usually make the house style of the images.

On the second page of the double page spread they also used the same style of boxed Polaroid images, this shows continuity throughout the magazines house style. They have also used a wide shot of a crowd at a gig on the second page, I feel that this would draw in an audience as they would feel that they would enjoy this type of thing just as the many other people did.

On the first page of the double page spread they have used a long shot of a woman as well as an interview.

I feel that the text on both pages in the magazine are of similar styles and they work well as they are small but easy enough for the audience to read them and the information which the magazine want you to see the most are in larger or bolder fonts.

Institution- DJ magazine is a monthly magazine so is priced at £3.95,  I would say that this is around the correct price for a monthly magazine as it is not that expensive but it is not as cheap as a weekly magazine. Also the magazine costs more as it has less advertising in it than a weekly magazine would as it is not produced as often and costs slightly more and contains more information.

Ideology- I would say that the magazines morals and values and shown in its slogan which is shown just under the masthead on the front page. This slogan is 'Living and Breathing Dance Music'.

Audience- I would say again that this magazine is aimed at a niche audience for people aged around 18-25, I feel that it would be this age group because of the genre of music and the things such as clubbing and raves etc. I would also say that this magazine is aimed at both males and females but mostly towards the male audience. I would also say that they are in the c2-E socio-economic group. Also both outer and inner directed.

Representation- I would say there was a slight synergy between the magazine and the artists on the front cover and inside the magazine as they magazine is telling the audience various the artists are doing and they are making the audience want to read the magazine as it now includes artists which they are likely to buy.

LIIAR evaluation of Kerrang Magazine.

Language- On the front cover of the magazine has used a conventional mid-shot image and have angled the shot slightly to the side. This image gives the shot a more relaxed, casual feeling which goes with the style of pose which the featured band, The King Blues are doing.
Also the use of colours on the front page go with the rocky style image which the magazine goes for. The mastheads text use a shattered style which also goes with the rocky style which they try to portray. And the name of the magazine is onomatopoeic for a guitar sound which also gives the name some meaning and connection to the style of music.
The clothes which the band in the image are wearing also speaks for what type of magazine it is as they are quite casual clothes and give a rocky feeling. This works well because it will appeal to the audience as they will feel that the people in the image are similar and will relate to this as it is conventional for the type of people who read this type of magazine to wear this type of clothes.
The yellow banner headline is also conventional to magazine. I feel that the yellow banner headline is also affective because it stands out from the background and is easy to read. The anchorage on the page is also conventional because it is found generally on the majority of magazines.
There is a feeling of synergy between the band and the magazine, because the audience will want to read the magazine because of the image on the magazine and the magazine are advertising the various things which the band are doing.
Also the bar code on the front page is conventional because it is seen on most shop bought magazines.
The magazine has a cheap price which works well because it is a weekly magazine. Were as if it was a monthly issued magazine it is more likely that the magazine will be more expensive.
The contents page shows an up close shot of another of the featured artists on the top half of the page and then a contents page on the lower half of the page. This is not conventional within music magazines, they often use a whole page layout on there contents page. I feel that this layout is effective because it has a good balance between image and text. The colours use again are similar to that used on the front cover of the magazine, this gives the magazine more of a consistent house style which makes the magazine very professional, I believe that a consistent house style is necessary in a magazine because it keeps the magazine neat and tidy.
The double page spread shown in the images above uses a consistent colour scheme to that used on the front page, the colours of the background of the image is similar and they have made this consistent by also using a similar colour on the background colour of the text, they also make it consistent by using similar coloured clothing on the artists. The other images which are used on this double page spread are placed in small boxes, I feel this looks good and blends in well with the other elements of the page.
They have included alot of text and information about the artist which is in quite a small font size and I feel that because there is so much text that it should perhaps be in a slightly larger font as it seems like it is slightly too small to read, although the text is small they have used bold text in order to highlight the front of the paragraphs, I feel that this highlights the start of the paragraphs and the colour is also different, which is also consistent with the other colours which have been used throughout the double page spread.
Institution- Kerrang is published by the Bauer consumer media company, they are a large publication company who publish other magazines such as Take a Break and TV choice as well as many more. The company are based in Hamburg Germany and in 2006 the company turned over more than 1.7 billion euros.
The advertising in the magazine costs outside companies up to £9092 for a double page spread in the magazine.
Ideology- The magazine reflects a feeling of a free living world, and portrays various views and opinion on recent rock music.
Audience- I would say the magazine has a niche audience specific to the genre of music it is aiming to talking about throughout. I would say the magazine is aimed at both males and females, in the 15-24 age range, generally in the C2-E socio-economic group, whom are outer and inner directed group.
Representation- I would say that the magazine represents the band and the genre of music well on both the front cover, contents page and the double page spread. The band is represented throughout because they are shown on both the front page and the double page spread, because of the synergy between the band and the magazine, explained previously it makes the magazine consistent throughout.

Research on Music Genres and My choice of Music Genre.

Pop Music

I feel that although this magazine will be widely read as a large group of people enjoy this genre of music there are already various magazines on the market which cater to this audience, such as Sugar magazine.

Also I feel that because this magazine has such a wide range of differant bands and styles all in one genre that it would be difficult to pin point on specific area for the magazine which I am creating.

Indie Music

I also feel that there are alot of magazines for this genre of music which means that the people who listen to this genre of music may already have a magazine which they read weekly or monthly. These magazine are ones such as NME and Q magazine.


Alternative Music

I feel that this genre of music will be a good one to pick when making my own music magazine as not only do I enojy listening to this type of music I feel that there is a gap in the market for this type of music. Although the audience is not that great alot of people throughout the country are interested in this genre. Also I feel that although magazines such as NME contain small parks about the bands in this genre it is not specifically aimed at the genre in general and I feel that a magazine specifially for this genre will work well.

 Classical Music

I believe that although classical music is listened to by many people the magazine which I want to create needs to be appealing to a younger audience so that I will know what will appeal to them as classical music is listen to the majority of the time by the older generation. There are various small magazines which are published for this genre such as Gramaphone magazine and Classical music but they are not widely read, although there is a gap in the market for a magazine which caters to listeners of this genre of music I would like to also create a magazine which is interesting to me as the maker of the magazine.

 Rock Music

This genre of music also have various magazines which caters for its readers such as Kerrang. So there is not a great need for a magazine which is about this genre. Although it is widely listened to and I believe the audience of the magazine will be quite large there are already enough magazines which cater to this genre

R&B Music

This genre of music is listened to widely throughout the world and many magazines are already in publishing for this genre of music. I feel that because I do enjoy listening to this type of music it will be a good option to consider when creating my magazine. On the other hand there will be alot of competition when creating & publishing the magazine.

 I have chosen to use alternative music as the genre for my music magazine as I feel that there is a gap in the market for a magazine of this type and there are alot of appeals to this type of magazine.

LIIAR interpretation of the brief.

Language- Music magazine's conventionally have a masthead in the top left area of the front page as this is a place which the audience can see and recognise the magazine's title straight away as the top area of the front cover of the magazine as this is were the the readers eyes are generally drawn. So I must make sure that the masthead of the magazine which I create goes with these conventions and also creates a good vibe for the audience.

The anchorage which I place on the front cover will also be relevant to the genre of music which I intend to use and will go with the 'image' of the magazine to create a good effect.

They also generally use a mid shot image of the band or artist which is featured in the main article on the front page. They sometimes use different angles of the shot to give the audience a different feeling from the image. For example the shot could be taken from a side to give it more of a relaxed feeling. Although most magazines generally use mid-shot images for there covers some music magazines often like to change the style of the images and they do this by changing to different shots such as long shots etc. When making my music magazine I am going to experiment with various different shot angles and see which works best in various areas of the magazine, but I feel so that the image will go with the conventions of other music magazines using a mid-shot will be a good option to take. They could also make a different feeling in the image by using various lighting techniques. For example bright lighting giving off a happy feeling from the image and darker lighting making the image seem slightly more grungy. I feel that depending on which genre of music I base my magazine on the lighting will create a different effect as music magazines also conventionally connect the 'image' of the magazine with the genre of the music which the magazine is based around. For example Kerrang music magazine has quite a rocky image, from the text which the masthead is in to the clothes which the bands wear in the images are connected to there 'rocky' identity. I am also going to include a banner headline on the front page of the magazine as this is a convention of this sub-genre of magazine.

When creating the front page I am going to make it very striking to the eye and dramatic so that it draws the audience's attention.

I am also going to make sure that throughout the pages which I am creating for the new music magazine that there is a consistent house style. I will do this by using a continuous colour scheme and font styles throughout the pages which I create. This house style will depend greatly on what genre of music I chose to use in my magazine. I will do this because different music genre's have connotations with different things, this is because different music genre's are listened to by different audiences which are often stereotyped by the creators of the magazine. Rock magazine for example are mainly include darker colours because this is a colour which is often connotated with people who listen to this type of music. Were as classic music would be more likely to be connotated with a simplistic classic white look.

Music magazines often use synergy in order to increase readership of the magazine. They often use 'celebrities' on the front covers to attract the correct demographic. And because the 'celebrities' are doing this they often do a large feature on the artist promoting various things which they are doing (books, albums etc.). In a way the magazine and the artists work together in order to promote one another.

Institution - I am going to create the magazine as if it were for a big magazine production company, such as Bauer consumer media company, who produce many magazines such as, Kerrang, Q, Bella and Take a Break. This is a major media institution. I feel this will work well as the magazine is more likely to sell widely as it is being made on a larger scale by the production company.
Media instituations are usually based around seven differant feautres regardless of size. These seven aspects are Finance, production practices, legislation, technology, circulation, audience construction and audience use. These are important aspects in determining the sales and various other things to do with the magazine.

Ideology - The morals and values which I intend to base my magazine around will all depend on the genre of music which I intend on using when I create the magazine. The moral and values will also have to have something to do with the audience which I choose to aim my magazine at because these morals will have to appeal to the audiences interests and views in order for the magazine to be read widely.

Audience - The audiences of magazines are an important to the making of the magazine, because when making the magazine the makers often use the idea of what the audience is going to be in order to create a magazine for this niche audience which the magazine is created for.

Niche audiences are smaller groups which the audiences of media texts are grouped into, often based on there tastes, concerns and interests.

When coming up with the audience for the magazine the demographics will all rely on what genre of music I will use. Music magazines often rely on this niche audience because there magazines are often specific to genre of music therefore relies on peoples different tastes.

Demographics are often based on a persons age, gender and socio-economic group.

Peoples ages are usually grouped like this:

<15

15-24

24-35

35-55

55>

The reader's genders are grouped into male and female.

And the socio-economic group of the readers are grouped up based on various things (their profession, income and class). These groups are usually separated into the following:

A- a higher managerial, administrative or professional which is 3% of the population in this country.

B- Intermediate managerial, administrative of professional, this is 15% of the population.

C1-Supervisory or clerical, junior managerial, administrative or professional. This is 23% of the population.

C2- Semi skilled manual workers which are 28% of the population.

D- Semi skilled or unskilled manual workers which are 18% of the population.

E- casual labourers, unemployed and state pensioners which are 13% of the population.

The makers of the magazines split the audiences up into these groups so that they have a specific audience to aim the magazine at these groups often have similar views and interests so making the magazine specific to this audience gives it specific views and ideas so that it will appeal to them.

When creating the audiences they also use phsycogrpahics in order to measure the consumers beliefs, interests and opinions. When using this system they gather phsychological information so that the groups can be classified in terms of things such as personality and values.

These are often classified into these groups:

Groups driven by needs- Survivors and sustainers.

Groups who are Outer-Directed- Belongers and achievers.

Groups who are Inner-Directed- I-am-me, society concious.

Groups who are Outer and Inner Directed- Integrated.

But classifying people into these groups can often depend on there situated culture at the time of publishing.

All these various things will change when creating the magazine as the majority of them will all depend on what genre of music I choose, as these things will often change depending on the type of music.

I feel that when making my magazine the best groups to aim to appeal to are both male and females in the 15-24 age range. I feel that the socio-economic group the magazine will aim for will all depend on the genre of music which I end up using. I feel this will be better because for example if i choose to use classical music the audience are most likely to be of a higher class. Were as if I choose to use rock the classes are most likely to be in the C-E category.

I feel that people who have an integrated personality will prefer a music magazine as they will need to be both society conscious and belongers.
Also when making the magazine I must make sure that it contains each of the four sections of Blumler & Katz research.
These four sections are what the magazine will need to contain in order to fulfill the needs of the audience.
These four broad needs are:
Diversion- a form of escape and release from everyday pressures.
Personal Relationship- a companionship through identification with television characters and sociability through discussion.
Personal Identity- To compare ones life with the charecters and situations portrayed in the text.
Surveillence- The inform people about whats going on in the world.  

Representation- When creating the magazine you must always take into consideration representing various different social groups, for example people with disabilities and people who have different sexualities and races etc. You have to do this so that you are accepted by all groups and are politically correct.

Also when creating the magazine you must represent the genre of music in a way which will appeal to the audience which you are intending to aim the music magazine at. This is an important aspect when creating the magazine because if a negative representation of the music genre is given the audience which are most likely to read the magazine are unlikely to read the magazine.

When making the magazine I am going to make sure that the magazine uses a conventional layout as well as various unconventional aspects so that it will make the magazine quirky and different from other music magazines. I must also make sure that the music genre which I choose is represented in a positive manor so that the audience will read the magazine.

Brief for Main Task

Using at least four digitally taken pictures and an image manipulation porgramme (photoshop) produce the front page, contents page and a double page spread of a new music magazine.