Target audience analysis

Why does this design appeal to the chosen audience?

The paper type- the paper type of this magazine is glossy, this makes it look clean, tidy and professional. If it was located on a shelf in a shop it would stand out next to other magazines which are not glossy produced, this makes the magazine eye catchy and look more expensive. 

The main image-the main image denotes Cheryl Cole, she would appeal to the audience because she is a well known popular pop star. It also portrays Cheryl in a different light to what she is normally seen as in the press and in other music magazines such as when she featured in 'we love pop'. 






Authority-The strap line located at the top of the magazine denotes the company Q authority. It says 'THE UK'S BIGGEST MUSIC MAGAZINE' this hasn't been proven but it would grab the audiences attention to buy the magazine. 

The pop genre

How do people listen to pop music genres?

Technology is increasing dramatically so there is always new ways in which people can listen to pop music.

YouTube- this is the easiest way to listen to music because pop artists all over the world are uploading their music videos which can be watched by everyone for free. This is their way of promoting themselves to their audience and also for the audience to listen to their music.

ITunes- people can access iTunes on their PC, iPhone, iPad etc. It is quick and easy to find music and its constantly being updated with the latest songs and albums which are categorised into different genres.

Radio- people can listen to pop music on the most popular radio stations such as Capital and Heart. A variety of songs by different artists are played everyday including chart music so the audience would be informed on what the most popular songs are out at the moment. The radio can now be accessed on the internet which is more convenient for some people.

My Target audience

To attract the right audience for my magazine i need to do some research so i can find out exactly what my target audience wants. I will be producing a questionnaire so i can find out who my target audience are and what features they would want included in my magazine. Once i find out all i need to know about my target audience it would be much easier and clearer for me to create my magazine. The audience would make me more determined to produce my magazine and I will also know what to include and what not to include. 

MY TARGET AUDIENCE!

The target audience for my magazine are females aged 12+. I find that pop music is generally aimed at the younger generation (young adults and teens) because the music style is the type that they can relate to. The contents and lyrics of the song are normally based on love and relationships so this would be suitable for my target audience as this would be the type of songs they would like to listen to especially at that age.

 The stereotypical audience profile would be girls who have interests in going out with friends, into fashion, interested in make-up and a typical girly girl. The target audience would listen to this genre because it would reflect the mood of most young girls.

My audience will be positioned to gain knowledge and understanding about pop music and pop artists. The target audience are a essential part to my music magazine as they would help me to make my magazine as good as possible.

Circulation figures and publishing houses

Circulation figures are often used for magazine and newspaper distribution to show the number of copies that were distributed, its not only for the sale figures because some readers receive free copies.

Mojo-  85,149 -2.4% sold copies 84,560 (BAUER)

Top of the Pops - 78,352 -20.1% sold copies 78,352  (IMMEDIATE MEDIA COMPANY)

We love pop magazine - 50,505 - sold copies 50,505 - (EGMONT)

Kerrang - 40,203 -6.6% - sold copies 39,950 (BAUER)

After researching circulation figures on music magazines i have found out that there are less magazines circulating. This is because of the new technology which has been brought over the last few years. People can now go online onto various websites to access magazines and read articles. Furthermore it could also be because of the economy, magazines have overall increased in price so they would be to expensive to buy so instead they would download the magazine on laptops and various tablets such as ipads and kindles for free.

Star image

Dyer proposes 'A star is an image not a real person that is constructed out of a range of materials'

Richard Dyer star theory proposes the idea that icons and celebrities are manufactured by institutions for finical gain. Stars are manufactured by the music industry to make money out of the audience. His theory is broken down into three sections; Audiences and institutions, Constructions and Hegemony.

A stars main purpose is to make money, the institution then changes the stars image around the target audience.
The constructions of a 'star' is built only for the audience and not who the person actually is. Each star is unique which differentiates them from other stars. For example Lady Gaga'soutgoing fashion sense and Katy Perry's bright hairstyles and also that she is presented as the typical Californian girl.
Hegemony is the way that the audience can relate to the star and they are admired by them, this develops to idolisation. For instance Demi Lovato had an eating disorder which was presented through a TV documentary. Many people can look up to her and relate to the problems that she had to deal with. Although some stars can come across as negative role models because some may take drugs and consume a lot of alcohol which can lead to fans copying their actions.

Examples of star image

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga'sfull name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, on the 28th of March 1986 in New york. She changed her name so she would come across as unique and the audience would find her name unusual so they would want to find out who she is.
Her first album was released in 2008,the album is representation of what life is like being famous, this is portrayed by one of her songs 'Papparazzi'. In her first music video the audience get a first impression of what Lady Gaga is like and what we cane expect from her. She wears unusual clothing but they are not too revealing. In her music video called 'Alejandro' there is extreme nudity and sexual references in dance routines and shots. It shows more of an unacceptable side to her and a bad role model for her fans. Furthermore Lady fashion hanges dramatically not only to how she looks in her music videos but also to other events across the world. Lady Gaga's most prominent appearance change is the prosthetic bones on her body and face. She had a lot of criticism for this because it could link to anorexia and suffering and would not have a good impression towards her fans especially the young audience. n he 6 years of Lady Gaga's music career her star image has developed astonishingly. She began her music her music portrayed getting drunk and going to parties, whereas now her music is more outrageous.

Rihanna is another example of Richard Dyers theory of star image. Rihanna was formally a pop performer, but the record label DEF. Jam Roc Nation transformed her into a pop star after her album 'good girl gone bad' was released. She had a celebrity boyfriend so she was a main icon in the public eye and became a main focus in a lot of magazines. She was recognized not only for her music but her image.

Audience and institutions:
Rihanna is very popular in todays world and her personality and character are based on the 'trends' in the world at the moment. This attracts the audience too like her and be inspired by her.

Construction of a star:
A star is built for the audience and not for the person itself. Rihanna was constructed by DEF. Jam Roc Nation. Throughout the years Rihanna has changed by the way she looks by her different hairstyles and fashion sense.

Hegemony:
Rihanna has a massive fan base which follows from magazines and social networking sites such as twitter, instagram and Facebook, the audience can see what she is up to all the time. Rihanna is presented as a model to mainly females from 13 +. But she is a bad influence because now and again she is seen smoking, consuming alcohol and taking nude photographs. This portrays a negative view of Rihanna and people who idolize her can copy her actions.

I need to think about my star image when it comes to producing my music magazine. Whilst researching star image on Rihanna and Lady Gaga i now have a greater understanding of Richard Dyers theory of star image.

Institution

Media institution is an established organisation that works with the creation and distribution of information, advertising and entertainment services. It also describes the people who have a role of the production of different media products.

IPC Media is one of the UKs leading consumer magazine and digital publishers, which sell over 350 million copies per year. It publishes a huge range of magazines across a variety of sectors. Some examples of IPC magazines are NME, Look, Now and Ideal home. The main target audiences are men, mass market women and upmarket women.

Bauer Media is a huge German publishing company, which operates in 15 countries worldwide. They also feature  a wide variety of radio stations. The music magazines that they publish are Kerrang and mojo magazine which is a multi- channel publication. 

BBC magazine is the magazine which publishes the BBC worldwide. The magazine focuses on children's TV programmes, cooking, cars, music, gardening and astrology. The music magazines which they have published are top or the pops, it's hot and classical music magazines. 

 

Conventions of a two page spread

Conventions of a magazine contents page

two annotated fashion magazines

I have chosen to annotate this Vogue magazine, which was modelled by Taylor Swift and was released in February. I have chosen to annotate this magazine because I like the layout that they have used. I would like to use this layout when I produce my own music magazine.





I have chosen to annoate Glamour magazine because I like the the layout of the cover lines. I think they stand out and I think its effective how they have used big and small text. I also like the choice of colours because black, pink and white work really well together. I need to think deeply about  choice of colours for my magazine.

three annotated music magazines

 

 

 

 

I have annotated this Q music magazine front cover because I like the colours that are used.I think black,red and white work really well together and I may consider using these colours for my music magazine. I also like the main image which denotes Cheryl Cole. Her skin tone is quite pale and she is wearing bright red lipstick and black eyeliner which draws the audiences attention to her eyes which connotes a fierce and dark side look. I am inspired by the way she is presented and It has gave me some ideas for my music magazine.

I have brought and scanned this magazine of Kerrang. I decided to annotate this magazine because I like the variety of features that are used and the way that it is layed out across the front page. I would like to include a lot of features on my magazine because it would catch the audiences attention which would make them purchase the product.

I have chosen to annotate this magazine because it is the same genre that I am going to be doing for my own music magazine which is POP. I have found that this pop magazine includes a lot of pictures and pull out quotes. I think that this is a good way to grab the readers attention so I would like to use these features when creating my own music magazine.

Conventions of a magazine front cover

There are a lot of conventions included on a music magazine front cover. The conventions are important because they show who the target audience is and what genre the magazine is. The outlook of the magazine is vital in the way it is presented because it all depends if the audience would buy the magazine in the first place. If the magazine doesn't look very presentable then no one would purchase the product.

Colour:
The use of colour is an important convention on a magazine front cover. The choice of colours would have a great  impact on the outlook of the magazine. Most magazine front covers have bright and bold colours because this catches the audiences attention. The colours are also important when referring to the genre of the magazine. In a music magazine the use of colours would defiantly be different according to the genre because there are a variety of different genres and everyone has a different taste in music. For instance a Rock magazine wouldn't  normally have the colours such as pink and purple because these colours do not denote Rock. Whereas the colours red, black, grey and white would denote Rock because these type of colours connote violence and aggression. Also the use of the colour grey could connote heavy metal which is normally the music which Rock denotes. Additionally a pop magazine would use a different choice of colours which would be suitable for its genre. A pop magazine would normally use bright and colourful colours such as pink, light blue, purple and yellow. These type of colours normally denote females and mostly a pop magazine would have a female artists as the cover image. It also depends on the target audience because girls would be more attracted to pop magazines because of the use of colours which are normally pink, purple and light blues. Whereas mostly boys would be attracted to purchasing Rock magazines because they don't use bright and colourful colours, they would prefer bold and dark colours like blue, red and black.

All colours have a different meaning which connote a variety of things. The choice of colours that I will use for my magazine need to appeal to my target audience and the magazine itself needs to be presentable. I need to also make sure that the colours that I choose for my magazine do not contrast with other colours because the audience may miss some of the features on the front cover and will decide not to purchase the product.


Typography
Typography is the use of lettering which is based around the size and the style of the font. The typography of the magazine front cover can give the target audience an insight of the genre of the magazine and what it could represent.

Font:
Fonts are an important convention on a magazine front cover. The font can denote who the target audience is aimed at and also it can show if the magazine is formal or informal, this by looking at the style of the font.

Size:
The size of the font is an important convention on a magazine front cover. If the text size is to small then the audience would not be able to read and notice what will be inside the magazine. The masthead is the biggest piece of text on the page because it is the name of the magazine. The masthead would need to stand out and catch the audiences attention because they would want to purchase the magazine. Furthermore the cover lines would need to be in an appropriate size font because there would be essential articles inside the magazine which are stated through sell lines, these are regularly seen at the right hand side of the front cover.

The style of font:
Most fonts are broken down into two categories. These are serif and sans serif. The differences between the two is one has decorative feet and the other doesn't. Sans serif fonts are normally used for the masthead on magazines because they are informal and clearer to read. Serif fonts can be seen as more professional and people would use them for writing important letters and sometimes they would be used on formal magazines or newspapers such as the guardian.

The layout:
The different features of a magazine front cover normally have the same layout on every magazine, this is for a reason.
The masthead of every magazine is always placed at the top of the magazine . The masthead is the biggest piece of text on the cover and the most eye catchy, they are always have the same font and same colours. They are always kept the same so the audience would remember the magazine when there is a new issue and they allow the magazine do be clearly recognisable.
The images on the front cover will be linked to the main story of that issue. This is shown on a music magazine clearly because the cover image is normally a music artist or a band, so the audience would know instantly that there would be a main article about them. The main image dominates the whole front cover because it is never covered by any other images or text. I will need to consider the way I use my images when creating my own music magazine.
The main text which is the headlines and subheadings are printed more vividly and are clear to read so the audience would know what the main articles are about. In a music magazine the music artist or the bands name is normally placed in the centre of the page and usually has big font, this would draw the readers attention and would imply that they are the main topic of the magazine.
The other features of a magazine front cover such as a puff is important because it would attract the audiences attention but it shouldnt get in the way of what the other text is trying to show. The puffs are placed to the edge of the page and they generally follow the 'Z' shape pattern which follows the readers eye when looking at any front cover.

Mode of address:

Mode of address is how the media presents itself to the audience. Mode of address can be expressed in any type of media product. 

In a music magazine it can either be formal or informal. In a classical music magazine it would be presented as formal. Whereas in a rock/heavy metal magazine it would be presented as informal. 

Music magazines would also use colloquial language such as in the Kerrang magazine christmas issue they present the word KERRISTMAS instead of Christmas. You would not find this in a formal magazine.

A music magazine

What is a music magazine?

A music magazine has specific genres which can vary from rock, country, pop, RnB and more. A music magazine would have a variety of features included inside which would entertain the audience which would then make them purchase the product.

What types of music magazines are there?

According to industry data, on average there are 2,600 music magazines sold every minute in the UK, that is roughly 3.7 million per day. A great number of these magazines are music magazines which have become very popular over the last few years, with more singers and bands coming into the music industry. There are a huge variety of music magazines with different genres that are suitable for their target audiences. Pop magazine is a popular genre and is bought by a lot of people. The pop magazine usually consists of bright colours, fancy fonts, and pop artists as the cover image. There is also normally a lot of text which is placed all around the front cover with information that is included inside the magazine. This is used to attract the younger audiences attention. Rock magazines would have dark bold colours because heavy metal is a dark type of genre. Rock magazines would also have a lot of information which is spread across the front cover because the genre is shown as messy and crazy.

Purpose and audience:

The purpose of a music magazine is to inform music fans about  music artists and their upcoming events that they may hold. The purpose is also to entertain the audience, they can do this by including interviews with artists, pictures and being able to win prizes.

The target audience for a music magazine would depend on the genre that the magazine is. If the audience likes RnB music then they would buy a magazine which is based on RnB. Furthermore if a person prefers rock music then they would buy a magazine which is based on rock. Everyone has different taste to music which is why there a variety of magazines of different genres so it can be suitable for everyone.

Music magazines:

The pricing of all magazines in general are decreasing because there are other ways in which people can access the magazines that they read which is online. Every magazine now has an online website, for instance Q magazines website contains everything that would be included inside their magazine for example, music news, features, videos and much more. So instead of spending money buying the magazine they can access it online for free.

Introduction

My name is Bethany Ellis and this is the blog for my music magazine. Over the next couple of months I will be creating a music magazine which will be marked and graded for my AS media course work. I will be updating my blog on a regular basis by posting various posts on my progress for the lead up for my final music magazine. The music magazine will include a front cover, a contents page and a two page spread.  

I created a school magazine, you can find this here

http://bethanyellisas.blogspot.co.uk/


The school magazine has helped me for when I create my music magazine. I have deeper knowledge and understanding of how to use photoshop and in design so I should find it easier for when I make this magazine.