Response to Questions

In what ways does your music magazine use, develop or

challenge forms and conventions of real music magazines?
My music magazine uses and develops forms and conventions of real music magazines
by using conventions such as tags, a masthead, colour schemes etc. I included
contents on the front cover which gives the reader an opportunity to see whats
included in the magazine and it may appeal to them more. I also included a date and
price of the magazine in a smaller font size below the masthead which relates to real
music magazines and the layout of them. Also, by having done a real photo shoot with
models for the magazine front cover, contents page and a double page spread, also
makes the magazine look more professional, and using lighting and adjusting it until it
looks good.
I used a similar writing style throughout the magazine and I did this because I wanted to
keep it neat and looking more professional if I did this, compared to if I had used
different fonts for each of the Front Cover, Contents Page and Double Spread.
For my front cover, I have the masthead at the top of the page to catch the readers
eyes and so it stands out. The font size is quite big and its placed behind the main
image. When I chose the font I played with different ones to see which one would look
best for the magazine, and the genre of he magazine. I did this because I had a lot of
different Ideas, and I ended up with choosing between two different fonts: Onyx and
Elephant. They were quite similar to each other, but Elephant was a slightly wider
version to Onyx. In the end I chose Onyx because it looked smarter and would
suit my magazine better. Also if I wanted it wider, I could drag it out wider on Photoshop
or InDesign.
I wanted my main image of the models to look fierce and strong and independent,
referring to the theorist, Roland Barthes, about the idea of Myths. This would also
refer to the theorist, OSullivan, and his theory on feminism, of how it is a label and the
independence of women. The front cover brings out feminism and the idea of Myths
due to the models looking fierce, strong and independent. This also appeals to the
reader because it makes them ask, Whats her/ their story?. I decided to have a
sassy style of photography for my magazine because it would present the magazine as
more intriguing and may capture ore readers. This is because the readers want to feel
as if they have someone to connect with so if the style of photography is quite sassy,
and Fierce, but also casual, the readers feel they can connect with the artists.
I have also used a colour scheme for the magazine, which is Black, White and Light
Pink. I chose these colours because they are quite simple yet smart looking, and they
mix well together. I really liked these colours together because they also fit in well with
the photos for the front cover, contents page and Double spread and the background,
including the lighting

[Continued] I didnt include page numbers on my front cover because I didnt think it would suit
my genre and the audience because its a quite smart looking magazine so the page numbers
would be used for the contents page instead. However, I used a pull quote, which I also used on the
Double Spread, which says We just love what were doing. This gives an insight of the interview
in the magazine and the new band thats being promoted on the front cover, which may be
appealing to some readers as it may intrigue them to read the magazine.
I used a few cover lines on my front cover - there shouldnt be too many because you dont want to
turn the front cover into a contents page, so I only included a few to not give away the magazine
too much, and I only included the ones that I thought would seem the most interesting to the
reader and what the readers would want to see in the magazine.
For my contents page, I used page Numbers, which is a typical convention for music magazines as
it lets the reader know what page theyre on and which contents are on each page, which you can
see on the contents page. The contents page, however doesnt contain all of the pages in the
magazine. Some adverts are put in to the magazine, and these are not mentioned on the contents
page. For my contents page I kept to the two fonts that I used for my front cover, and will be using
throughout my magazine. The two fonts I am using are Onyx and Minion Pro. I didnt quite
keep to the colour scheme, for the contents page. However, this is something I would change if I
had to do it again.
I decided I wanted the main image to be in the middle, so that the contents would go around the
outside. I think this would also challenge conventions of real music magazines, but also benefit the
magazine as it would be quite different and quirky from other magazines, as the main image is
usually to one side and the contents on the other.
For my Double Spread I used quite a few conventions used in magazines such as a masthead,
colour scheme, writing style, pull quotes, etc.
I used a masthead for the double spread, which says Exclusive Interview with one of the Kids. By
using the word Exclusive, it lets the reader know that this magazine is the only magazine to cover
this story. This makes the magazine exclusive, because it includes limited contents to just that
magazine.
I used the colour scheme of Black, White and Light Pink which I am using throughout the magazine,
and I think I did this quite well. The masthead and text is black, whilst the pull quotes are white and
the questions are in Light Pink. For the Interview, I thought Id keep the writing style quite casual,
because it would let the readers connect with the artists better and makes them feel they are like
them. This may also be more appealing to an audience who reads about gossip in magazines often.
By using a pull quote on the double spread Exclusive Interview it catches the readers eye and
they may read the pull quotes first to see if they want to read on.
When I took the photo shoot for the magazine, I thought about the style of photography and how I
wanted different angles for each of the front cover, contents page and double spread. I knew I
wanted to have the main image to one side of the double spread, and then the interview would be
on the other side of the main image. For the main image, I wanted it to look casual and for the
model to look comfortable and not tense or too serious. In the photograph for the double spread,
the model looks happy and it looks like shes having fun and enjoys what shes doing.

How does your music magazine represent different

social groups?
My magazine is aimed to present the genre Pop
and RnB. This is a huge genre which is popular
among most ages and social groups; thats why
its such a varied and good genre to choose from
because it will appeal to most audiences. My
magazine represents different social groups
because it includes these two genres and also
different artists who may appeal to different
social groups. For example, Rihanna would
appeal to the more rock and pop audience who
reads the magazine, and Beyonc would appeal
to the RnB audiences that read the magazine.
When I decided on the genre for my music
magazine, I thought Id choose one of the most
popular genres, or two of the most popular that
mix well, because then a much wider audience
would be interested in the magazine, compared
to if it was a quite limited audience genre, such
as Metal. By choosing Pop and RnB, Id have a
better chance of gaining a wider audience, and
then visibly including that genre-related stories
and cover lines. These two genres also relate to
many different social groups whether the reader

The reader may read the magazine to feel and be informed with
the latest gossip or the newest music coming out. My magazine
shows this by including contents such as news and updates on
festivals, e.g. Reading Festival, and other contents such as
Exclusive Interviews with new hit artists. By including this, it
makes the magazine contrast from other magazines by including
exclusive content only visible to this magazine.
The magazine is also for those who read it for entertainment
about the latest gossip or news these social groups may also
relate to those for escapism, because they want to escape from
reality. This may relate to the theorist Tim OSullivan et al, who
refers to the notion of ideology based on a set of ideas or beliefs
which are seen as common sense and become naturalised. This
can also relate to those social groups who read for personal
identity, who might want to have an idea of individualism. This
refers to the theorist Michael Maffesoli, who identified the idea of
Urban Tribes and individualism.
Looking at the theorist Louis Althusser, he mentions the idea of
Interpellation, which is the social/ ideological practise of
misrecognising yourself based on a false consciousness
mediated by media representations. Keeping this in mind, I knew
I didnt want my magazine to make the readers feel like they
should misrecognise themselves from looking up to possible role
models, so I chose artists that are their own individuals and arent
afraid to be themselves. I also decided to keep the writing style
and interviews casual to the readers, so they can relate to the
artists at the same level.

What kind of media institution might distribute your

music magazine and why?
There are many different media institutions that
would distribute my music magazine. A publisher
such as Bauer Publishing is the number one seller
of magazines. They include this on their front page
on their online website. This makes them stand out
and shows and tells the audience that theyre the
best. Other music magazines such as Q and
Kerrang uses Bauer Media to distribute for them.
These are huge, well known and popular music
magazines, so by using this media institution to
distribute my music magazine, the magazine would
gain a much wider audience. Because it is such a big
publishing company, the readers would trust them
that theyll be satisfied with buying a brand new
magazine. However, there might be competition
between my music magazine and Q magazine as
they include and display similar genres and target
the same audience.
I would also use IPC as my publisher for my
magazine as they are one of the leading magazine
institutions in the UK, where NME Magazine use
them as their publisher. By using IPC Media as my
publisher for my magazine, I would reach across to a
wide audience. My magazine is targeting a different
audience for a different genre, so there wouldnt be
any competition between the magazines being
distributed by IPC Media now. By using IPC Media, I
would also be sure to get my magazine across to my

My magazine would also have its own website, and

there it would be available for purchase and
download digitally, as well as receive in print.
The kind of distribution methods I would use for my
magazine would be putting printed copies of the
magazine in different, popular retail shops, such as
Newsagents. Most people still go to the shops if they
want a magazine rather than buy and download it
online. I would also distribute my magazine in large
supermarkets such as Tesco and Waitrose, which is
one of the main places people go to purchase their
newspapers or magazines. This would be a benefit
(to distribute the magazine here) as the magazine
would reach my target audience easier and getting
them to see and buy it.
Promoting the magazine on social medias would be
a benefit as it would reach a wider audience. This
audience may also be interested in a new product.
However, the complete magazine would not be
available to download for free online. It would
attract more of the younger audiences by having it
available to buy online as the younger audiences are
spending more time online than in shops.

Who would be the audience for your music

magazine?

The audience I have aimed for in my music magazine is

Mature Teenagers, from 16+. I have also included this in my
questionnaire which only asks for ages between 16-18. I
chose this audience because it would be easy for me to aim
my magazine at that target audience. This audience would
also suit my genre well and the contents included. If I aim this
for this particular audience, it would differentiate from other
music magazines, which are mostly aimed at older audiences,
usually from 20+. This would contrast my magazine from
other magazines and it would be a benefit as this is such a
wide audience, and not many magazines are aimed directly at
it. It would also be suitable for this target audience in the
thought of escapism as younger audiences like to escape into
someone elses thoughts and feel like they connect with role
models.
Roland Barthes used the theory of Myths, which relates to
the idea of escapism and how the media manipulates this to
show what the audience wants to see and read about. It lets
the audience escape from reality and feel a set of
individualism. This particularly relates to my target audience
due to the amount of students and older teenagers who feel
stressed from college and university. By including cover lines
on the front cover it tells the reader a little about the
magazine and what it contains. This gives an insight of the
magazine and therefore it may attract the reader more. Other
conventions such as main image, pull quotes, style of
photography and colour scheme all pull the reader in and
attract the target audience. They have to be the right
conventions that would fit the genre of the magazine,
however. I have therefore used a colour scheme of Black,
White and Light Pink, as this would mix well with the
masthead of my magazine, which is Fierce. This too is an

I want my audience to feel they can be entertained as well as informed with

my magazine. I want it to have a purpose, for the audience to feel like they
can form a sense of personal identity and feel socially integrated. This
genre and with the writing style being quite casual, I think it would get that
sense across to the audience, as they could relate to the content of the
magazine and the artists.
Conventions that mix well such as pull quotes, main image and style of
photography are all important aspects of a music magazine. These indicate
the genre a bit further take style of photography for example; my style of
photography for my main image is so that it shows a fierce, sassy and
independent look in women and portrays women in this way, so that it links
to feminism and the theorist John Berger, who said feminism was a Way of
seeing. It also refers to the theorist Janice Winship who stated that
feminism Refers to how differently women see themselves on front covers
compared to how masculine figures see women. This can end up to be a
bad representation of women, for men, who might see themselves as
dominant to women, or the fact that the men only see them as objects
and a piece of art, instead of an individual, whereas women may see other
women on front covers as independent, strong and superior to men, which
is therefore a positive aspect.
This is something that is being represented enormously in the media, and
many find feminism a problem, as they are being represented in a negative
way.
The way I would get my magazine across to my tended audience would be
through promotion and using publishers such as Bauer Publishing's and
IPC Media. This would be one of the best ways to get my magazine across
to the right audience, because these publishers are huge, UK based
publishers who are also familiar with other big magazines, for example,
Bauer Publishing's has worked with magazines such as Q and Kerrang,
and IPC Media has worked with NME magazine. By using these publishers
I know they will do a good job with getting my magazine published and
then promoted.

How did you attract/address your audience?

To attract my audience I have used
conventions used in real music magazines,
such as a Masthead, Fonts, Colour Scheme,
Pull Quotes, Cover Lines and a Main Image.
These can all be used to attract your
audience, such as the masthead of the
magazine may tell the reader a bit about the
contents the magazine may include and what
sort of genre it is. The masthead Fierce tells
the audience that it is aimed at a quite youngadult audience and mainly strong,
independent young women. The word Fierce
is quite exciting and catches the readers eyes
to want to know what its about. The genre
Pop and RnB are two of the most popular
genres, so by having these two as the main
genres in the magazine, it would attract a
wider audience. Also, by using the publisher
who publishes other huge music magazines,
Bauer Publishing and IPC Media, it would
attract the same type of audience that these
magazines aim at to attract. They would be

I also thought about uses of gratifications such

as if the magazine should be used for the
audience to feel informed, personal identity,
socially integrated, escapism or
entertainment. I decided that my magazine
should include all of these gratifications, as
the audience may want to feel informed and
updated about what is going on with their
favourite artists lives.
However, I used an informal language in my
magazine to let the reader feel a type of
personal identity, and not like the celebrities
are better than them, but to remind the
audience that theyre just like them. My
magazine is also for entertainment. It should
be seen as a fun read but can also be used for
the younger audience to be used as an escape
from reality. This lets them be a part of the
gossip and lets them into the artists lives, in
the music magazine.