1. Contents Page

2. Mind Map From the editor: Welcome to the second issue of Country Avenue in 2011! In this edition I’d like to present to you the incredible newcomer Crystal Symonds, as well as many more feature interviews with the artists you love; including Faith Hill and Carrie Underwood – the two dominating winners at last month’s CMAs. Furthermore, we bring you the latest news from the country world, exclusives, as well as tonnes of reviews of the upcoming albums and what we think will be hitting the #1 spot in the near future! Don’t forget to check out our brand new section “Your letters/Your pictures” - dedicated to all of you and your gig experience! Have a fantastic February! Signature Contents Puff: Free MEGA Poster Subscription offer: Subscribe to Country Avenue and save $30! With your monthly subscription to Country Avenue, you never miss an issue – delivered free of charge to your front door. With the first issue you will receive retail vouchers, latest downloads and more! (US citizens only) CONTENTS We’d like to hear from you, e-mail us at letters@countryavenue.com CONTENTS

3. Mock Up #1 Country Avenue Masthead Identically to the front cover, I tried to use and include as many conventional features of contents pages as possible, by continuously referring back to my research. The elements I have included are the main Contents title, the front cover masthead of the magazine (serving as a logo), a puff promoting the mega posters inside, a message from the editor, a smaller and simpler This Month title, three photos with corresponding page numbers, the contents listing categorized into three (similarly to Billboard magazine), and a subscription offer with the photo of the current issue. I didn’t leave massive black spaces so that the page looks ‘packed’ with content, however I made sure to lay out the page so that it doesn’t appear overpowering or overcrowded to the user. Puff Contents Masthead This Month From the editor Latest Features Page numbers Photo Reviews Photo Photo of the magazine Photo Subscription Offer

4. Mock Up #2 Country Avenue Masthead Puff For the second mock up I decided to use the same elements, but only change the lay out; this is because I wanted to see the difference different lay out makes in appearance and I didn’t want to end up with two massively different pages to choose from, as then it’d be difficult to compare the two. I kept one of the slightly tilted photos as I wanted to keep the layout conventional; and the sizes of most of the elements, with slight changes, as they had to be adapted to the new lay out. I positioned the contents listings on the left side and I kept the subscription offer at the bottom where it tends to appear in music magazines. I have opted for the second mock up of the contents page as a template for the final page. I see this layout as more mature and professional, and it appears clearer. Contents Masthead This Month Latest Photo Features Page numbers Photo Reviews Photo From the editor Photo of the magazine Subscription Offer

5. Final Contents Page Contents FEBRUARY 2011 I constantly referred back to my initial research in order to keep the conventions. The page contains a puff, which is highlighted in yellow on black background and it accompanies a tilted photo corresponding to the selling point; as well as the titles of categories white on black with red page number for clarity. The artists’ names are bold, which is a convention for contents pages, just like in standfirsts. The column on the right contains three photos of the main features with clearly indicated page numbers for easy navigation. I kept the same colour scheme as on the front cover for consistency, but mainly used black and white for the key features so that the page is clear and readable. Following the conventions further, I included a message from the editor, and I scanned in my own signature for authenticity, and a subscription offer which is often seen on contents pages. The contents title follows the same colour scheme and is the largest font on the whole page. I inserted the month of the issue and the magazine’s masthead (and logo) on the slug of the page. I used the colour red to emphasise on one of the puffs and the page numbers. FREE MEGA POSTER! 18 THIS MONTH LATEST 6THE COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS 8CARRIE UNDERWOOD 10THE GRAND OLE OPRY 11LADY ANTEBELLUM Backstage Special! FEATURES 14 FAITH HILL – Q&A: Your questions answered! 18 CRYSTAL SYMONDS - COVER STORY! In her first major interview, the promising star talks of her rise to fame and gives advice to young artists. 24 What’s the deal with TIM MCGRAW? 28 AMBER ROBERTS’ journey to the Grand Ole Opry 30 Back on the road with TAYLOR SWIFT 34 EMMA TOMKINS is back! The superstar talks of her return to music. 38 THE GRAMMYS – A detailed review of the winners, the losers, the fashion and the show stopping performances! 46 YOUR letters and photos! 28 REVIEWS 50 ALBUMS OUT THIS MONTH – ALISON KRAUSS, LEANN RIMES, KEITH URBAN and more! 52 LATEST SINGLES 54 THE ULTIMATE COUNTRY GIG GUIDE – Live reviews, tour announcements and the best deals for the greatest live experience! 34 FROM THE EDITOR Welcome to the second issue of Country Avenue in 2011! In this edition I’d like to present to you the incredible new- comer Crystal Symonds, as well as many more feature interviews with the artists you love; including Faith Hill and Carrie Underwood – the two domina- ting winners at last month’s CMAs. Furthermore, we bring you the latest news from the country world, exclusives, as well as tonnes of reviews of the upcoming albums and what we think will be hitting the #1 spot in the near future! Don’t forget to check out our brand new section “Your letters/Your pictures” - dedicated to all of you and your gig experience! Have a fantastic February! SUBSCRIBE NOW! Special offer! Subscribe to Country Avenue today and save $30! With your monthly subscription to Country Avenue, you never miss an issue – delivered free of charge to your front door. With the first issue you will receive retail vouchers, latest downloads and more! (US citizens only) Visit: countryavenue.com/subscribe From the editor Editor-in-Chief