2. 1. In what ways do you think your use, develop or challenges
forms and conventions of real media products?
When making my music magazine I
did not want it to differ drastically
from most music magazines. I
wanted to make sure that my
magazine still caught the essence of
typical codes and conventions of a
music magazine but at the same
time is unique and different for it to
appeal to my target audience.
When it came to my front cover I
wanted it to appeal to my readers
and make them want to buy my
magazine, by following specific or
similar layouts to other music
magazines for my front cover. I did
this by placing the strap lines so
that they would follow the outline
of my front cover star.
3. I wanted to make sure that my readers do not find my front cover
confusing by placing my strap lines and features all over the cover. I
challenged other music magazine by being quite flexible with the
colour choices I have used for my front cover. I feel that most music
magazines go for the typical white, black and grey background colour
and then add a pop of colure through the cover star’s attire. However I
went for ranges of colours from yellows, blues and burgundy because I
felt that these particular colours brought out and put a lot of emphasis
on the genre of my magazine which is indie. Furthermore I believe that
the genre I have chosen for my magazine adds to challenging other
popular music magazine. This is because indie has not been a genre
that has been brought out into a magazine format by itself. It has
always been intertwined with another genre such as NME magazine
which uses both indie and rock genres.
I did not want to challenge other music magazines with the style of my
front cover photo. I wanted to make sure that the photo I used for my
front cover was simple yet still effective, not to over the top for it
convey different messages about my magazine. I dressed my cover star
in a casual yet smart outfit by combining a straight cut blazer with a
coloured checked shirt to give a more relaxed feel.
4. 2. How does your media product represent particular social
groups?
With today's generation I wanted to make
sure that my magazine did not push the
boundaries when it came to representing a
certain type of person or group. I targeted
my magazine at a audience between the
ages of 16-24. In this present day a lot of
people already have a negative
interpretation of the people associated in
this age group. In my magazine I wanted to
assert the message that the artists are
people who worked to where they are and
not people who are successful because they
have a plausible voice but their image is the
main reason why they have been successful.
I also believe my magazine shows
originality. The picture of the artist’s used in
my magazine show how different and
distinctive they are. I think my magazine
portrays this generation of people as being
individual and not being a follower of a
crowd instead of standing out amongst the
crowds.
5. 3. What kind of media institution will distribute your product and why?
There are two main media institutions that I would
choose between to distribute my product: International
Publishing Company (IPC) and Bauer Media Group.
IPC Media is one of the UK's leading magazine consumer
magazine and digital publisher. It has a huge product
portfolio and sells over 350 million copies every year. IPC
Media already distribute music magazine NME and
Guitar. Both complete opposite genre and target
audience. Bauer Media Group is a large German
publishing company that operates in 15 countries
worldwide. It publishes music magazines MOJO, Kerrang
and Q.
I would want IPC Media to distribute my music magazine.
Firstly it is one of the UK's most successful magazine
distributors; This tells me that IPC Media is able to
market my magazine at the demographic audience of 16-
24.
The Bauer Media Group has a lot of successful history
distributing a huge mass of music magazine such as
MOJO, Kerrang and Q. However I feel that my magazine
would not be successful selling because of the amount of
competition. Whereas IPC Media only distribute two
magazines: NME and Guitar. I believe that my magazine is
more suited with their product portfolio when it comes
to music magazines.
6. 4. Who would be the audience for your music magazine and why?
When conducting my research and my questionnaire I found that
people between the ages of 16-24 were a lot more interested in the
genre that I wanted to create my magazine for. My research also
showed me that NME was the only magazine selling an indie genre of
music however this was intertwined with rock. This meant that there
was not a magazine that solely focused on the indie genre of music,
and therefore there was a gap in the market.
I chose to target my magazine at a younger audience because I felt
that today's generation of young adults have become a lot more aware
of indie music and are starting to become more influenced by indie
music through festivals such as Reading and Leeds. Furthermore a lot
of artist’s in the music industry today come from the indie genre of
music such Ed Sheeran who won awards for British Breakthrough Artist
of the year in both 2011 and 2012 and has become so popular since he
first hit the music scene uploading videos on Youtube which has led
him to become extremely well known with the young adults.
7. 5. How did you attract or address your audience?
I think when it comes to making a magazine that is aimed at
more of a younger group of people you need to make sure
that you develop a product that they want to read and does
not comes across as boring or just another music magazine. I
made my front cover using a mixture of bright colours and
strong dark colours that together complement one another to
stand which I thought would be important for readers within
my target audience because it will make them want to pick up
a magazine that looks unique besides other magazines. Also I
used specific artist’s that I featured on both front cover and
contents page that very well known within the indie genre of
music and artist that readers can relate to be inspired by. Price
is another factor that I believe plays a big part in attracting
your target audience. My questionnaire showed that people
would not be willing to pay more than £2.50 for a music
magazine so therefore I decided to price my magazine at £2. I
wanted to make sure that my magazine did not come across
as being too expensive because the majority of my readers
will be students and they will not be willing to spend a lot of
money on a magazine. My magazine will also be published
monthly and will feature articles such as interviews, latest
news, monthly reviews and more. This gives my readers a
chance to do some research on the artists that are featured in
the magazines and upcoming artists too.
8. 6. What have you learned about technologies from the process
of constructing this product?
When making my music magazine I used the Adobe software
Fireworks CS5 when creating my front cover, contents page and
double page spread. I found Youtube on how to work your way
around the different features it offers. This was extremely
helpful and after a few attempts I found it a lot easier to use the
software. When taking my photos for my magazine I made sure
that they would be of high quality and therefore I used a
professional Nikon camera. The high quality photos helped my
magazine look more presentable and professional. Having used
a range of technologies helped me learn how much of a
difference it makes when trying to produce a product that needs
to look of the highest standard and quality.
9. 7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learned
in the progression from it to the full product?
When making the school magazine it was
a lot easier when it came to taking photos
because I was able to use school facilities
also coming up with features to include in
the contents page. When creating my
preliminary task I was using basic editing
tools and creating basic logos and fonts
for my school magazine that did not
consist of much skill. As well as the look
of the school magazine, attracting to an
audience was a lot easier because you are
a lot more aware of what is happening in
a school environment and what you can
include in your magazine to make
students want to read it.
10. When making the actual music magazine, it was a lot more stressful because I was finding it
harder to create a front cover that captured the essence of an indie magazine. It was also stressful
trying to create a contents page that looked as if it could be the contents page of a real magazine. I
looked at a range of different front covers and contents pages of different music magazines for
inspiration of what I could create for my own. Looking back at my preliminary task I can see that
there is a big difference between the standard and quality of it compared to my music magazine. I
think this was because when I first start using the software for my preliminary task I was not as
familiar as to when I started my music magazine. Through the making of my music magazine I
was constantly learning new things such as how to add more detail, colour changing and effects. I
also learnt what works best for successful music magazines and how they are able to please the
public eye with the overall look of a magazine. This allowed me to gain more knowledge on what
I should include in my magazine and the detail and positioning of my page layout. When I started
my music magazine I was definitely a lot more aware of what I wanted and paid a lot of attention
to detail in getting the look of my music magazine perfect.
