My preliminary task - complete

This is my front cover of my prelimininary magazine, it is a school magazine for the sixth form at Southfield School for Girls

The next two images are the first double page spread of my magazine and include my contents page

My double page spread was a revision tips page for a sixth form group. It shows revision tips to help the Southfield sixth form with the run up to exams.

Uses and Gratifications of Music Magazines

McQuail (1983) classified the following common reasons for media use:

Information

• finding out about relevant events and conditions in immediate surroundings, society and the world - in music magazines the readers can gain an insight into the world of music which they are initially interested.
• seeking advice on practical matters or opinion and decision choices - the magazines can sometimes allow the readers to help make those decisions that they feel could be important to their lives, the magazines can influence these decisions and choices of the reader.
• satisfying curiosity and general interest - music magazines inform the reader about recent news on topics such as bands and tour dates of interest.
• learning/self-education - music magazines can be read by their audiences to learn about the bands and music style that interests them. People may also buy the magazine to extend their knowledge of music further.

Personal Identity

• finding reinforcement for personal values - people can read magazines based upon a typical musical genre and find within them views which could be used personally and seen as meaningful
• finding models of behavior - music magazines can easily and frequently depict character, such as bands or singers which can influence the readers behavior and ways of life.
• identifying with valued others (in the media) - music magazines containing interviews and personal views by the bands and singers can allow the reader to draw some identification between themselves and the artist.

Integration and Social Interaction

• Gaining insight into the circumstances of others - similar to identifying with them, the reader can read and learn about some of the situations and hardships many artists can endure.
• identifying with others and gain a sense of belonging - others with a similar choice in music can interact with the reader through pages on magazines; knowing they feel similar or some matters helps the reader gain a sense of belonging.
• finding a basis for conversation and social interaction - many people that enjoy similar music often use this as a base for conversation. music magazine articles also allow a thread for conversation; about a band or tour for example.

Entertainment

• escaping from problems - some readers will read a magazine to take them somewhere else. a music magazine containing an article about a recent performance by a band can easily be an escape for music fans
• Relaxing and filling time - readers may see the music magazine just as an aid to relax or fill time due to the fairly easy reading written in them commonly.

Summary of the conventions I plan to use

Throughout my progress I have noted certain conventions which I will follow when creating my music magazine. The first conventions that I will ensure I use within my magazine relate to the front cover of the magazine, I have followed conventions from two music magazines Kerrang and NME. The front cover of these magazines has allowed me to understand what music magazine audiences want from a front cover to attract them, for example the house style of the magazines Kerrang and NME are both similar when considering the front cover. Below are some conventions of the magazines front covers:

• always just one image of the main band in the magazine that issue
• always have the title of the magazine in obvious view (but can be obscured partly by images of band or artist)
• have tag-lines of articles around the edge of the image and one main headline in the centre of the page

The conventions of the magazines inside articles are also similar:

• one large image on one page, may spread across the second page
• the article written either in one area on the page opposite the image or across the bottom half of the pages

I plan to follow these conventions when creating my magazine however I will follow them loosely, meaning that I can add my own uniqueness to my work and to follow through with my aim to be a music magazine aimed more at a female audience.

Ideology and Music

All musical genres have an ideology: a set of ideas and values that fit the genre. Claude Levi-Straus's theory of binary oppositions applies here. in western cultrue we often think in pairs of ideas that oppose each other eg love/hate and war/peace.


General Ideologies

Pop/R'n'B

• more conformist
• slick
• butter produced
• conscious of good image
• less obviously sexual/euphimistic
• nodrugs/alcohol or veiled references
• more passive
• apolitical
• universal messages for all
• mass audiences
• mainstream
• prosocail
• non violent
• no swearing
• conspicous wealth
• about love

Rock/HipHop

• more rebellious
• rawer
• less over produced
• (pretend to) not care about their image
• sexual
• open drug/alcohol references
• more aggressive
• political
• about the artists
• self expression
• self indulgent
• niche audiences
• outside mainstream
• violence
• antisocial
• swearing
• act poor
• less about love

Mood Board - inspirations and ideas

Musicians



Genres

• Rock - Muse, Linkin Park, Kids in Glass Houses, The Killers, Nickelback, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, 30 Seconds to Mars


• Pop - Justin Beiber, Lady Gaga, Wonderland, Bruno Mars, Kylie Minogue, Duffy, Beyonce


• Dance - Manian, Basshunter, Roll Deep, Eddy Wata


• R'n'B - Rhianna, Chris Brown, Neyo, Jason Derulo, Taio Cruz, Eminem, Timberland

Conventional Camerawork

Front cover and main articles

• long shot of the artist


• no real background scenery on the front cover


• sometimes a lot more background in main articles


• close ups


• tilted angles


• generally straight shots


• some shot at a low angle

Other articles

• mainly close ups


• cropped images


• images similar to 'match on action'

Magazine Titles

Existing

• Kerrang


• NME


• Q


• Rolling Stones

New Ideas

• CentralRock - simple


• Brazen - different


• Quasar - star like object: showing the stars

Fonts

Conventional

• arial
• franklin gothic book
• lucida sans
• tahoma

Unconventional

• bradley hand ITC
• candy buzz BTN
• smarty pants BTN
• weathered SF

Choices

Music Magazine Genre
Rock

Target Audience
Age: 15-19
Gender: Female
Lifestyle: Student, Music Enthusiast
Interests: Music Bands, Tours, Festivals, Music Related Fashion
Socio-Economic Group: C2DE
In some ways this is an unconventional target audience due to that most rock music magazines are prodominently male read.
However, I feelthat there is a gap in the market for this magazine as it will focus more on the female music fans.
I feel I will be appealing to a large majority of the music magazine market, as it will be a magazine not completely unique but enough so that it will be more attractive to female audiences.

Name of Magazine
Central Rock - This idea is simple and to the point but could attract a nake audience more.
Quasar - This is a star like object giving it a feminine touch, however this could propose a problem with the pronounciation and it can not be abbrieviated because of the music magazine Q which is already in circulation.
Brazan - This is a short sharp word and could reflect the individuality and differences of the readers. However it could appeal to a large male audience.

Research Methods

There are four different types of research methods:

• Primary - research carried out personally
• Secondary - research found from other people or sources
• Qualitative - more to do with smaller numbers of people, this helps to gain a perspective of the persons opinions
• Quantitative - this finds any patterns or trends, it involves asking large numbers of people. generally in a questionnaire

Primary Research Methods include:

• questionnaire
• interview
• textual analysis
• survey
• online poll
• focus groups
• email
• text
• letter

Secondary Research Methods include:

• internet (industry websites and individual websites)
• books (mainly for media theory)
• newspapers and newspapers archives

Advantages of Primary Research

• can find reliable information
• guaranteed to find the responses you require

Disadvantages of Primary Research

• may not get enough responses

Advantages of a Questionnaire

• quick responses
• easy to compete
• direct answers
• easily distributed

Disadvantages of a Questionnaire

• people can lie
• sometimes difficult to get people to complete

Advantages of Email

• free
• simple to use
• fairly informal is okay

Disadvantages of Email

• junk mail
• misinterpretation of questions
• need the internet