Researching Music Magazines

Task 1

The UK Magazine Industry:



This prezi includes information about the UK Magazine Industry, and also features a short clip about how the future of the industry.

Task 2

Music Magazines:


This prezi features all about 8 music magazines, and some information about them.

Anatomy of a Front Cover

Task 1

A breakdown of cover design elements:

• Logo -  A cool title that contrasts with a photo works well together, along with a minimalistic colour scheme of writing that will help make the subject stand out more.
  
  
• Secondary Cover-line - Due to sizing of the secondary cover-line, there is a hierarchy due to the text being the second biggest on the page in terms of cover-line.  
   
• Main Cover-line - Because Maxim's audience is aimed for males at the age of 18-34, there has to be a certain masculinity towards the (main) cover-line, hence why the typeface 'Blender Pro' was chosen, specifically for it's rounded edges.
   
• Typeface - On a magazine, only use one typeface upon a cover, because it can confuse the customer otherwise. Maxim only used a variety of fonts and weights whilst still using 'Blender Pro'. The scale of hierarchy upon a well designed cover is:

1. Photo
2. Logo
3. Cover-lines

       This is because people always look at the photo first; they only look at the cover-lines after they've picked up the magazine.

 

• Contrast - Once a photo has been chosen, use a big/bold cover-line that correlates with the subject, so it is separated to the other cover-lines around it.
   
• Colour - You should decide on a colour that will go nicely with the image, but also keep it minimal. You should really pick black and one or two more colours to create a more 'unified' look.

 

Task 2

Anatomy of a front cover:

Task 3

Understanding magazine cover design - synchronising information:

Music Photographers Presentation

In this prezi, you will find a presentation of some music photographers, and some images that I liked of theirs, with a small note along with them.

Understanding Audiences

UNDERSTANDING AUDIENCES

WHY ARE AUDIENCES IMPORTANT TO MEDIA COMPANIES?

They are important, because an audience are the people who buy the products, hence why the company will make a profit. It’s important that a company knows about their audience, because that’s what makes them more likely to be successful.

DEMOGRAPHICS (WHAT / WHY)

Demographics are a method of categorising an audience into their ‘potential audience’. This can include: gender, age, religion, social grade, and ethnicity/race. They get this information by using questionnaires and focus groups, and they want to know this information so that they can base their product upon their potential audience. – And as I’ve already said, an audience is usually the people who make the company money.

 VALS / PSYCHOGRAPHICS (WHAT /WHY)

VAL stands for ‘Values and Lifestyles’, and together with psychographic profiling, they are the type of person you’re based on, in which involves your attitudes, interests, and values.

 Companies use psychographic profiling to find out what the audience is like, using their different qualities of being them, including their ‘values and lifestyle’. This helps with marketing a product because the company now knows what brands and other associations to the audience, to help them sell their own product.

Why is psychographics different to demographics?

Psychographics are based upon a lifestyle, and more about the mind of the audience, whereas demographics are more based upon a physical standard of the audience.

 

. . . . . . .

Cross Cultural Consumer Characterization (4Cs for short). This classification model is presented in the table below

Which of the above profiles would typically buy a music magazine and why?

I believe that the ‘Explorer’ profile would typically buy a music magazine, because usually the audience that buys music magazines are younger and usually students. They also want to experience things because they’re so young (going to festivals or concerts).

Example of VALS:

http://www.strategicbusinessinsights.com/vals/presurvey.shtml

State what VALs you are based on your answers to the questions.

A ‘Striver’, and a ‘Survivor’.

Explain what the titles mean (what is a striver? Etc.)

Striver – They are active consumers within the market, and they use video games as a form of fantasy. They are fun loving, intimate, and rely heavily on public transport. Not only this, but they wear their wealth.

Experiencers – These are avid consumers, and they spend a lot of money on fashion, entertainment, and socialising. They purchase these things in attempt to look ‘cool’. This includes wanting everything.

Thinkers – Thinkers usually do their research before they do something, and enjoy a historical perspective. They are also usually financially established. Unlike experiencers, they don’t buy what’s new and cool, but buy proven products. Furthermore, they use technology in functional ways.   

Innovators – Innovators are always taking in information, and are confident enough to be able to experiment. They also make the highest amount of financial transactions. Moreover, they are self- directed consumers, and enjoy the challenge of problem solving.

Achievers – These are family and job orientated, and they are fully scheduled, goal orientated, hardworking, moderate, private, and professional.

Believers – Believers believe in basic rights and wrongs lead to a good life, and they rely on being spiritual, and faithful to provide inspiration. They resort to TV and romance novels for a way to escape.

Makers – Makers are distrustful of the government, and have a strong interest of automotive things. They have a sharp belief of gender roles, want to protect what they perceive as theirs, and want their own land.

Survivors – Survivors are cautious and risk averse, and are quite thrifty, but usually the oldest of consumers.  They take comfort in routine, and are heavy TV viewers. They are also loyal to certain brands and products.  

 

 

How far do you agree with the categories you have been given?

 
I do agree with the categories that have been given to me, as I love to play video games, and I admit I do love to watch a lot of TV series. Though I disagree partly with being a survivor, because I’m a young consumer.

 

Questionnaire

This is my questionnaire in preparation for my music magazine:

 

 

 

 

 

Music Magazine Comparison





As part of my next task, I have to compare and contrast two magazines of the same genre. I picked Kerrang! magazine, and also Rocksound. The images I have chosen feature the same band as a main focus to keep it more fair in comparison.


Something the magazine does the same, is using one image that is a medium close-up shot of one of the main features of the magazine. In this case, they both use the band Green Day as their main focus. They both have use capitals and a bold font to highlight the band's presence on the magazine, which grabs your focus onto the band itself, rather than the actual magazine title.
 Furthermore, they both have a segment at the bottom of the page, in which it tells the audience what else is included within the magazine, and it shows the different bands.
 Both magazines also have a competition on going, in which the audience can win a prize. This is a method in which the audience has to buy the magazine to be able to have a shot of winning.

However, one thing that Kerrang! does differently to Rocksound, is that they give a glimpse of what posters are included inside the magazine, in which it entices the audience to go buy the magazine, as the posters are something practical and could interest them.
 Instead of posters, Rocksound uses a free CD as a freebie, yet it isn't as enticing as it's quite small and doesn't show the audience what exactly is contained.


ABC.org.uk Findings:

I searched up both of these magazines on ABC.org.uk, and these were my results:

Kerrang!

Product Type:          Consumer Magazines

Sector/Geography:   Music: Rock

Media Owner:          Bauer Consumer Media

Former Name(s):     Kerrang! (EMAP Consumer Media PLC), Kerrang

First Joined ABC:    1990

Rocksound

 

Product Type:          Consumer Magazines

Sector/Geography:   Music: Rock

Media Owner:          Rock Sound Ltd
Former Name(s):
First Joined ABC:    2000

 

Peer Evaluation - Preliminary Magazine

As part of the evaluation process, I got 3 fellow students of my AS Media Studies class to fill in a questionnaire on my preliminary magazine.

I asked them 4 statements and 2 questions, and then each answer required them to tick a box of either:

-Strongly Agree
-Agree
-Disagree
-Strongly Disagree

Excluding the 2 questions, in which they gave me a statement.

Here are the results:

1. My preliminary magazine looks professional:

One person said 'Strongly Agree', and two people said 'Agree'.

2. My cover and contents page correlate well:

One person said 'Strongly Agree', and two people said 'Agree'.

3. My contents page can be well navigated:

All three people said 'Strongly Agree'.

4. The preliminary magazine looks like I knew how to use the programs:

One person said 'Strongly Agree' and two people said 'Agree'.

5. What do you like about my preliminary magazine?

 - "I like the small features like the logo and the barcode. I also like the title of the contents page, and how you used your colour scheme."

 -"I like the contents page a lot, and I like your house style."

 -"I like how professional the contents page looks."

6. What should I change on my preliminary magazine?

 -"I think you should change the font of the title, on the front cover."

 -"On the front cover, I think you should have more of an anchorage."

 -"I think you should change the colour of the blue text, so it's easier to read."


My response to the questionnaire:

I was surprised at all the positive feedback to my magazine, as everyone thought my contents page was really professional, and easily navigated. I also got an insight of how it looks to other people, like my text fonts or colours - as they may look better to me, rather than to other people.

I also learnt about anchorage, that I can now use on my next project of the music magazine, to make it more professional and technical.

Final Contents Page - Preliminary Magazine

I have completed my preliminary magazine's contents page, in which I used In Design to create:

Evaluation:

1) What went well with photography?

In terms of photography, I used the same photos that I took from when I shot for the front cover of my magazine, therefore the same basis applies here from the evaluation of my front cover.

2) What did you learn about using the software?

I learned variety of new techniques whilst using In Design. I mainly learnt how to insert text into columns, using the template given. I also learned how to frame images onto the page. Furthermore, I learned how make placements from Photoshop not look so blurry, by using the 'overprint preview' tool. Though this took me a long time to grasp, as I didn't know how to fix it. I tried doing the images and title separately, and doing it all on In Design. However, the outcome was that my contents page looked more unprofessional.

3) What do you think of what is produced?

In comparison to my front cover, I don't think this looks as good nor as professional. I don't like the blank spaces in the background, yet when I tried to add a background it looked quite tacky. I think overall it's not the best piece I could of created, but In Design was very hard to grasp.
 I think if I had further knowledge, I would try to utilise space more effectively, and try to make all the different aspects of the contents flow together, rather than them looking so separated.

4) Why did you choose to do what you did and how much of an effect did the audience research have?

I chose the colour scheme, because it correlated well with my front cover, yet the subtitles/ titles for the different features of the magazine are in orange to stand out and grab the reader's attention. I used orange also because it contrasts with blue, making the page look bright and sectioned.
 I also chose to have images on the page, as it breaks up all the text, and makes the page more easily navigated.
 The audience research made a big effect, because it meant I had more knowledge on how to create a contents page, and also it meant I had a template to inspire off of. This actually inspired me to use images like I did, and having correlating numbers to the images, to make my page easily navigated.