Music magazine research

• Here are magazine covers by NME (New Musical Express), NME is a popular music publication in the UK and has been published weekly since March 1952, NME started as a music paper but gradually moved towards a magazine format in the 1980's. It was the first British paper to include a singles chart in the 14 November, 1952 edition. In the 1970s it became the best-selling British music paper. Today NME.COM has 5 million users per month. In 2002 NME started publishing  series of themed magazines reprinting vintage articles, interviews and reviews from the NME archives. The NME special editions were called 'NME Originals', with some featuring articles from other music titles owned by IPC; who produces NME. Typical content of a NME magazine would be, music articles; articles on artists, interviews, reviews, offers, information on tours and gigs, photos, posters. The target audience for NME magazine are the younger generation; which is  65% male, 50% between the ages of 16-24, 23% within the ages of 25-34 and 79% ABC1. It is people who are interested in alternative and rock music. Sales of NME magazine has fallen 14.3% to 29,020 in the first half of 2011, showing that it is not as popular as it was in previous years and they are loosing money, NME have various types of media like the internet, radio etc, this means many people are choosing to not read the magazine and instead get the news using their other options, NME.com has over 5 million users per month, compared to nearly 30,000 for the magazine, it is a big difference and a massive fall for the magazine.

 This shows the different types of media NME produce.

Here is an interview with Florence and the Machine from her NME cover shoot.

This is Florence and The Machine at Glastonbury 2010 performing Dog Days Are Over.

Here are some magazine covers by Kerrang!, which is a UK based music magazine devoted to rock musicpublished by Bauer Media group. It was first published on June 6th 1981, as a one-off suplement in the Sounds newspaper, Kerrang! is named are the onomatopoeic word that comes from the sound made when playing a power chord on an electric guitar. Kerrang! was initially devoted to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and the rise of hard rock acts. In the early 2000s it became the best-selling British  music newspaper. Since 1993. the magazine have been holding an annual awards cermony called Kerrang! Awards to mark the most successful music bands in the interests of their readers. The event is always presented by major music celebrities, with many others who are outside the industry attending the event.The target audience is 16-25 year olds and specific towards rock music and heavy metal fans. However in recent years, the age of the audience has dropped and it is more 14-17 year olds who tend to buy and read it due to its featured bands being more poppy. (Elliot Minor, We Are The Ocean, 30 Seconds To Mars etc). Kerrang!'s circulation figures rose 4.5% to 44,013, this is due to popularity and being globally known as the worlds best selling music magazine.

Here is a Kerrang! podcast with 30 Seconds to Mars

Here is 30 Seconds to Mars performing Closer to the Edge at Reading Festival 2011.

Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the UK. Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs, which at the time were a new technology. Q was first published in October 1986, setting itself apart from much of the other music press with monthly production and higher standards of photography and printing.  In the early years, the magazine was sub-titled "The modern guide to music and more". Originally it was to be called Cue; in the sense of cueing a record ready to play, but the name was changed so that it wouldn't be mistaken for a snooker magazine. Another reason, cited in Q's 200th edition, is that a single-letter title would be more prominent on newsstands. Q magazines typical content is an extensive reviews section; which features new releases, reissues, music compilations, film and live concert reviews. Q also includes a list of 8 albums which they feel is the best new releases over the last 3 months. Q's current editor is Paul Rees who is the former editor of the UK edition of Kerrang!. Q is produced by Bauer Consumer Media. The target audience for Q magazine are the older generation such as people in their 30's and 40's who are looking for a different mode of address, more sophisticated and just want to know more about the music instead of gossip. Although the founders state that they want to appeal to all the older generation, it seems that Q magazine doesn't appeal to many woman of that age. Q's circulation figures fell by 6.9% this year, this could be because of the range of media Q uses to attract their audience, such as the TV channel and radio.

Here is an interview with Cheryl Cole and Q magazine

Here is Cheryl Cole performing Fight For This Live live at The X factor in 2009.

My magazine cover

Here is my magazine front cover, I am pleased with the outcome and I think it looks very professional and eye catching, and something I personally would want to read. I think this will attract the target audience which is obviously college students and I feel I have learnt a lot in the process of making this, I have learnt many new Photshop and InDesign skills, how to use a Mac and about the covnetions of a magazine.

Tagline for my front cover

I have decided to use this tagline on my front cover:

College life made easier...

I decided to use this because it adds the cover an extra something to make you want to pick it up, I chose the font 'Snell roundhand' because it looks very sophisticated so it doesn't look like a boring magazine, the font is blue to go with the college colours and I think this makes the reader feel better about reading the magazine as you know it will make college life easier.

Cover lines for my front cover

Here are the two cover lines I decided to use for my front cover:

Media Trip to... Hollywood!

and

Inset Day on Friday!

I chose these for my cover lines as I had already thought of them before hand and I thought they were fitting for my cover. I used the font called 'Celticmd' because it stands out and you can tell they're important information. I used green with a blue outline because they are the college colours so are suitable for my magazine but you can't really see the outline, I am pleased with this outcome and I think they make my magazine look edgy and professional. 

I was going to have the cover line 'More buses now available to get to college' but I decided to use it in a puff/plug instead as I think it makes the cover look more interesting and stand out and don't think it would attract the audience as well if it was a cover line.

This is my puff/plug, in the cover the writing is in the circle, I used green and blue again for the colours and the font is 'Lucida Calligraphy', I used this so it is different and simple so doesn't take attention away from the main cover lines.

I have used a light blue background for my front cover so the green and dark blue parts stand out more and because blue is a college colour, this makes the whole magazine stand out on a shelf and is a good asset.

I put the issue number and the date of release next to the barcode and price as that information are all relevant but shouldn't stand out that much except for the price so they should be together. I put the price as 20p as I think the magazine is worth some money but it is only a college magazine so shouldn't cost too much, and students with some spare change can easily buy it, the price is in yellow so it stands out more.

Masthead for my front cover

Here is the mast head I have chosen for my front cover:

LifeinCollege

I decided to use the font called 'Communication Digital' for my masthead, I think the font looks very modern and eye catching and I think makes a simple title like mine come to life. I used a dark blue colour for the main colour and a yellow colour on the outside but you cant see that here, blue is one of the colleges colours and also is a stereotypical boy colour and yellow makes it look more edgy and unique so I like this masthead.

Here is a masthead I was going to use:

LifeinCollege

I decided to not use this font as I thought it wasn't eye catching enough for a masthead and I thought the colour was too bright which is why I used a dark blue in my final masthead.

Photography for Magazine cover

I decided to use the photo of the boy reading the book for my magazine cover, I cropped him out the original photo and put him on a new image again, I did this because before, the cropping wasn't very good as it was just a draft, but now I wanted to crop the boy really well and I think I did an okay job.

First I opened the image up in Photoshop and cropped around the boy and the book using the magnetic lasso tool, I then copy and pasted it onto a new image so it was a white background, I then used the rubber tool to cover the bits I didn't crop very well. I then used the spot healing brush tool to cover the blemishes on the boys face. I then used the eyedropper tool to get the colour of the parts of the image I cropped too much of and made gaps to cover up the gaps, I then used the brush tool to do this. I then applied a diffuse glow filter to my image to make it look a bit more edgy. I think the hardest part to crop in my photo was the boys hair as it is curly and looks a bit messy and theres bits I cant get to because of the curls but I think it still professional and this is the first time I have done a proper cropped out photo with filters and the works and I am pleased with the outcome and hopefully it will look well with the rest of my magazine cover.

Here is the original version of my image.

Here is the edited version of my image.

Preliminary Task- Draft of magazine cover

This is my draft of my magazine cover. I took a photo at home of a boy smiling and reading a book with my digital camera, then I put the image on Photoshop and cropped around him with a magnetic lasso tool which took me a while to get the hang of, I then saved the cropped version as a JPEG and then placed it on InDesign and filled the image to the frame proportionally. I then created a title for my magazine and changed the colour and the colour surrounding the text to blue and yellow, blue because it is part of the college logo, and yellow as it is a bright color and will attract the readers eye, I changed the font to an eye catching an edgy font called 'Junior and Stinky' and it makes the cover look professional. I now know when I make the final version of my magazine cover, what type of picture and layout I will use, I may decide to use this image in my final product; I made the boy pose with a book so he looks like he's enjoying college life which is what I want on a cover of a college magazine.

Preliminary Task- Initial Ideas

My initial ideas for my magazine and front cover are:

I am going to have a image of a boy or girl covering most of the front cover, this is because images seem to attract peoples eyes more than text so a large image will be good for my magazine.

I am going to have information  about trips and important news such as when there is inset days and news about courses in my magazine as I feel this will attract more students to read the magazine as they will want to know this information.

I am going to have a bold and fairly big masthead on my front cover with an eye catching font to attract the target audience which is Southdowns College students so my magazine will catch their eye.

I am going to have a column on how to improve the magazine and college so the students will feel involved and I can help make the magazine and college the best it can be.

I am most likely going to have a tagline on my magazine cover so it makes the magazine look more sophisticated and interesting.

I am going to use professional and interesting fonts for my magazine to make the text look more interesting for the reader.

I am going to include news about travel in my magazine as I know this is an issue for many students and they would like to know there may be some improvement.

I am going to include a barcode on my magazine cover so students know that it is not a cheap free magazine and that it is worth the money.

I may include some quizzes and puzzles in my magazine so students have something to do on a break if they're bored, and this will encourage them to buy the magazine more often knowing that there is something to do in it other than read.

I may include text on the front cover explaining how good Southdowns College is or something along those lines, to make the reader feel they are at the right college and in a nice environment.

Preliminary Task- Proposal and Flat plan

Here is my proposal for my College magazine:

Who are you aiming your magazine at specifically? (there needs to be a clear sense that you are targeting a specific audience). I am aiming my magazine at college students as the magazine is going to be a college magazine, it will be for people at Southdowns College and not any other college so I can advertise offers and news within the college and keep it specific. My target audience will be both men and women, basically for every  student at Southdowns College.

What will your magazine be about? (what might the typical content be?). My magazine will be a general college magazine and the typical content in my magazine will be information that people in the college need to know, and extras. There will be information about trips; this is because college students would love to hear about good trips, clubs; this is because when students have spare time they would might like to join a club and plus they look good on applications for Universities,travel; this is because lots of students have trouble with travel including myself, so people would like to know that things can be improved or are improving, a column on how to improve the magazine and the college; this is because it will make the students feel involved and important and then I would know how to make the magazine the best it could be  and help to improve the college, news about courses, staffs emails and information on when there are days off; this is because this news is pretty much essential in a college magazine and it would definitely make students want to read it as the news is important, directions on how to get around the college; this is because for people who are new to the college they would find it difficult  to find there way round so this would really help,college sports news; this is so everyone can keep updated and support their college, quizzes and puzzles; this is because it will give students something to do when they are on a break and bored, and finally music reviews; this is because more people can relate to the magazine if it has bands and artists they like included within the magazine and more people will want to read it.

What are your ideas for cover lines? An idea for a cover line is advertising a new trip like “Media trip to Hollywood!”, I decided to come up with this idea as if it was me; being a college student, seeing that cover line I would definitely want to find out more information, most students would want to go on a good trip so having it as a cover line will attract a lot of readers. I was also thinking of advertising when there was a day off maybe saying “Inset day Friday!”, I decided to come up with this idea as it is information every college student needs to know and information they would want to know so they would be more likely to pick up the magazine.

What title have you decided on and why? (you could also include examples of titles you have rejected and explain why). The title I have decided on for my magazine is “LifeinCollege”, I chose this name because you know what the magazine is going to be about, it's not too long that you don't have the effort to read it, and the fact there is no gaps between the words give the name an edge and makes it look more interesting than just “Life in College”. I did have some other ideas, “Cnews!”, “College Life” and “The College Mag”, I decided to not go with any of these ideas as I felt they were a bit plain and didn't suit the contents in my magazine as much as my chosen name.

What fonts do you want to use? (you could include examples and if you have got as far as thinking of ideas for the design of the masthead you could include these too). I want to use the fonts from the mac computers so I don't know any of the names, but I want to use a big and bold and professional font for the masthead and I want to use a soft font which is sophisticated with a bit of edge for the text to make the text more inviting to read. I want to use Serif fonts and sans serif fonts as I prefer to use them and it gives me more variety.

What are your ideas for taglines? (if you want to use one)?. I have one idea for a tagline, “College life made easier” I think this is quite a good tagline as it makes students feel reassured and  will make them want to read the magazine. I think taglines are good to add a last minute message to make the target audience want to read the magazine which is why I decided to use one. I had another idea for a tagline “Everything you need to know about College life”, I felt this was too long so that is why I chose the tagline “College life made easier”.

When in the year will it be published? (cover can reflect season changed or events, consider the academic year). My magazine will be published in September to welcome the new academic year, I think this is the best time to publish a college magazine especially for the new students just starting at college, they will need a guide to help them and that is why I have chosen to publish it as soon as they start college.

What kind of image do you expect to put on the front cover and how will you go about getting the image?. I am going to put an image of a college boy reading a book, I am going to take the image myself using my digital camera, I am going to use a plain background so the image is not confusing, and I have decided to use a boy as I am able to to take a picture of a boy easier than a girl, and I personally feel boys are going to want to read it more if there is a boy on the front cover as would girls, but if it was the other way round I don't think it would have the same effect.

How frequently would it be published? My magazine would be published every week so the latest information is always at hand, and so students would trust the magazine as it is frequently published.

What are the dimensions of the cover (magazines are now available in different size formats)? My magazine would be in A5 so that it can fit in students bags, and if it is a slow news week, it will still look busy as the magazine isn't that big in size. Students are more likely to pick up something that they can put in their bag and read when they're on a break instead of something that is a burden to carry.

What images/colour would you use on the contents page? I would use colours that go with the college and college logo, so in my case it is green, blue and white, this is so students will know it is a Southdowns College magazine. I would use images that suit the layout of the magazine and suit the text, for example, “Today is Comic Relief”, so I would use red colours and images to do with Comic Relief.                                      

Here is my flat plan: