Evaluation of Music Magazine

My music magazine is a Hip Hop/ R ‘n’B genre. In this industry they usually have perfect inspirational ladies with no flaws. This is what artist I featured on the front cover. This then can allow the audience to make comparisons to other Hip Hop artists in the music scene. Throughout my magazine I have stuck with a constant colour house style which are been black, red and grey. I chose these colours because the magazine will stand out from all the others and appeal to more people. The fonts I have used has been inspired by an existing magazine Vibe.
The font on the front cover is similar I have used a black bold masthead with a red outline in an old school style font so then it stands out a bit more. I have also used a skyline so then it gives more information about what stars are also featured in this issue it is also above the masthead like on the Vibe. I have also put coverlines of other articles in a free space on the cover so then it doesn’t look all out of place. The image a medium close up and is similar to the image on Vibe in the sense that the image of the artist is fun and can be related to lots of different kinds of people. The medium close up image is also a common convention of the Hip-Hop genre as it is the most dominant thing on the front cover. On the other hand I have decided to go against the Hip-Hop convention by using Italics and Arial for my coverlines this is because it went along with the font of the masthead. I have not used a splash as it is not a convention of my genre magazine it would make the magazine look odd in the sense that it would look out of place.
On my contents page I had gotten some inspiration from Q magazine. The title Contents is at the top of the page in bold in the same font as the masthead, this makes it clear to the audience what the page is. There is also an image of the artist who the cover story of the magazine is about this is carried on from the front cover, this image is a medium long shot. There is also the issue number and page number this is also a convention of a music magazine. The features list of the different articles is merged in with the image so then they look intertwined.
On the double page spread I have used Vibe magazine for inspiration, the large headline is at the top right on the opposite side of the main image this is a convention of a music magazine this is so then the magazine looks tidy with all the text on one side of the double page spread. I have gone against the Hip-Hop convention by putting the image on text on the opposite side of the double page spread. Instead of putting the image on the right hand side I have put it on the left hand side. This is because the setting of the page looked better this way. I have used a drop cap at the beginning of the introduction of the opening of the interview. This is so then it looks professional and it is easy to see where the beginning starts. I have not used a pull quote as I have used them twice already once in my coverlines on the front cover and a second time on the contents page, this going against the conventions.
This magazine is not stereotypical as it includes things for both genders so this magazine will be unisex. I have done this by including male and female artists in it as the genre of music is aimed at both genders too. On the double page spread interview the issues talked about can be realted to both genders. It will appeal to my age groups as the masthead stands out and there is a constant colour theme. The socio economic groups that I have targeted will enjoy reading this magazine as it is not formal or informal. I have taken some conventions from the magazine Vibe in order for my magazine to appeal to my audience group.  I have made sure the Beat is affordable to buy so then my target audience are able to buy the magazine as frequent as issues are released. For the C1, C2, D and E groups it was important for them to feel part of the scene. I fulfilled this task by making it relatable to them so when the interview is being read it feels like the artist is talking to them. I have also made it more appealing to the socio economic groups via the text, I have used colloquialisms which is language frequently used by everyone in everyday language. The whole concept of Hip-Hop music is ‘Rags to Riches and encouraging the youth not to get involved with gangs, drugs etc.’ This is why many people seek for inspiration from these artists.
The distribution of my magazine is based on genre and as it is Hip-Hop magazine, there is not a broad market in the music magazine industry that will want to distribute my magazine. This could be because Hip-Hop has been called materialistic and has been scrutinised because of what messages are behind the music and how most of the artists are still engaged with the gang culture. But on the other hand my magazine is representing the fun side and desire for music. So I feel the institutions that would distribute my magazine are like urban music channels such as MTV Base and Channel U, also music shops, newsagents and urban shops. As the artists that are played on these music channels are the people who would feature on my magazine so it would link in very well and so would be the perfect place to advertise the magazine. I would say urban shops because a lot of Hip-Hop artists design clothes and inspire the next things that are happening in that scene.
As for major distributers I would say that IPC Media are best fit because they work alongside with different genre magazines that no other major work with. They would be able to help me with advertising as they have the contacts to do so and are much known among magazines which are not the genre pop. They are known worldwide so they would be able to target a larger portion of people so the magazine would have more copies sold. They advertise their other magazines through others they own so they would be able to target different social groups which I did not originally plan on targeting; this can also push the magazine to be a bigger and more popular magazine.
I attracted and addressed my audience through the bright colours used and images used. The image on the front cover has the artist looking out to the reader but I edited her eyes from brown to green so then they stand out this makes the artist look as though they are looking at them. The masthead we in a bold black font on a white background this attracted the readers’ attention. The structure was clear and the text corresponded with the masthead and subheadings. Also because of the use of the font Comic Sans is a common font and makes it easier for the audience to read the text and because it goes with the constant house style used. In addition I made sure that the images used were bright, clear and eye-catching, this would make them want to read on to find out what the article is about and make them continue going into the magazine. The use of colloquialisms made it more personal to people because it felt like the artist is talking to the reader personally. Also the language used is conversational; I have achieved this by directing the audience which makes the audience feel as though they are being spoken too.
Technology used was the main process that I had to go through in order to complete my tasks. I had to use Microsoft Publisher create the layout, structure and input of the text of the double page spread. I also used Photoshop for image manipulation and editing the image. I did find Photoshop quite a hard task but found it easier as time progressed. I used different commands such as:
Transform scale: to change the size of the text and images.
Red eye removal: to get rid of red eye in images.
Spot Fix: to get rid of spots on the face.
I also used quick selection, the blur tool, character (for font and layout of issues), and Gaussian blur. I was able to change the colour of eyes by using the saturation/sue tool, I could change the colour of the eyes to any colour. In my instance I changed her brown eyes to green.
Being able to manipulate the images made it easier to portray the image of being flawless; this made the magazine look more professional because of the change in what the artist looked before and after.
From the Preliminary task, I have learnt how to use professional technologies like Publisher and Photoshop to create a music magazine; because I knew how to use Photoshop in a more advanced way I was able to include more effects on my magazine. I have also learnt that in order to create a music magazine you have to know what the audience want. I have also learnt the conventions of making a professional magazine. I could tell I had done this by looking at the difference between my college magazine and music magazine.
On the magazine front cover:
I learnt that I was able to put a skyline and teasing contents on the music magazine to allow the reader to know what else is included inside. Also I have added a barcode on so then I was able to allow the reader to buy the magazine easily. Also by putting the issue number, price and date they would also be able to acknowledge whether they have missed out on any issues also to know how much the magazine costs. I have also included the website address this also allows them to stay up to date or find out information they do not know. I have stuck a constant colour house style so then it looks professional. I also used a plain white background colour so any text and images placed onto it stood out and make it clear and easy to read.
Contents Page:
I have learnt that putting too many images can make it hard to look at and so many things are happening that it is hard to keep attention on one place. I have also included the page number so then you knew which page it was on. Staying with the house-style throughout the magazine can make it look professional and you know it all belongs in one place. I have also put a subheading and a sentence about the feature so then it looked more professional this then gave a little bit of a tease on what the feature is about. I have added a pull quote from the double page spread so then I was able to draw attention to the main cover story.
I also learnt that the process to make a music magazine takes longer than I anticipated as you are faced with obstacles. Finding a person with the right look was a task in itself as I had to find someone who looked like a Hip-Hop artist as well as dressed like one. I found that finding a model to take a photo of was a difficult task as people may not be willing for me to take some pictures of them. After taking multiple pictures of my artist I had to search for the right picture for the front cover, contents page and double page spread. ¬For example on the front cover I wanted the artist to be looking out to the reader this will make it eye-catching. Having done this it was then hard to decide where the photo would be on each of these pages, so then it went with the conventions of a music magazine.
If I could do this task again I would have managed my time better so then I was able to do better on each part of the magazine and this in time would make them look more professional.