Double Page Spread Article Plan

For my double page spread article, I have decided that I want to write an interview between myself and an artist (the lead singer) of the band 'Satin Bones'. I want this interview to be about the first full length album they have released, and the interview will be mainly the artist answering my questions, rather than me writing about the artist after interviewing as has been done in several magazine interviews I have researched.

Detailed Plans

On these plans, I have followed my original construction plans, but included the title, some text and cover lines, and a colour scheme.

I have chosen to have the title in green, as I thought black would not present the right image, whereas the green is lively and eyecatching. I achieved this using paint. I have included the barcode and a price of £2.20, which I found to be similar to the prices of other 'rock' magazines.

Title Fonts

Here I have looked at different fonts which I could use in my magazine for the title. I used the website 'Dafont' to find something I thought represented the style and genre of my magazine.

Colour Scheme Plans



Title Edit

Instead of calling my music magazine 'Charge', I think that it would be better if I called it 'Charged', as the word 'Charge' gives out too many connotations, such as suggesting 'charge' as in money, which I do not want being portrayed to my reader. I am a bit concerned that the word 'Charged' doesn't carry the punchy image that I was intending, so I am considering changing the spelling of the word to something such as 'Charg'd' to give it youthful and urban connotations.

Double Page Spread Plans

Here I have created a plan for my double page spread. I have decided to put the image at the bottom of the page so that I can have the article across two pages.

Contents Plans

Here I have created my music magazine contents page. I have included on the page an image, which will be of the artist from the front cover and the double page spread. I have also included a 'note from the editor' and an image of the editor, as well as the contents listed in one long column.

Front Cover Plans

Here I have created a plan for the Front cover of my music magazine. I have put the title at the top to attract attention, and the special offer deals at the top and bottom to save space and allow more of the front image to show.

Music Magazine Plans

Possible name ideas
Because the genre of my music magazine is 'rock', I want the title to reflect the style of music, so I think that the title should be quite punchy and strong. Here are some ideas for my magazine title:

• Audio
• Dynamite
• Amped
• Dynamic
• Charge
• Rage

I think that out of my possible magazine titles, 'charge' is probably the best, and the one I will use, as it links to music devices, and also is quite a powerful word, suggesting something fast paced and forceful.

Ideas for main tagline

• Powering your music obsession

I think that my tagline should have some link to the title 'Charge', and as the word can be associated with electricity, I have decided to use the idea of the magazine 'powering' the reader's love for music.

Possible cover lines

• New Found Glory - We review the new album 'Radiosurgery'
• Check in on VersaEmerge at the recording studio
• We reveal the top ten albums of the year
• reviews from the A Day to Remember tour
• win 20% off DropDead Clothing
• Free poster special

Reader Profile

From my survey results and my analysis of music magazines, I have decided to create a music magazine to fit the genre of 'Rock' music, as although my survey results did show that 'Pop' music was the most popular, I decided that most Pop magazines such as 'Top of the Pops' and 'We Love POP' focused more on the style of artists rather than their music with the interviews being about relationships and clothes.
The readers of my 'rock' magazine will be mostly male, although it could also appeal to females interested in the style of music. The readers should be aged between 15 - 25. My reader will shop online for clothes on sites such as 'Drop Dead' and 'Vans' and wear casual clothes such as skinny jeans and T shirts. My reader should enjoy listening to music, and perhaps play an instrument, they should also enjoy going out to gigs and music festivals.

Here I have created a mood board to show my reader profile:

Music Review Analysis

Here I have analysed a review in the Sunday Times about up and coming singer Clare Maguire

Questions before reading the article:

1.       What do you think is the relevance of the term ‘Talikn’ Topshop Blues’?

-          I think the term ‘Talkin’ Topshop Blues’ suggests that the article could have a double meaning  with the ‘blues’ signifying both a musical genre and a the sad feeling of blues.

2.       How many columns are there?

-          There are three columns

3.       How many images?

-          There is one picture

4.       What connotations does the image give of the artist and the contents of the article?

-          A gothic feel, due to the colours, suggests maybe an indie/ alternative genre

5.       What are your initial impressions of this music feature?

-          Lots of text for someone interested in reading about music, Provides information. Ratio of text to image is high. – could be broken up with sound bites/ images/ subheadings

Questions after reading the article:

1.       What techniques does the writer use in the first sentence to engage the reader?

-          Interesting typography in the big C

2.       The writer predicts how successful Clare will become by comparing her approaching success to that of Florence Welch and Ellie Goulding.

3.       What does ‘Ubiquity’ mean?

-          I think that the word means status, as in the girl with the striking voice who achieves mainstream recognition. - Present

4.       What if the focus of paragraph one?

-          Paragraph one focuses on the new album from Clare Maguire and features summaries of songs on the album, and her singing ability – evidence that this is about music.

5.       What technique features in Maguire’s quote in paragraph two?

-          Clare Maguire lists the elements in her album, repetition.

6.       In paragraph two, how is Maguire made to sound like an average person?

-          The description of her cold shows that she is like an average person who suffers from colds.

7.       What is the focus of paragraph three?

-          The focus of paragraph three is Clare’s style and who in the music industry she is similar too, how she is representing herself, and how her image implies what to expect vocally.

8.       What do you think is exaggerated in paragraph three?

-          Exaggerated bluesy genre of her music.

9.       In paragraph five, what point is made about Maguire’s relationship with music?

-          Her feelings of apartness, how she deals with pain and sorrow- music is therapy.

10.   How many artists are mentioned in paragraph six?

-          8

11.    On what tone does the article end?

-          It ends on a positive tone, with one of expectation.

12.   Which current artist is Clare Maguire most similar too?

-          Florence Welch, Ellie Goulding.

NME Music Review

1.       What features about the concert are highlighted in the review?

-          The atmosphere is featured ‘ the lights dim and the excess begins’, as well as the appearance of Axl, ‘ elegantly worn loose fitting jeans, a leather button down shirt and a giant silver cross that shows off his chest’. The songs played are highlighted, which shows that the journalist knows a lot about the band.

2.       Describe the style of language used in the review.

-          The language used in the review is quite informal and young, as the journalist uses swearing and phrases such as ‘totally puts out’.

3.       What previous knowledge about the band is expected of the reader?

-          The reader should know that Axl has been ‘botoxing’ his face, and know about the ‘originals we all secretly love’.

4.       How do you know that the journalist is into the band?

-          It is obvious that the journalist is into the band because she says at the end of the review that ‘the songs are so epic and transcendent and undeniable’.

5.       What assumptions does the journalist make about the reader – comment on how she addresses the reader in the review?

-          The journalist assumes that the reader is already knowledgeable about the ‘botox’ issue, as she refers to it as if she were discussing the issue with a friend.

6.       Does the review link to the music publication’s identity and target readership? Explain your answer.

-          I think that the review does link to NME’s identity and target readership because of the language and also the in depth knowledge conveyed through the review, which reflects the publication’s image of a wide musical knowledge.

7.       How does the review suggest that there could possibly be an audience of different age –ranges? What pleasures do you think that different age fans of Guns N Roses would experience at a gig?

-          I think that although both older and younger fans would appreciate all aspects of the gig experience, those who are older might appreciate the ‘originals’, as they might remember the first time they heard the song, or when it was first released.

8.       What other possible music publications would review this concert?

-          Kerrang!, Q magazine

Planning of Magazine Images

For my magazine front cover and contents pages, I will need to take a variety of images. For my images, I plan to take at least 15 different  photos of the front cover band who will be featured in the interview and other artists who will be featured in the magazine.
Here are my plans for my images:

Front Cover –

•  Long shot of one artist looking at the camera with hands on hips
• Close up of artist looking into the camera and smiling
• Mid shot of shoulders up, high angle shot, artist looking up to the camera

Contents –

• Images of artist laughing as a preview of the interview - e.g. casually talking playing music
• Image of an album cover
• Image of a live gig
• Image of editor - mid shot looking at the camera with their body angled to the side, possibly holding stationary for mise en scene

Double Page Spread -

• Birds eye view shot of the artist laying down
• Low angle shot looking up to the artist
• Close up shot of the artist's face
• Long shot of the artist - sideways e.g. laying across the floor
• The artist looking slightly away from the camera and using a hand to try to block the camera

Music Website Research

To help with my research and production for my music magazine, I have researched music websites so that I can analyse them to see what codes and conventions they have used and why they are suitable for the genre they are targeting.

NME:

The NME webpage is very information orientated, with the ratio of text being bigger to the ratio of image, especially compared to some websites such as mixmag. I would say that this website and therefore magazine is intended for a predominantly male audience, as the the colour scheme red, black and white, although being gender neutral does have a more masculine edge to it. The navigation bar at the top of the page shows that the magazine is not only interested in music, but also clothing suggested through the 'shop' option. Although the reader of the magazine would probably be quite up to date with new technology, as suggested through the advertisement for a laptop, the reader would also possibly be older than the audience of Kerrang! magazine, as the headline 'Best album of the last 15 years?' shows that the reader should enjoy older music.

mixmag:

The webpage for mixmag presents a clear target audience of people interested in dance music, suggested through the advertisements for a music festival. I would say that the magazine is intended for mainly females, as there is an image of girls at a party and although the colour scheme is similar to NME, mixmag has more of a feminine feel to it, and also the search bar gives the option of both 'fashion' and 'shop', activities most associated with females. The website also suggests that the magazine is intended for those between late teens to late twenties, as the website uses a large amount of its space to show Facebook comments.

Kerrang!

This webpage for Kerrang! magazine has a ratio of about 50:50 text and image, with images being of bands who are features as 'news' or 'access all areas'. Although the webpage does have a few colours, the main colour scheme is black white and grey, which leaves it looking less eye catching compared to NME which had the red colour to pop and compared to the sophisticated look of mixmag. The website is set out well, with all links to other sections of the site well labelled and under appropriate subheadings. The magazine name Kerrang! is well presented like the other webpages especially Top of the Pops and NME.



Top of the Pops

This particular magazine is intended for younger girls to mid teens, which is connoted through the colour scheme, which is very child friendly and more importantly appropriate for girls rather than boys. The website is very simple with no real purpose other than to get the reader to sign up to the magazine.

Comparing the Kerrang! website with Kerrang! magazine:

Both the Kerrang! music magazine and website use the same codes and conventions which they are associated with and commonly recognized for. The title Kerrang! is the same on both, as it represents the 'loud' music Kerrang! covers. both of the colour schemes are similar, as they both use the colours grey and black with the brighter colours such as yellow, blue and red being used to pop out of the page. The mix of bright colours could also connote an explosion, possibly of sound, and adds to the 'rock' image portrayed by the company. Both sources use promotional offers such as posters, clothing discount and discount cards to grab attention.

On both the website and the magazine have the logo which is the title at the top of the page, although on the magazine the title covers the whole width compared to the website which keeps it top right, because there needs to be room for the search bar. Whilst the magazine contains around 5 images, the website contains more possibly because it does not have one big cover image and so instead uses more thumbnails. Both the magazine and the website seem to have the same masculine look shown through the bold font and the fact that even though there are males shown, they are not shown looking provocatively. Because with the magazine, there is only so much information which can be featured each month as opposed to the website which can be continuously updated, the magazine looks more crowded and the website has more space, although this does not take away from the fact that both sources are obviously related and conveying the same ideas.



Music Magazine Survey Results

Through sending out my Survey, I have received information which will help me to produce my music magazine, as I have information about popular things to include and responses to take into consideration.

Here are some of my results:

In addition to asking multiple choice questions, I also asked for personal opinions about what artists I should feature in my magazine and what would be good to include as well as things which people dislike.

Here are some of the responses:

What attracts you to buy music magazines?

'The front cover, if there's interesting stories that stand out. Promotional offers or things that I could relate to'

'Pictures/posters of favorite artists included, colour schemes/layout, big competitions'

'Bands that i like are featured/interviewed in the magazine'

What would put you off buying a music magazine?

'bad colour scheme band/artist i don't like on the cover'

'Weird picture on the front, no text and looking 'empty'.'

'if it looked all cluttered and messy and the content generally looked not interesting'

What would you like to see on the front cover of a music magazine?

'Picture of the solo artist, group close up taking majority of the page. Massive heading and lots of smaller articles around. If pop genre, then lots of colour. If rock maybe all black?'

'band or artist that's currently done something new'

'the artist who has been interviewed.'

Do you go to gigs/festivals? if so which ones?

'Individual band gigs.'

'Yepp. Beautiful Days, V-fest, Reading etc. I also like smaller gigs with local bands playing.'

'Yes. As many as are available depending on date and price. e.g. Hevy music fest'

What artists are you currently listening to?

'ed sheeran, you me at six, gym class heroes'

'You Me At Six, All Time Low, Panic! At The Disco, The Blackout, Lower Than Atlantis, Deaf Havana'

'ed sheeran, rihanna, you me at 6, coldplay'

Music Magazine Survey

So that I have an idea as to what I should include in my Music Magazine I have sent out a survey which I compiled through 'SurveyMonkey'. In my survey I have asked questions which will help me make a clear reader profile, such as which genre of music my magazine should cover and what people would expect to see on the front cover.

Here is a link to my Survey:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6WSBCDR

Contents Page Mock Up

I have used the programme Publisher to create a 'mock up' of my contents page for my school magazine. I intend to use lots of images and hopefully the same codes and conventions of the magazine contents pages which i have previously analysed.

Analysis of Contents Pages

To understand how to make our contents pages follow the general codes and conventions, we analysed the contents pages of two contrasting magazines.

WE LOVE POP
Target audience – How can you tell?
The target audience is for teenage girls, because the magazine features makeup and beauty secrets but also celebrity men/boy bands.
What types of article/ features are involved?
Fashion, interview with both ‘pop’ stars and TV stars, posters, celebrity gossip.
How are the main cover lines presented in the contents page
The main cover lines are presented as photos of the articles with captions which entice the reader and the page number visible.
Layout – subheadings , colour, images – how many, font, columns, text boxes
The masthead ‘WE LOVE THIS’ links in with the title ‘WE LOVE POP’ , it is black and bold to stand out against the white/blue background. The column on the left hand side of the page is the editor’s note. The page listings are at the bottom of the page with the numbers bold and in orange.


KERRANG!
Target audience – How can you tell?
Teens – mid twenties, mostly male as the images on the contents of men are not particularly sexualised. The magazine is intended for people who like ‘rock’ music as the images show rock bands.
What types of article/ features are involved?
The articles in the magazine are all to do with rock music, and range from reviews of albums, live reviews, news about bands, posters and interviews.
How are the main cover lines presented in the contents page?
The main cover line on the cover is about ‘Kids in glass houses’, but on the contents page, their article is integrated with all the other contents rather than standing out as a main story.
Layout – subheadings , colour, images – how many, font, columns, text boxes
The colour scheme of the magazine is black and yellow which connotes hazards. The bold font stands out against the white background and is written in capitals to emphasise each article. The main column is on the right hand side of the page with a large image on the left. At the bottom of the page is the note from the editor. There are images of articles on the contents page with bold numbers by them so the reader can flick to the article of their choice with ease.


Through analysing these two contents pages, I have made a list of the codes and conventions which I believe are generally associated with magazine contents pages.

Conventions:

Editor letter – knowledgeable

Image is supported by text and cover line to link story – e.g. quotation = teaser/taster

Main features at the top of the page

Some are more chronological – but some are ‘random’ in terms of prioritising features.

Structure – columns

Features organized according to their genre

Main features highlighted

Images (planned photo shoots) – between 5 and 10