Possible Mastheads For My Music Magazine

Possible Mastheads

Below are 6 possible mastheads for my magazine...

There is a variety of looks here, this is because I am not yet entirely sure what I want the masthead to look like, however I am thinking of going with something like numbers 1 or 5.

I like number 1 because it is very simple, yet it also looks different from most other mastheads of music magazines. It looks almost as though it has been drawn, which makes it look rough, and could be related to many things, as it looks slightly retro, yet also looks to do with indie, and could even be used for pop music.

I like number 5 because this was the kind of look I originally had in mind, it looks very indie, and looks quite girly and feminine, it is also very simple like the first font, however it may be slightly too feminine, as I do want my magazine to appeal to both genders, although it would be very good for the magazine I have in mind, as long as i make the rest of the magazine to appeal to females.

I want my masthead to be black because it is a simple colour, that will not take too much attention from the front cover, yet it will be bold enough to attract the reader's attention.

Final Magazine Name

Final Magazine Name



I have chosen 'Lyrics' as my final magazine name, as Lyrics are in all songs, and therefore apply to all music genres I will write about. It is a slightly different name, so it would draw the reader's attention, but it still sounds relaxed, and fits in well with the rest of the music magazines. The name makes it clear what this magazine is about, and so the reader will buy the magazine for a specific reason, wanting to read about music, 'Lyrics' fulfills this purpose well, and will intrigue reader, which is why I have chosen it to be my magazine name.

Slogan:
The slogan that I am going to use for my magazine is 'the heart of music', this is because lyrics are essential to music, they are what differentiate songs and make people want to listen. The slogan suggests that the magazine will tell you about all kinds of music, as well as being essential, and important in the world of music in general.

Audience Research- Questionnaire Results

1.What is your favourite music genre?

2. How often would you want a music magazine to be published?

3. What would you prefer the tone of the magazine to be?

4. How much are you willing to pay for a music magazine?

5. What interests you reading a magazine?

6. What articles would you like to read about in a music magazine?

Magazine Name Ideas & Connotations

Name Ideas for my Music Magazine

Below is a mind map of some ideas I came up with to name my magazine, I have written connotations for some of them, that I would be more likely to use as the final name for my magazine.

Feature Article Artist Planning

Artist Planning

Artist Name: Lola Roberts

My artist will be a solo artist, she will be a new artist just becoming famous, practising some of her songs, and learning about the business, attending events that she isn't used to, and generally getting used to the industry. She has a very individual style, and always looks very girly, but with her own twist on it.
She is doing the interview for publicity, promoting her first album, after only releasing singles prior to that. Her music is country-esque, and very original, she is a young, and very laid back person.

Hoe will she be presented in my magazine?

Below is a mood board, capturing elements that I want to try to include when photographing my music artist...

From this mood board, I was trying to get across a very natural, casual, country looking style, that combines girly clothing and feminine makeup, with laid back shoes like converse, guitars, and very individual jewellery, I woud like her hair to look girly and casual, fitting with the rest of her image, so it would be curly, however slightly messy,these are things that contrast with each other, however represent her style well. 

Why is she doing the interview?

She is doing the interview as an up-and-coming artist, promoting herself, and introducing a new style into the music industry. As part of my magazine focuses on finding new artists, she is someone who we will have noticed, and asked to interview. She has had some publicity before, however she is hoping that being in my magazine will help her get started, and give her the publicity that she really needs. She is in the process of launching her first album, after some singles she has launched that became very popular very quickly. 

Location of the shoot...

In order to bring out the artist's personality, I would like to do the photo shoot outdoors, in a field, or somewhere that looks very raw, and very natural. However, at the time of the shoot, as it may be cold, the appearance of the location might not be what I imagined, and therefore I would do the shoot inside, and simply use props to bring out her personality and image. If I have it inside, I would do the shoot in lots of different rooms of a house, in order to have a variety of images, and show her as a calm, homely person, that the readers can relate to. My ideal is to do the shoot outside, as it will show the country side of her personality, and at the same time show her as a very laid back, natural person.

Photograph ideas...
I want the photos to look very natural, not as though they are posed, and perhaps slightly so that they are humorous. As she is only just starting as an artist, she will still be very similar to people actually reading the magazine, so in the photos, she should come across as herself, pose as she feels she should, and therefore be even more relatable to the readers. Her makeup is going to be very natural, neutral colours, so that she doesn't look 'fake'. Her clothing will be very girly, and pretty, she will be wearing a skirt, a headband with flowers on it, combined with casual shoes, as shown above in my mood board. For props, she will have things like a guitar,and flowers. For her facial expressions in the pictures, they will be slightly humorous, not too formal, but not too posed, in order to stay in theme with the rest of the picture, and her personal style.

Other artists...
As I will need other artists to put on my contents page, I need to plan them; I will need some bands so that they can differentiate from the artist used on the front cover, the bands will be from different genres, so that there is a variety, to represent that the magazine includes a variety of artists. I will also use some names of existing famous artists, that would attract the reader's attention. I don't want my contents page to be overcrowded, so I will probably include around 10 artists on it.

Front Cover Analysis- NME Magazine

NME Front Cover Analysis

 



Mast Head:
The Mast Head of this magazine is very bold. 'NME' is in block capitals, making it stand out, it is also obstructing the main image, showing that they want their brand identity to be clear, and stand out to anyone who may want to buy the magazine.
As well as this, the colour of it is red, which is a very bold, loud colour. Red is usually a colour associated with anger or danger, this means that the type of person who they are aiming the magazine at is someone young, daring, or someone who likes music that is loud, and perhaps very unique. Although it is obstructing the main image, there is also some text obstructing the corner of the Mast Head, which is a quote from one of the band members on the front colour, this tells the reader about the bands they are using, that they fit in well with, or are perhaps even louder and more individual than their magazine.

Straplines/Slogans:
The fact that there is no real strapline on this front cover, shows how much they are focusing on this particular band 'Haim', NME is choosing not to follow this convention in magzines, perhaps they are trying to be different, and to stand out from other music magazines. As a strapline would normally be a line of text promoting the magazine, or promoting an 'exclusive' event inside the magazine, by not using this, they are instead using text that promotes the band on the front cover through the use of 'Haim, Get the Picture?'


Pictures:
The only image on this front cover is of the band 'Haim' that they are focusing on in this particular issue of 'NME'. The picture very much draws the reader in, which is what it is supposed to do, it is large, taking up most of the front cover, and the picture of the band members are of all of them looking directly at the camera, making eye contact with the reader. There is a slight difference in that the centre band member, is holding a camera, as though taking a picture. Because she is pointing it at the camera taking a picture of her, it gives the effect that she is taking a picture of the reader, making them feel included, and further drawn in. This motion of taking a picture is then further enhanced by the text 'Get the Picture?', addressing the reader, and being associated with the camera in the main picture.


Sell Lines & Puffs:
As this magazine cover is so simplistic, there isnt really anything used as a sell line, or any conventional puffs, however there are things used that are similar. For example, the band names around the outside of the page are being used as sell lines, selling the bands to the reader and promoting what is inside. Puffs used on this front cover are the quotes from the band members, thhey are showing small bits of information from the article inside, and drawing the reader in, they are very small but effective, instantly giving the reader an idea of what the band is like and making them feel connected to them and want to read the article.

Readership Profile- Music Magazine

 

Readership Profile

 
Name: Jessica

 

Age: 17

 

Lifestyle: She is a student, studying her second year of A-Levels, doing Media, English, and ICT. She has a part-time job on the weekends, working in a high street clothes shop, she has a low income as the job is only part time, however earns a good amount for someone of her age.
 

Personality: She enjoys things that a typical teenager would, such as socialising with friends, shopping, going to parties, and enjoys some sports as a hobby. She likes listening to music, and going to festivalos, she likes lots of genres, however dislikes genres like rock or heavy metal.

 

Disposable Income: Any disposable income she has, is usually spent on clothes, activities such as going to the cinema, and buying magazines, and buying some music on itunes.
 

Relatable Brands: Brands relatable to her would be high street brand like topshop or new look, and some companies like itunes, would also be relatable to her.
 



 



Music Magazine- Initial Ideas

 

Initial Ideas

 

 

 Above I have come up with 3 initial ideas for my music magazine, I have put a star next to Idea 2, as this is the one I have chosen to do.
I chose Idea 2, because I wanted a magazine that would appeal to more of a variety of people, and as both Ideas 1 & 3 were targeted at a niche audience, I thought they would not be suitable.
 





Feature Article Analysis 2- We Love Pop Magazine

We Love Pop Feature Article Analysis

Layout and Connotations:

The layout of this feature page is very colourful, it links to the front cover as the house style is the same throughout the magazine. It looks similar to the front cover in that it looks slightly un-organised, with the pictures overlapping, and the text over the top of them at an angle. There is a consistent colour scheme on this article of yellows and blues, which would appeal to both boys and girls, however the music artists that are mentioned appeal much more to young girls, e.g. One Direction, Cher Lloyd, and Little Mix. 

The connotations of this  are that it looks similar to a scrapbook page, with the look of everything being stuck over eachother, and the slanted text as though it has been glued onto the images, creating scrapbooks is something widely associated with young girls, and therefore reinforces their target audience.

Purpose:

As this article contains lots of different music artists, it's purpose is not to promote any particular artist, but to inform the reader of what happened at the most recent 'teens choice awards'. However it is done in a very informal, almost gossip-type manner, as shown through the use of words such as 'Miley Cyrus had competition'. 

Presentation:

The way these artists are presented is as though they are the subject of gossip, this suits the magazine's target audience, because gossiping and talking about the latest things that have happened in music, is something that young teenage girls do a lot, and are largely associated with. The intention of this article was to show these artists as being laid back, as it shows their social side rather than their business side, rather than showing them releasing albums, and living up to an image that the press have given them, it shows them having fun, and being how they would normally.

Tone & Mode of Address:

The tone of the article of very excitable, use of words such as 'hilarious', makes the reader excited to know what they are talking about, and interested in the article. The mode of address is directly addressing the reader, it says 'you', as though they are directly speaking to the reader and having a conversation with them.

Length and Design:

The length of the text used in the article is very short in comparison to most articles, it is simply one paragraph in the middle of the double page spread, which does draw the reader's attention as it is in the middle, however by it being so short, suggests that it is not the main focus of the page. The images supports the text as they are all very laid back, and by using the same colours as borders of the pictures that are used in the title and in the drop cap of the text, makes it all tie in together. 

Feature Article Analysis 1- Top of the Pops Magazine

Top of the Pops Feature Article Analysis

Layout:
The feature article links to the front cover through the use of pictures, and it's general house style. On the feature article the main picture is a very large picture of Jessie J. This is the same on the front cover, as she is the featured artist in this issue of the magazine. The house style is very girly, using butterflies and font that looks very feminine, in order to appeal to girls. As well as this using neutral colours, mainly orange and yellows, this relates it to the front cover because orange is the colour of the title of the magazine. The overall design of the magazine also uses these colours as well as greens, which are also used in the feature article.

Connotations:
The main connotation of this article is nature, it makes you think of the outdoors, and a natural, rural environment. It makes you think this because of the colours used, mainly greens and oranges, as associated with tree leaves, grass, and many aspects of nature, as well as this, the picture is outdoors, showing even more that it is much to do with nature. As the main point being put across by this article is of natural beauty, being modelled by a singer, this shows that it's purpose is being fulfilled, as well as using a well known singer to be the face of this article, wearing no makeup and being a 'barefaced beauty', this creates a role-model for young girls who may be reading the magazine.

Artist's Image & Purpose:
The article supports Jessie J's style, as it is generally very laid back and calm, for example, her use of words such as 'I'll have to fit in a shopping trip', and 'baggy sweatpants and a baggy T-shirt', show her character as being very calm and relaxed, not trying to play up to any particular public image. Also she talks about the shaving of her hair, how it changed her, making her feel more free, and how her new album 'shows the foundation of the woman I'm going to be forever'. This tells us that she's going through a change, and is trying to create a new, laid back image that can be used as a role-model for young girls.
The purpose of this article is to show Jessie J as becoming a new person, going through an image change after shaving her head, as well as promoting her new album.

Presentation of Artist:
The presentation of Jessie J in this article is of her wearing very little makeup, holding a butterfly to appeal to the target audience of the magazine, being young girls. She is wearing minimal makeup to relate to young girls, the motion of her holding out her hand with a butterfly on it, shows the target audience that she cares about nature, as well as making it look visually appealing, and shaping the text around it, making her the main focus. The intention of this article was to show Jessie J as someone for young girls reading the magazine to look up to.

Tone & Mode of Address:
The tone of the article is very friendly and laid back, however the reader is not directly addressed. It has a positive tone, for example 'That's a good thing!' is used, showing how friendly, and positive it is, however by not directly addressing the reader, it is slightly un-engaging, although it does feel as though the reader is being spoken to through the way it is written, keeping them interested.

Length and Design:
The length of the article itself is very short suggesting that the picture is the main focus. The image supports the text because it is talking about being natural and confident, which is shown in the use of outdoors, as well as the butterflies, which are also used around the title.

Contents Page Analysis 2- Kerrang Magazine

Kerrang Contents Page Analysis

Layout and Design:

The magazine's house style links the contents page to the front cover  It uses bright colours, and is generally looks quite un-organised, however in a way that attracts the younger audience through using large pictures, and lots of different colours. One large picture of a singer is made the main focus of the page by it being so large, this suggests that they are using it to attract a particular audience, or to set the tone of the magazine. By the artist in the picture being young, it makes the younger audience relate to it. By making the picture colourful, and by using a picture of the artist that has a very individual look, suggests that they are trying to be unique, and perhaps even slightly random, as a magazine.

Artists Featured:

There are 26 artists featured on the contents page, showing that they are very packed with information, only 3 of them that are being featured using pictures.

Purpose:

When buying the magazine, the contents page takes a key role, the reader may look at the contents page as well as the front cover to decide whether or not to buy the magazine. The purpose of the contents page in a magazine is to inform the reader of what is inside the rest of the magazine, and to help them decide whether they want to buy it, or to help them decide what to read. 

Enticement:

They entice the reader to read the featured articles on the contents page through the pictures they use. The main picture entices the reader to read that article, because of the girl in it looking at the camera, making contact and engaging with the reader. This makes the reader feel engaged with her, and want to learn more about why the picture of her has been used, and more about her story. 

Contents Page Analysis 1 - Q Magazine

Q Contents Page Analysis

Contents pages are designed to inform the reader of what is in the magazine, they make it easier for them to find what they are looking for, and to entice them into specific articles that may be featured in the magazine in that issue.

Here are some examples of how Q does this...

Layout and Design:

The contents page here is linked to the front cover through the house style of the magazine. The main colours are white, black, and red. The look of it is generally very neat, laid out in squared shapes, that fit well together and make both the front cover and the contents page look very organized and professional.

The layout of the contents page consists of several pictures. The largest picture is advertising their feature article, this is the largest to make it the most obvious to the reader, and entice them to read the article. The picture is of a band, who are all looking at the camera, engaging with the reader. As well as this, their name is made obvious, larger and in a different place to the rest of the artist names, making it obvious to the reader that they are featuring this band. Below this is an advertisement for their 'reviews', getting the reader interested, and hoping that it will make them want to continue buying the magazine.

Artists Featured:

There are just 8 artists featured on the contents page, which isn't a lot, however it makes it less overwhelming for the reader than some other magazines where they list many more artists than that. This suggests that Q are trying to not include too much information and keep their readers interested.

Purpose:

The purpose of a contents page is to give the reader an idea of what articles, stories and other information is inside the magazine and what page they can be found on. They make it easier for the reader to find what they are looking for, and to advertise to the reader other products and their featured articles. 

Enticement:

The magazine entices the reader by using pictures and large text to advertise particular features of the magazine. It separates it's feature articles from the other articles by using the large picture, and placing it's page number separately from all the others, this is a persuasive technique because it is showing the reader that this is the article that Q thinks they should be reading, by making it very large and very obvious. 

NME- Readership Profile

 

NME- Readership Profile