My Music Magazine

Evaluation

For my project I had to create a music magazine based on a genre of my choice. But before I did that I had to produce a quick front cover for a college magazine, this would help me get used to the tools that I would need to use for my music magazine. I felt that I spent too much time on the college magazine’s logo that I didn’t have enough time to make the rest of the cover look good. I am disappointed with the outcome, however it has taught me not to spend to long on one section.

The music genre I decided to focus on was heavy rock and heavy metal as I like that type of music. The first thing I had to do was analysis 2 existing magazine covers of magazines that deal with the same genre I have chosen. I also had to analysis one contents page and one double page spread. The first cover I analysed was Kerrang! this is very much like the style I wanted to have, therefore most of my inspiration came from them. I also analysed their contents page and one of their double page spreads. I looked at NME’s front cover too. From this research, it gave me ideas on what style and features my magazine will include, I created a flat plan detailing how my magazine will look and what the layout will be like. Now it was time to get to work.

I started off by creating the front cover, I did spend a long time on creating the logo, however because we had more time this time round it didn’t effect my time management too much. I wanted the font for my logo to be a typical distorted/eroded style. I went on www.dafont.com and got the “The Great Thunder” font, this was near enough what I was looking for. I put in the common features such as barcode, price, issue number; features inside etc then went about getting a picture. For our project we weren’t allowed to get a picture from the internet, we had to take the pictures ourselves. I managed to take a photo of a street performer in Brighton; I edited it in Photoshop to remove the background then put him on the cover and created a logo for him. The front cover did take me the longest out of all the tasks in this project, however I am pleased with the outcome.

Next I had to do a contents page, I created a basic one but it had no pictures. Since I was running out of time when I made the contents page, I decided to stick a picture on which I had taken a long while ago (as you will see it’s a picture of me which was taken using my phone then edited). This picture doesn’t really have any point unfortunately, but I thought it added a bit of unique style to the otherwise bland contents page. If I had more time I would have put thumbnails on each of lines and chose a better picture for the background.

The double page spread was the hardest to do because it was the most complex to layout, it needed more pictures and I had to write an article for it. I decided to create a quick layout using the shape tool and the line tool, then I went on to write the article. The article was hard because I wasn’t sure what to write about, when I did know though, I realised I had to write it in the style of the magazine. Since mine was going to be like Kerrang!, it needed to be in slang and have swearing in (or at least sarcasm). I did my best and I’m satisfied with the article. I put it into my double page spread (I had to adjust it into the columns which were a pain). Now all I had to do was get some pictures, I decided to use pictures stored on my computer of me and my friends (I don’t know why I didn’t think of that in the first place!), luckily there were some half decent ones so I used them. I am quite happy with the turn out of this double page spread.

Before I started creating my music magazine, I had to decide whom my target audience was going to be so that I knew what I should put in my magazine. I decided that gender and nationality wouldn’t matter as it would be aimed at both genders and anyone in the world, but the age range I chose was mid teens to young adults (16 – 25). I made sure to include the relevant artists, colours and features of a typical rock/metal magazine but changed the overall style so that it was unique and hopefully more appealing then any other similar magazines on the market. I made sure that it fitted in with the social groups of my audience (C1 – E).
I feel that I have progressed a lot since the preliminary task, I managed my time better and my skills with InDesign have drastically improved. I would love to do this again (but with no deadlines please!!).

Kerrang! Double Page Spread Analysis

Layout – The whole double page spread has one big image as its background. The article is on the right hand side and is organised into two neat rows with a big headline at the top. It’s simple but really effective, it really stands out and it makes a change from the usual black and white style.

Imagery – The main image is a background, a terrain (quite rocky), the main band is pictured on the left page, they look like a typical rock band with all their tattoos, black clothing and hard look attitudes etc. I think the imagery is fantastic and really suits it. This is probably the strongest element of the whole two pages.

Typography – The font used for the main articles is hard to see, but it will probably be a simple sans-serif font so that it is easily readable. The font used for the main headline is a very typical rock style font as it is eroded and looks really rough. Again although this is common, it is still very effective.

Colour – The three main colours are black, blue and brown. The blue sky, the brown ground (rocks) and the black clothing that the band is wearing. The text is black and is on a white semi transparent background. The transparency surprisingly stands out well and makes the page look good. The colours are good choices, they all go well together.

Use of Language – The main headline has a swear word in, so from this I can tell that there will be a lot of informal casual talk which will include swearing and slang (this is Kerrang!’s style). This isn’t something to be read by children, it sticks to its target audience well.

Main Sells – The headline doesn’t give much away, but if you recognise the band and you like them then this will make you want to read it.

Target Audience – The double page spread sticks to its intended audience and style and succeeds with flying colours. The layout and look of the page is fantastic, but that doesn’t mean you would want to read it.

Kerrang! Contents Page Analysis

Layout - The Kerrang! contents page is very busy, but it isn’t a bad thing, the layout of it is very good and very clear. Most of the page is filled with images, this is much better than looking at huge blocks of text. The actually list of content is on the right hand side whilst the main stories (represented by an image with a caption) is on the left hand side (because most people read from left to right, so the main stories will get the main attention). I find this layout extremely effective; I feel that they have turned a potential disaster into a master piece.

Imagery – Most of the images are sort of like mini front cover images, by this I mean that they are mostly images of artists looking towards the camera (most are posing although some are live shots). Also most of these photos are either close ups or mid-shots. The images used are all very colourful and all have attitude. The captions are neatly fitted underneath and give you the information needed. All in all this is good.

Typography – There are a range of fonts used here, however all are similar, and most just have different settings such as bold or italic. The contents list is split into categories by highlighted bits of text, this stands out very well, in fact it stands out just as much as the main image. Kerrang! have certainly made the text stand out where it matters, good choice of font, it’s readable, sans-serif but still has attitude.

Colour – There are more colours on this page then there was on the front cover, there is also more emphasis on the white rather than the black; however this makes it better to read and see what is going on. Also white will bring down the costs as less ink will have to be used. The images provide the most colour with all the different artists and their different coloured clothes, the main colour for the actual page is white, with black text (some yellow text with a black highlight). This all seems simple but it works well. I think they chose white as the main colour because it keeps down production costs and it makes it easier on the eyes since there is so much going on, on the page.

Use of Language – Most of the text just tells you what is in the magazine, some of the main content have mini sub titles. There is a quote at the top of the page and the editor has written a little message at the top of the page too. Most of the language used on this page is child friendly (I couldn’t spot any swear words), however it is only the contents page.

Main Sells – The main sells are all the content and artists featured inside, the images with their sub headings do a good job of making you want to look inside.

Target Audience – I think this contents page fits the target audience well, it isn’t too complicated and it isn’t too simple. The style of the page matches the attitude of the magazine and therefore succeeds in pleasing its target audience. Overall this is a great contents page.

NME Front Cover Analysis

NME – NME (New Musical Express) is a weekly music magazine which has been published in the UK since March 1952. The magazine is made by ICP Media (Time Inc.) and has a total circulation of 56,284 (Jan – Jun 08). NME was the first music magazine to feature the singles chart which appeared in the 14th November 1952 edition. NME is one of the most successful music magazines of all time and was the best selling music magazine in the 1970s.

NME mainly focuses on different types of rock such as Classic Rock, Glam Rock, Punk Rock etc. It also features a lot of Indie artists too. In fact over its lifetime it has covered many genres, it has been criticized a lot for doing that as many readers will go off the magazine if it has genres they don’t like in it. Bands of interest are: Oasis, Blur, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, Nirvana, Manic Street Preachers, The White Stripes, Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs, Arctic Monkeys, Hear’say and Destiny’s Child.

Title – NME is simply an abbreviation of New Musical Express. This is a fairly simple name and it’s straight to the point. Basically it covers new music and delivers the news quickly, regularly and conveniently as if it were an express train or something similar. I don’t think much of the name, it fits its purpose but I don’t think it’s imaginative enough. However since it has been around for over 50 years now, people have got used to the name so it would be silly to change it.

Font – The font used for NME’s main logo is very bold and brass. The effects used on the logo make it stand out superbly; it has a lot of emphasis on red and white unlike Kerrang!’s black and white effect. The fonts used are all sans-serif which makes them stand out more and less sophisticated looking. Just like Kerrang! I think the fonts make the magazine look less intimidating to read and it won’t be as text heavy like newspapers which tend to use serif fonts. The vocabulary will likely be similar to Kerrang! although maybe not as much swearing. The logo looks very mature and powerful; it stands tightly together and in huge block capitals. There is an indent effect and some shadowing which makes it look more 3D, the black outline also helps to make the logo stand out. I think the logo definitely suits the magazine; it’s hard to know why but I think it’s because the logo looks bold and powerful and the red really helps promote the rock genre of music. The effects used have been well implements and the placement is suitable.

Colour – Since this is more of a rock magazine then anything else, the main colours used are black and white, however it uses a variety of other colours such as red and brown quite frequently, this is so that people will know that it’s not just about hardcore rock like Kerrang! is. On the front cover, there are at least 5 different colours, each part has a different coloured background and different coloured text to go with it. It actually works quite well, they have done it so that it stands out, and the colours used suggest that they are aiming for a more sophisticated rebellious style then Kerrang! What I mean by this, is that rather then having messy pictures of people looking insane and wanting to kill you, they instead have matured people but with an intimidating look on their face.

Use of Language – Again just like Kerrang!, there were no signs of any puns, alliteration or numbers, however there are probably quite a few through out the rest of the magazine. It also uses informal language as it is aimed at a young audience (unlike The Independent newspaper for example). Therefore there will be a lot of slang and swear words in the magazine, however Kerrang! will likely have more as it is a more rebellious magazine which focuses on heavy rock and heavy metal. There are a few abbreviations scattered around (the logo is one them), and one quote, however apart from that there is not much else to same about the use of language. The language used is straight to the point but it isn’t assertive unlike in Kerrang!. The bands featured are all similar in their style of music, this suggests that NME know their subject area well.

Target Audience – Now I’ve analyzed most of the NME front cover, I can come to a conclusion about who the target audience is. I believe that this magazine is aimed at late teens and young adults (between 17 and 25 perhaps). This is because the magazine is still rather rebellious, however it has a hint of sophistication in it too since it covers some classic rock etc. I think the magazine does very well in reaching out to its audience, rock and indie artists are very popular in this age range, so they have made the overall style just right. The dress sense, lyrics and attitude of the artists are also slightly more sophisticated then in Kerrang!, however they still manage to look rebellious at the same time. Most of the artists are similar ages to the audience too, some are slightly older. The sex appeal is still there but it is much more subtle, NME prefers to focus on the style of its magazine and how “hip” and “cool” it looks. The front cover features a band made up of four people, one of which is a girl which shows that the magazine is aimed at both genders. The main guy is wearing sunglasses while the others stare seriously into the camera. This makes them look cool and tough. Their clothes are very casual and make the band seem rather laid back. Like I mentioned before, the magazine isn’t gender specific as the music can be enjoyed by anyone. Nationality doesn’t really come into it, however since it’s a British Music Magazine, it mainly features British artists, yet it does features other artists from around the world. As for class types it will most likely be the middle class (C1 & C2) however since it’s a weekly magazine, classes D & E may be able to afford it.

Image – As I said before, the band featured looked laid back due to their casual clothing, they also look cool and tough due to their poses. This is definitely a posed shot because all of the members are looking straight into the camera, they probably posed like this to appeal to younger audiences, the clothing they wear makes them look younger then they actually are. The band mostly consists of men, however there is one woman, so sexuality doesn’t really come into this. I haven’t heard of the band before, but it does say “Britain’s best-loved band” which could suggest that it’s British, however the band name is LasVegas (I think) which is an American city, so therefore it could be an American band. The headline used suggests that the feature is about the band and their history.

Main Sells – Just like in Kerrang!, there aren’t the usual main sells that you would find on other magazines (mostly kids magazines). There are no mentions about competitions, freebies, posters etc, instead it just has many different headlines relating to different bands, and these all read well and are probably the biggest sellers on the front cover. The quote from the band called The Stokes also helps a lot, people love to hear from the band directly, so this will make readers want to buy the magazine. Other than the headlines the only thing that sells it is the list of bands it features in the magazine, so if you like a band mentioned then you are likely to buy it. I don’t think it advertises freebies or competitions because they probably feel that it is too gimmicky (just like Kerrang! feels like) and that there is more important stuff they must feature on the cover. Also NME is aiming for a bit of sophistication so it probably doesn’t want to be cluttered up with things that seem to be inconvenient.

Other Information – Again all the main bits of information such as the barcode, price of the magazine and the issue number/date are all present. This may not be too noticeable on the cover, but it is all vital information for the buyer and the seller. How else would we know we’re up to date with our music? (Well ok admittedly you can use the internet now, but in the past you couldn’t).

How Many Pages – I’m unsure as to how many pages there are, but I would imagine that there would be around the same amount as Kerrang! as they are both published weekly. This would be approximately 70 A4 pages.

Main Flash Story – The main flash for this issue is about a band presumably called LasVegas. The headline given suggests that it is about the history of the band as it mentions the “tears” and “triumphs” of the band (so the highs and lows of the band’s career). It also mentions that it’s “Britain’s best-loved band” (which is total rubbish if you ask me because I’ve never heard of them, however they say this to get readers more interested. They will be thinking that this band must be good and will want to read up on them and listen to their music etc). But seeing as it’s “ Britain’s best-loved band” it means that the band must be very popular so lots of people will be interested in reading about them. All of it works very well.

Kerrang! Front Cover Analysis

Kerrang! – Kerrang! is a weekly rock magazine published by Bauer Consumer Media in the United Kingdom. Kerrang! was first published and distributed on June 6h in 1981, since then the weekly magazine has taken the country by storm and has become one of Britain’s most iconic rock magazines. Current surveys show that the average total circulation of Kerrang! is approximately 70,000.

Kerrang! heavily focuses on modern rock and heavy metal which mostly consists of “emo” bands such as My Chemical Romance, although sometimes it can feature some heavier more “gothic” bands such as Slipknot.

Title – Kerrang! is a rather unusual name for anything let alone a magazine, so what possessed the creator to choose this name and what is the meaning behind it? Well as quoted from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerrang) “The magazine's title is onomatopoeic and derives from the noise made when smashing an electric guitar”. Basically the word Kerrang! sounds like the noise made when you smash an electric guitar, this fits in with the genre of the magazine as rock is all about electric guitars and “rocking out” which can consist of smashing things up. This is quite a clever name and I think it works well and it certainly makes Kerrang! unique.

Font – The font used for Kerrang!’s main logo is very bold and has a lot of emphasis on black and white. The font is sans-serif which makes it less sophisticated looking, and in my opinion it makes it less intimidating because most magazines/newspapers that use serif fonts are usually serious and are more focused on the text heavy approach, therefore Kerrang! is more likely to be less serious and more image based, also the vocabulary used will more then likely be simpler and easier to read. The font has a ragged and cracked look; this is usually a typical style for rock and heavy metal bands. They try to make the font look distorted, eroded or damaged to give it a more sinister and horror like feel. Rock and heavy metal bands like to be rebellious too; therefore some of the fonts used are based on violence and war which matches the attitudes and their overall style (such as blood splatters or bullet holes). Kerrang!’s logo is more of a damaged font more than anything else, it has cracks going through it, however it does have some erosion around the outside of the letters. I think the logo is very well suited to the whole look and feel of the magazine, the effects on the logo are good and the placement and size is suitable.

Colour – Rock and heavy metal bands like to stick with dark colours which nearly always consists of black. Black is usually portrayed as being the colour of death and hatred, it is the most rebellious and outrageous colour someone could pick. Kerrang! uses a lot of black in their magazine, however they use a lot of white too. Their main logo is a mixture of black and white, while the background is generally black, the text is made white as it stands out more than any other colour (as black and white are opposites).

Use of Language – As Kerrang!’s style isn’t as sophisticated as The Times for example, it is more likely to use informal language such as slang as its main target audience and more likely to be young people due to the overall presentation of the magazine. Most informal magazines like to use a lot of puns, alliteration and abbreviations too. On this cover of Kerrang! it is hard to spot any of these features, however there are many other pages in their magazine that do. Most of the language used on the front cover of this magazine is straight to the point and can come across as assertive; this helps to make it stand out and makes it easy for readers to find out what they want in an instant. It mostly advertises the bands that are featured in the magazine; this certainly gives you the impression that the magazine has knowledge of the subject area.

Target Audience – After analyzing the style of Kerrang!’s cover, I can mostly say that it is aimed at teenagers due to the rebellious look and feel. Teenagers are often referred to as being rebellious and having a rebellious attitude, this magazine tries to capture the teenage trend and does a good job, and it associates with them very well. The magazine mainly focuses on modern day rock and heavy metal which is generally aimed at young people (from everything to do with the song lyrics to the dress style and attitude of the band). Most bands in fact are formed of young people so they will be better at communicating with teenagers because they know what is hot and what is not in this world today. Also they have more sex appeal, because teenagers are going through many hormonal changes, they start having sexual urges, the bands and songs are usually more sexually orientated to make the teenagers want them and like the more. Kerrang! features many bands that would have sexual appeal as well as the rebellious attitudes. The front cover displays this very well with young man without a top on looking quite menacing (trying to look angry, violent, rebellious etc). He also has some tattoos which are quite rebellious looking. There is also a girl behind him who has lip piercings and has very black hair and make-up. The magazine will appeal to both genders due to music not really being gender specific. Also the fact that there are men and women featured in the magazine also shows this and shows that there is something for both girls and boys. The age range will most likely be mid-teens to mid 20’s. Nationality does really come into this as many nations are into rock or heavy metal. As for class types, it will most likely be the middle class and some lower classes such as C1, C2, D & E. This is because the magazine is rather cheap and is distributed weekly. The magazine’s paper is basic and has no special qualities that other magazines have such as Q. This means it is affordable for most people, while the upper classes still may buy it, they may prefer to buy a more expensive magazine that has more things in, or they may find other ways to find out the latest information which lower classes may be unable to afford.

Image – The main image on the Kerrang! cover I analyzed had a band member from Trivium, from my knowledge I know they are a very successful rock/heavy metal band who are very popular at the moment. They tick all the boxes such as sex appeal, rebellious attitude etc. Therefore it is no surprise that they are on the front cover. The difference with this issue’s cover is that instead of having a picture of the band, it instead has only one band member with a girl behind him. As the main headline suggests, it is a feature about the band member rather than the band itself, this person is most likely to be the lead vocalist as they always get the most attention and are well known. The photo is definitely posed as the man is looking straight towards the camera and he is putting on a serious/angry expression. Like I have mentioned before, most bands try to look tough and rebellious as that’s what modern day rock and heavy metal is. The image shows the man lying on his stomach with his arms folded, he is topless and shows off his tattoos. Straight away this shows you attitude and sex appeal, to make things more effective they have put a women in the picture who seems to be topless too but is hiding behind the male (as if she is massaging him). She has very black hair and make-up and has a lip piercing. I think this image is very suggestive yet very effective too. Kerrang! uses both genders on it’s cover, as long as they tick all the right boxes, it doesn’t matter what gender the band members are, having said that most bands featured are all males. Kerrang! also features bands from other countries, as long as the band is popular and ticks the right boxes then it will be in it.

Main Sells – On this front cover there aren’t the usual “main sells” such as competitions and freebies, in fact the only main sell is the list of bands that are featured in the magazine, if you like one or more of the bands then it will attract you and make you want to buy it. There are possibly some competitions in the magazine; however they are not advertised on the cover because they are not as important as the bands themselves. As for freebies, I think Kerrang! thinks they’re a bit gimmicky and it might make the magazine look tacky or childish (most freebies only come with magazines for children). They do however have a mini box which says what else is inside such as posters (which most magazines have).

Other Information – Other bits of information included on the cover include the barcode, issue number, price of the magazine, issue date. These are all common pieces of information that reside on most magazine covers. All of these are very important for the reader and the shop selling the magazine, this is so it is easy for the reader to know how much it will cost them to purchase the magazine and how up to date the magazine is.

How Many Pages – Around 70 A4 pages which are mostly image based but it also has a fair amount of text. This is a decent size magazine; it has just the right amount of pages.

Main Flash Story – The main flash is the story about the Trivium band member Matt Heafy. It says “Under the skin of Matt Heafy” this could mean many things. The image of the man topless goes well with the main headline (quoted above). It’s obviously something about Matt Heafy, skin and Trivium. If you are interested in him or the band then it will make you want to read the magazine and find out what it’s all about. Other than that the main flash doesn’t really give too much away, however it provides enough information to make people want to look in the magazine and find out what’s going on.