Designing My Own Music Magazine

Introduction


After analysing the main conventions of college magazines and creating my own, I am now going to look at a different genre of magazine. Our main task is to design and create our own front cover, contents page and a double page spread of a music magazine. The magazine has to be of an original design, and include a minimum of four images produced by ourselves which fit the genre of music magazines.

There is currently a wide variety or music magazines to chose from specialising in particular music genres . Examples of different music genres are:



- Punk and Hardcore


- New-wave and Synthpop

- RnB and Soul


- Reggae and Ska


- Metal


- Rock and Pop


- Rap and Hip-Hop


-Alternative


- Classical


- Latin and Jazz


- Country and Folk


- Electronic and Dance

Here are some examples of current magazines that cover some of these different music genres:

This is the front cover of vibe magazine. This particular magazine covers the genre of R'nB/ Hip-Hop music. The magazine was launched in 1993 and its success still makes it popular today. Music artists that have appeared on the front cover of vibe magazine include: Mariah Carey, Beyonce, Snoop Dogg, R. Kelly, Jenifer Lopez, Keisha Cole and Lil' Wayne.

This is the front cover of mixmag magazine. The magazine was created in 1982 and it specialises in music genre of dance. It also claims to be the largest selling dance magazine in the world and with such a large audience attraction, it has without a doubt been very successful over the years and has still managed to keep its popularity.

This is the front cover of classical magazine. Just from the title we can tell that it is devoted to classical music and in this particular issue Myleene Klass models the front cover who is very talented pianist. Other artists who have appeared in classical fm include

The music genre that most appeals to me and I take a great interest in is Indie/Rock/Alternative music. It happens to be one of the most popular genres of music too and the magazines promoting this genre are very successfully.


Here are some examples of current Indie/Rock/Alternative magazines:


- NME(new musical express) indie/alternative/rock music magazine







Kerrang - indie/alternative/rock music magazine



I will choose to base my own music magazine upon this hybrid genre and will research the Language, Ideology, Institutions, Audience and Representation of this genre. It is important to consider these key concepts when creating my own magazine in order for it to look professional and be successful in the magazine industry.


L-LANGUAGE - these are the technical terms used to create a magazine front cover. These include: masthead, headline, splash, strap-line and plugs. I will need to use these in my own music magazine so that it looks professional and draws the reader in, engaging their focus.

I - Institutions - This is the companies which are in charge of producing the magazines. For example: a popular company called Emap, which produces over 150 consumer magazines controls many popular music magazines such as: - Kerrang , Mojo, Q, Mixmag and Sneak. As Emap are a very successful Magazine company and manage to distribute their products to a global audience, i feel i would benefit from looking at these magazines in the hope that my own magazine would be as professional if my product was produced in the real word..

I- Ideology - This is the values and beliefs in which the institution of the magazine follow. Their main focus is on music and bands of course and i will consider a similar ideology for my own music magazine. My genre of magazine will value and believe in Indie/rock/alternative bands being the main centre of attention and update their target audiences with news, interviews, new bands, music and upcoming gigs linked to this genre.

A- Audience - These are the consumers of the media text and in this case the readers of music magazines. These of course will be people who are interested in their music but different genres will affects the type of audiences that are attracted to the magazines. Everyday magazines usually attract a wider, more general audience but music magazines approach more minor and concentrated audiences who follow a particular genre and style.


R - Representations - these are the stereotypes, style and cultures represented within the magazine. Music magazines usually represent musicians and their way of life. The style and culture of their target audience is usually reflected in the magazine to, in order to be appealing. My artists within my magazine will involve mainly the stereotype of 'indies' and who believe that they dress individually. However, seen as it has become a general stereotype within our society, we can begin to identify the typical dress sense and styles which they have. Arctic monkeys for example follow this particular trend of long messy hair, skinny jeans and other retro clothing. I will take into account these representations used within other music magazines of the same genre and try to recreate a similar style and effect in order to appeal to my target audience.