Potential images for my magazine cover:

These images are photographs that i took of a band called SERICA. The lead singer is my sisters boyfriend which meant i was able to attend some of their gigs and take pictures of them performing live.

Magazine plan

OUTLINE:

Name of Magazine - 'POPular'

Genre - Popular Music (Chart hits)

I chose this particular genre for my magazine because results from my survey showed that this type of music is the most popular. I wanted to appeal to as many people as possible within my age group. I also chose this genre of music because although indie and rock are well catered for in the magazine industry, since the closure of the 'Smash Hits' magazine, chart pop music, has not been well represented in the music press.

My target audience will be young teenage boys and girls, ranging from 16-20. I decided to do this because the majority of the people that took my survey, were in this age group and i felt that this age range would appeal to the the genre of music the most.

My institution would be a large publishing/media company. Advantages of this would be that the company would be able to provide me with all the high quality resources i need to make my product look as professional as possible.

Font ideas:

I decided to choose font number four because i felt that it fitted in with the fun, upbeat and modern aspect of pop music. I liked the uniqueness of the lettering and felt it was not too simplistic but at the same time not too complex. I like the way the 'pop' stands out in this font, and the way its quite separate from 'ular', my aim was to separate it enough that the 'pop' stood out to portray the idea of the popular music genre. I felt the other fonts didn't stand out as well as this one.

Font number three i felt was quite childish and just missed the age group i am targeting my product at. The lower case lettering mixed with a slightly 'scruffy' design made it look this way, and i didn't want this to have a negative impact on my magazine.

Font two was my second choice, however i felt that the 'ular' was too small and looked like too much of a separate word, however i did like the idea of a brush effect for my lettering; it's quirky and compliments my genre.

I will achieve the overall 'look' of my magazine by using bright and contrasting colours that are both masculine and feminine so my product appeals to both members of the opposite sex. I will use a number of diverse and eye catching fonts for different titles and subtitles of articles in my magazine so it doesn't become repetitive and boring for the reader. I will also include images to compliment the main article issue. For example: - My double page spread interview on SERICA will have pictures of them in the recording studio and singing at live gigs.This will allow the readers to get an insight of exactly what they do and entices them to buy their new album.

For my front page i will have an eye catching picture of the lead singer in the band SERICA, which is who i am focusing on for my double page spread within the product.

The font for the title of my magazine will be across the top of the page so it is the first thing the reader sees. Furthermore, i will have catchy tease lines dotted around the page to entice the readers even more. For example: - 'JLS REVEALED' so the readers are left wanting to read more. I will also include the issue number so potential long term readers can keep up with the issues.

For my contents page i will have a slight summary of information that is on each page. Some of them will be complimented with images to do with the article, depending on how main stream they are.

For my double page spread article i am doing an interview with Stuart James and Andy, 3 men from the band SERICA. I will ask them questions about their musical life and also life away from music, for example: - what they do in their free time etc...

Analysing different magazine fonts

I felt that it was important to analyse different fonts of successful magazines to gain an idea and understanding of what works well and what doesn't. I have chosen magazines such as NME and Kerrang! as they are one of many highly popular music magazines.

This logo for NME immediately catches the readers eye. Not only does it use bold simplistic colours, but the font is bold, in capitals and easy to read. Some might argue that the title isn't complex enough, it doesn't use a variety of diverse contrasting colours and proves slightly boring at first glance, however, i disagree. It follows the typical format for a music magazine, using two contrasting colours that accentuate the name instead of having the title be lost in a complex font and too much colour. The title is short and sweet, not too long winded, precise and to the point. It stands for 'New musical Express', informing the reader straight away that the information is modern, up to date and musically based. The black outline around the font makes it stand out from the page to make sure that the background image they use for each issue doesn't take too much focus away from the title. The catchy slogan underneath is there to entice the potential readers even more, informing them that this product is first for music information and if they want to get the most up to date information this product is the one to buy.

Kerrang! uses also two contrasting colours to sell the product. Black and white are opposite colours, meaning that one colour accetuates the other and makes it look bright and vibrant. I really liked this font because i felt it was very simplisitc but effective. The lines across the font reminded me of the strobe lights you get at a rave type event relating back to the metal/rock genre of music I thought this was effective because it made the font look more eye catching and complimented the main subject of the magazine. Underneath they have included the email address for the music magazine online, this allows the reader to know that they can also relate back to the site for magazine extra's in surplus information that they might want to know. The black background on the font accentuates the gothic type rock genre of the magazine using a bold and symbolic colour. I felt that the way this title is presented is very successful in terms of how it portrays its genre and how well it catches the eye of a potential reader.

This title is quite different from any other magazine titles and the way they are displayed on the front covers. As the name of the magazine is very short and simplistic, i think it would have been more successful if they had of done something more interesting and eye catching for the font of the letter. The contrast between the crimson red background and the white letter helps to make the magazine name stand out as well as possible, however as a potential buyer of the product i wouldnt appeal to this font choice and chosen layout of the title. However i do like the fact that the title is so short, it's simplicity means that it is easy to remember.

Case Study of a specific magazine

This is a very famous well known music magazine that has been around for many years called 'Rolling Stone'. The name imediately draws the reader in because of the famous band that go by the name of the 'Rolling Stones'. Straight away there is a link between the catchy title and a well known music band, also relating to the genre of the magazine.

The colour of the title is a bright blue which stands out against the crimson red background., this means that although part of the title is behind the figure on the front page, it still stands out so the effect of the title isnt lost.

The font of the title is a slightly italic style font which compliments the rest of the cover because it is a different font to the rest of the typography on the page. It stands out and looks more significant than the rest of the information on the page.

There is a woman standing in the middle of the page, standing in quite a seductive pose. This helps the reader to gain an understanding of exactly what genre of music is going to be discussed in the magazine, such as 50 cent who relate a large majority of their lyrics to love, sex and relationships. Her clothes stand out particularly in the photo because the colours are different from the chosen colours on the rest of the page. She is wearing a black glittery skirt which is reflecting of the light projected on her which adds that extra bit of life to the magazine. Her tied up purple top showing her stomach is quite provocative and suggestive of the music genre, complimeting her slightly messy wavy hair and the position in which she is holding her arms over her head.

There are a number of different subheadings all to do with articles included in the product, this helps the reader to gain an understanding of the specific content and whether or not the chose magazine articles will appeal to them. They have chosen to put the most important part of the article in a bolder and bigger font and the rest of the information in a slightly smaller font to catch the eye of the reader and grab their attention with the main subject of the article. For example:- 50 CENT & CRIMES.

Music Magazine Survey

1. What genre of music magazine are you most likely to buy?
-Rock
-Indie pop
-Hip Hop/R&B
-Country
-Popular music

2. How often do you buy music magazines?
-Every day
-Once a week
-Once a month
-Once or twice a year
-Never

3. What is your favourite magazine article?
-Interviews
-Reviews
-Game/quiz pages
-General music information
-I enjoy reading all articles

4. Do you enjoy reading other magazines that aren't music magazines?
-Yes
-No
-Sometimes, it depends on the content
-It doesnt really make a difference, i appeal to all genre's equally

5. Do you think the quality of music magazines has improved throughout the years?
-Yes
-No
-Some aspects of music magazines have improved

6. Where do you prefer to get information about music?
-Internet
-Books
-Magazines
-Television
-Radio

7. What age group do you belong to?
-10-15
-16-20
-21-25
-26-30
-31-35
-36-40
-41-45
-46-50

8. What gender are you?
-Male
-Female

9. How much would you be willing to pay for a music magazine?

-£1.00 - £1.50
-£1.50 - £2.00
-£2.50 - £3.00
-£3.50 - £4.00
-£4.50 - £5.00
-Doesnt bother you
-Other

10. Do you feel that there are enough diverse types of music magazines out there for everyone?
-Yes
-No

The Results:
1.
-Rock (1 person)
-Indie pop (2 people)
-Hip Hop/R&B (7 people)
-Country (0 people)
-Popular music (10 people)

2.
-Every day (1 person)
-Once a week (5 people)
-Once a month (10 people)
-Once or twice a year (2 people)
-Never (2 people)

3.
-Interviews (11 people)
-Reviews (5 people)
-Game/quiz pages (2 people)
-General music information (0 people)
-I enjoy reading all articles (2 people)

4.
-Yes (9 people)
-No (4 people)
-Sometimes, it depends on the content (5 people)
-It doesnt really make a difference, i appeal to all genre's equally (2 people)

5.
-Yes (13 people)
-No (3 people)
-Some aspects of music magazines have improved (4 people)

6.
-Internet (3 people)
-Books (0 people)
-Magazines (9 people)
-Television (4 people)
-Radio (4 people)

7.
-10-15 (0 people)
-16-20 (11 people)
-21-25 (3 people)
-26-30 (6 people)
-31-35 (0 people)
-36-40 (0 people)
-41-45 (0 people)
-46-50 (0 people)

8.
-Male (11 people)
-Female (9 people)

9.
-£1.00 - £1.50 (2 people)
-£1.50 - £2.00 (2 people)
-£2.50 - £3.00 (12 people)
-£3.50 - £4.00 (4 people)
-£4.50 - 5.00 (0 people)
-Doesnt bother you (0 people)
-Other = (0 people)

10.
-Yes (2 people)
-No (18 people)

Analysis of my results

For my first question, i asked what genre of music the person prefers. The favoured genre was popular music which immediately swayed me to base my magazine on this genre. I also felt that i knew quite alot about the genre as it is music i am specifically interested in myself.

I then asked how often the person purchases magazines to determine exactly how frequently i would publish an issue of my magazine and what suits my target audience best and keeps them wanting to buy my product. Once a month was the most popular answer, i felt that this worked really well as i decided that releasing an issue every week was too regular, people might not want to spend money on a magazine every week, might get bored etc...

To add to this, i asked what the person favourite magazine article to read was. The vast majority of people voted for interviews, therefore in my double page spread article on the band SERICA, i will try to make it as interesting as possible and really draw the reader in so they know they have fun and informative interviews to indulge into every month.

Then i asked whether they enjoyed reading magazines that weren't music magazines and the vast majority voted yes. Because of this, i want to make sure that my magazine has a number of different features and doesn't just talk about music and artists but also expands on that and discusses events like The MTV Music Awards, including exclusive pictures etc...

I wanted to ask them whether they thought the quality of music magazines has improved throughout the years, most people said yes, however i want to keep in mind that i have to compete with the standard of music magazine's today which i will think about when spending time on the presentation of my product.

My next question was to find out where people prefer to get their music information from, the majority said magazines which means i have to make my magazine highly informative as well as quirky and fun with pictures/competition etc... There were also people that selected the internet as being one of their main sources of music information therefore if i had more time to expand on my product i would also make a website for my magazine with extra information/games/news etc...

The most popular age group was 16-20, therefore i decided that this age group would be my target. I also wanted to aim my magazine at this age group because it means i can make my magazine appeal to a young audience and i can also relate to this age group as i am 16.

I wanted to ask the gender of each person to gain a clear understanding of which sex appeals to music magazines more. There were slightly more males than females, however i felt that females should be able to appeal to music magazines just as much as males, therefore i shall strive to achieve a product that does appear to both genders equally.

The price of the magazine is very important to me as i want to make sure that the people that buy my magazine feel they are getting their money's worth, therefore i asked what price they were willing to pay if the content was interesting and packed with information and the majority went with 2.50-3.00 pounds.

I wanted to know whether people felt there were enough diverse magazines that appeal to everyone available and the majority decided that there weren't, therefore, i wanted to make my magazine quirky and unique, different from any other magazine published yet.

Analysis Of Magazine Sales

'NME', formally known as 'New Musical Express' and Kerrang face big problems as the consumer magazine sector suffered a joint circulation staggering drop of nearly 10% in the first half of this year (2009). NME, which was overtaken by Future Publishing monthly Metal Hammer from mid 2008 for the first time averaged a circulation of around 40,948 from January to July. Comaparing this with sales from the same time period in 2008, sales had dropped by an immense 27.2%.

Bauer Media's 'Kerrang!' has managed to keep their sales slighlty better than NME, but only just. Now also overtaken by Metal Hammer, Kerrang! saw its average sales fall 28.3% year on year to 43,253. Metal Hammer lost 5.2% sales year on year, down to 46,004.

Bauer Media's Q remains the market leader despite losing 11.5% of its sales year on year, down to 100,172. Q's Bauer stablemate Mojo also lost sales, down 8.1% year on year to 97,722. But Q's lead over Mojo has been reduced to just 2,450 compared with 6,807 a year ago.

Future Publishing's Classic Rock was the only paid-for music title to record a year-on-year increase, up 5.5% to 70,301. Classic Rock closed the gap on IPC's Uncut, which was down 12% to 76,526. In the first half of last year Uncut's lead over Classic Rock was 20,293. Now it is 6,225.
Channelfly Enterprises's free music monthly The Fly remains the sector leader with an average distribution of 107,771, up 2.4% year on year.

Overall, the music sector's combined circulation of 582,697 was down 9.4% year on year and 5% on the last six months of 2008.


My Analysis of the sales:

It is clear that over the last year or so, magazines sales have dropped a considerable amount, it is important that there are a varied number of music magazine products that all people can relate to, whether they favour heavy metal or popular music there should be something out there for everyone.

Kerrang! and NME are one of the top music magazines in the industry which makes decreasing sales hard to understand. They need to maintain the funky fresh unique qualities of the magazine that they had when sales were at their highest.

Semiotic Analysis Of 'Top Of The Pops' Music Magazine

This is a typical example of a successful and eye catching magazine cover, not only does it contain vibrant bright colour to attract buyers but it also has a picture on the front of two very successful celebrities in the media industry, Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens. Immediately the magazine will appeal to its target audience, capturing the eyes of those young teens out there that see Vanessa as a beautiful role model and Zac as a typical teenage heart throb. Looking at this particular cover i would say that it appeals to girls more than boys, purely because of all the information and goodies the magazine has to offer. For example: 'Sexy Hollyoaks Hunks' with an image of the Hollyoaks stars topless. Furthermore, it is clear that the magazine wants to target girls from the age of around 11-15, although the Disney characters appeal to younger ages, other articles may not be appropriate. The cover also includes a slight insight of an article inside, 'DANNY: ''I'M NOT CONFIDENT NAKED'', this will attract the girls and encourage them to want to read more, they don't give away too much but they don't give away too little, its the perfect amount to have a teen hooked on and left wanting to read more.

Top of the Pops is already a music show on TV, therefore buyers are able to look at the title and immediately relate the product back to what they may have seen before. The title gives away that the majority of the information will be based on pop music, luring in readers that listen to that genre. It's a well known TV show, therefore popularity for this magazine is bound to be high. Although there is a Top Of The Pops TV show, the title is not in the same font as 'Top Of The Pops' is on the show, audiences may not immediately relate it to the programme, however this may be their aim.

There are quite a few images on the front cover of this particular magazine, i think this is an advantage for the magazine. The target audience that the magazine is aimed at can relate to lots of fun, bright and colourful images of celebrities from movies like 'High School Musical', programmes like, 'Hollyoaks' and world wide singers like 'Leona Lewis'. I think it is important for the young readers to have something to look at, the more images there are, the more information their is bound to be on celebrities that they aspire to. The varied use of images gives the magazine a contrast and shows the readers that its not all just about reading into music, but also musical movies and other types of media as well, however music still being the obvious central theme.

The contrast of colours on the front cover immediately grabs your attention, these are considered as quite feminine colours again emphasising the products target audience and appealing to those young teens. The contrast of colours helps separate different articles and helps to vary the information so the reader is aware of the magazines diversity and that it focuses on a variety of different articles and people. They not only use different contrasting colours but they also use lots of different fonts to accompany each article that they are advertising, for example: - They have included articles on the two high school musical stars and decided to include the original film logo instead of putting the film title in their own font, this works to the products advantage as buyers are able to recognise the film by it's famous well known logo title. Another example is the '5 sexy Hollyoaks hunks' headline, they have put the font in white, this contrasts with the colour of the 'hot' celebrities skin colour, showing that they are tanned and good looking, again tripping the readers into buying the magazine. They have outlined the white font with black so that the headline stands out even more, as white can easily get lost on a page and go unnoticed.

The magazine includes a good variety of articles on the front page as well as inside. From the cover they are able to establish the target audience and are also able to see whether they would appeal to the particular subjects the magazine is going to talk about. However, for most young teenage girls, it seems that at least some articles in the 'Top of the pops' magazine would catch the eye of a potential reader, even if others didn't, and this shows how significant it is to have diversity in a magazine product. The range of articles displayed on the front page give the reader the impression that they wont get bored, there's certainly enough to read and do and enough interactive competitions that they can take part in if they chose to do so.

I feel that this product is highly successful in appealing to its main target audience and portraying just how informative and fun it can be to read. The use of colour, typography, images, slogans, teasers and competition prizes helps to encourage the reader into exploring the product more. I feel that this product has the potential to appeal to a wider age range by including articles that may attract older audiences, for example: - An interview with a popular artist of today such as Cheryl Cole or Alexandra Burke.