Front Page

 

All magazines have certain elements that make it a magazine, with my magazine which is a music magazine, the following elements combine to make it a music magazine. A title at the top; the mise en scene of the front cover image; colour schemes within the magazine; language used; the house style of the magazine, which includes the font of the text as well as colours of parts of the page; what the image on the front cover connotes to aim at its target audience, for example rock music or jazz music; and a barcode which displays the price. The layout in all magazines for the front cover, especially music magazines is almost identical. The magazine will include a masthead at the top of the page, either across the top or to one side, cover lines scattered on the front cover, and a main image that displays the main artists for that issue. Overall my magazine doesn’t challenge music magazine conventions; it supports them which should make it a successful music magazine.

 

The masthead at the top of the page helps create a clear understanding for the reader as to what magazine they are reading. So for my music magazine, the title spreads across the top of the front cover, like “Rolling Stone”, to show the reader what magazine they are reading. With other music magazines, such as “Kerrang” and “Q” the names connote musical instruments or themes, which help further establish a connection with their genre of magazine. For my magazine, the masthead connotes normality because the title itself actually means normal, and pop music is the norm in the music industry.

 

The font of the masthead is sans serif and shows how the magazine is straightforward and easy to read. This is similar to magazines such as “Billboard” and “Kerrang”, but differs from a music magazines such as “Q” as the target audience of “Q” is middle to upper class music enthusiasts who can read complex writing. Overall, the fonts in my magazine don’t vary too much as it is an “orthodox” magazine, meaning it needs to be simple to reflect my target audience. This is different from some issues of “Kerrang” as some of the text is displayed in a way that reflects the rock genre of music.

 

The colours that are used for the front cover of my music magazine are red, black, white and grey. Overall the use of colours is similar to “Q”, however the way the colours are presented on the page is different. This is because my magazines magazine mainly uses white and black as the main colours, and uses red as the text colour. This is unlike “Q” as red is used as a main colour for the masthead and the text in a lot of their issues. The colours used on the page create a visually appealing page, making things stand out to the reader, and in general draw eye to features such as the prominent masthead and the main article text.

The language used on my front cover is simple and makes sense to the reader. It gives key information to the reader so they know what is inside the magazine just from glancing at the front cover. All the text on the front cover try’s to draw in the reader so that they are more likely to buy the magazine. For example there is a sticker on the side of the front cover that reads “free poster inside” this is done to entice the reader to buy the issue. The technique of using a free poster has been used to pull potential buyers in, as the target audience of my magazine is fairly young people, and they are more likely to want a poster to put up in their room at home than someone who is older and more mature.

 

The image used on the front cover is a female model which will attract the audience because she’s wearing clothes that have been made by popular clothing brands such as top shop and H&M. My model is stood up and is shot in a medium close up studio shot. She is looking directly at camera making it seem somewhat personal to the reader, as it’s as if she is looking directly into the reader’s eyes. This doesn’t challenge music magazine conventions as most magazines, such as “Rolling Stone” and “Q” have the artist on the front cover wearing popular clothes, in a medium to medium close up studio shot (unless it is of a band). However not all magazines like my one have the main artist on the front cover looking directly at the camera. But by having it so the main artist is actually looking at the camera, it makes the magazine more engaging to the reader, and they will be drawn in by the striking image on the front cover. I did this so that the magazine would appeal to audience so that the magazine seems like it’s a pop magazine at a glance, to attract my target audience.

 

A barcode is on the front cover of the magazine which displays the price and the issue number. It is situated in the middle of the page on the right hand side which differs to certain magazines such as “Q” where the barcode is usually in the bottom left of the page.

 

The layout of my music magazine is similar to established music magazines such as “Billboard” and “Q”. This is because these magazine are already successful so it would be wise to have a similar layout to them. The masthead is at the top of the page, the cover lines are to the side of the main image, which is in the centre of the page. This supports music magazine conventions and should help to attract my target audience. This is different to “Kerrang” as the layout of this type of magazine is less sophisticated as it is trying to attract its target audience in a different way.

 

 

 

Contents Page

 

The contents page of my music magazine continues over most of the house style that was created with the front cover. Other than the background used on the front cover, everything else matches the house style of the front cover itself. This is so that the contents page doesn’t seem more prominent than the front cover, as the front cover should be more important than the contents page. This is similar to “Q” magazine, as there is emphasis put on the front cover with the use of text and the main image, as the front cover is the most important creation to a music magazine. Especially when considering my target audience, as they are young music enthusiasts who will want an aesthetically pleasing magazine to read.

 

The fonts that are used for the masthead, the cover lines, date of issue, issue number and article summaries are the same on both pages. This is so that there is consistency with the magazine as this will help it to look more professional and should attract my target audience more. As well as this, the colour scheme is generally the same for most parts of both pages; however the background of both the front cover and the contents page differs. This is similar to “Q” magazine, as there is an apparent house style seen from the front cover to the contents page of the magazine.

 

DPS

 

The page numbers for the double page spread of my music magazine are the same as the numbers on the other pages of my magazine. This is so that there is a set house style for the magazine so the people who read the magazine will be able to recognise it just from looking at the page numbers. Having the page numbers the same on all pages of the magazine supports music magazine conventions, as this means there is a house style that the magazine adheres to, which in turns emphasises the sophistication and professionalism of my music magazine.