Uses and gratification

2. One of the purposes of a magazine is to provide information
about the genre of the magazine. Every magazine will have this
purpose whether it is a film, music or car magazine they all have
to tell the audience something and keep them updated. Despite
this, each magazine will be targeted towards a specific genre
and therefore have to include relevant information within that
genre. Music magazines have information about new/current
artists, upcoming tours/festivals, music events, gossip etc. the
reader is informed of past, present and future events in the
music industry to fell involved and to know what is happening in
the industry so they can learn about it. Therefore, the reader is
able to attend the latest tours and/or events and allow them to
get involved in the latest music related things.

3. This is a very important part of a magazine as it allows the
reader to personally connect with the magazine. It could either
be a connection formed between their favourite artists that has
been featured or strongly agree with a review included in the
magazine. Therefore the audience is likely to purchase the
magazine as they can relate and gain personal identity through
the magazine. Moreover, when the featured artists is either a
role model, style icon or inspiration to the audience, the
audience with aspire to be like them and this will be a key selling
point for a magazine. For example if an artists is dressed in a
way that reflects the audience they will personally identify
themselves with the style/artists and be more inclined to buy a
copy.

4. This allows a connection to form between the magazine and the
audience as they are allowed to get involved in the magazine. It
could be discussing the magazine through word of mouth
between the public and talk about the latest issue and what they
agree/disagree with. If people read the magazine and share it
with others they could find out that they are interested in the
magazine and buy a copy. In addition, a magazine can have
social network links like a twitter account or online magazine so
people can share it through social media, or they can get
involved with it via social network, this is becoming a growing
concept in magazines.

5. One of the main functions of a magazine is to entertain the
reader and make people want to read more of the magazine.
They should be a way of informing the reader but in an
entertaining way so they do not feel like they are just reading a
textbook. A magazine can be entertaining due to its content, for
example the audience will enjoy reading current information
about their favourite artists. Furthermore, they could be seen for
a sense of sexual gratification and provide sexual images of
each sex to appeal to the reader. Additionally a magazine could
be there for life style tips, for example, fashion ideas, home
improvements/decoration etc. As long as a magazine is
entertaining to read and keeps the audience wanting to read
more.