1. Task 9
Title of magazine you wish to produce
I have chosen music mayhem as the title for my magazine as readers will make connections with
pop. It was quite difficult to decide my name but my focus group really liked the name and they
unanimously felt it was much stronger than the other names I thought of. I also like this name
because it suggests that the magazine is going to feature lots of enjoyable content. Music mayhem
gives the impression that pop is a really wild genre and that this magazine will be fun. I did try
initially to include the word pop but felt the most effective titles I came up with all had music in
them. By having the word music in my title I can show the audience immediately that I am
producing a magazine aimed at music fans. It also does not turn any music fans away because
although my magazine will be focused on the pop genre it will include artists that all music listeners
enjoy. I want to have this title spread clearly across the top of my front cover to create a sense of
branding.
Explanation of choice of genre
I have chosen pop genre because it is the music genre I am most interested and know the most
about, therefore I felt that I would be best at producing a pop magazine. I do also enjoy listening to
other genres of music like indie so I feel I will be able to attract fans of other music genres as well.
The word pop derives from the word "popular" because pop is mainstream due to it appealing to
such a large group of people. When I was younger I did purchase a few pop magazines and enjoyed
reading them so I will use some of the codes and contentions of those and apply them to mine. I feel
that when I was younger magazines on the whole were more popular than they are today so by
releasing a fresh new magazine I hope to restore some of the old popularity. Pop is such a large
genre with a massive following so I felt that I could produce a magazine that appealed to them. I
enjoy listening to many pop artists and I feel that pop is the most common genre of music listened
to.
Target audience
My target audience is 11-16 male and females. I feel that although female predominately listen to
pop music, males also enjoy the genre and attend pop festivals and gigs. Pop magazines do not fully
represent males and I don’t feel there is currently a magazine that they would buy despite there
being several pop music magazines out there. Male teenagers do not like the colour pink so by
having a pink pop magazines they feel like the content will all be aimed at females and that their
preferences will be overlooked. I feel it will be difficult to cater for both genders but I feel billboard
magazine do this well as male teenagers would be attracted to the magazine. There are many
aspects of the pop genre that males like and the common assumption that these magazines feature
tips on makeup and clothing is something that I am keen to amend because if I am successful in
doing this then my magazine will cater for a much larger audience. I have picked this age group
because I feel that sixteen is the oldest age that someone would be willing to purchase a magazine
on a regular basis. This age group typically get pocket money and are growing in independence so
they will be able to choose what they spend this money on. I realise that I will have to produce a
2. very attractive magazine in order to persuade them to spend their money on it. Also this age group
normally listen to music the most because they like to spend their free time when they aren't in
education listening to it. They can get really engaged with their favourite artists and I feel that I
could build a loyal fan base by catering for what they like and also using growing technology to keep
them engaged in the magazine I am producing.
Initial ideas about front page
As I have previously touched on I want a bold and eye catching front cover that male and female
teenagers are attracted to. I want to shy away from the usual pink pop magazines and also blue
because this may be disliked by some females. I feel I will use two complimenting colours because I
feel one colour can get a bit dull and make the front cover appear lacklustre. I will have to be clever
with how I use the colours because I understand that too much colour can be sharp on the eye. For
my main image it is likely I will use a young male with maybe a guitar for props for mise en scene. I
want it to be clear that he is a musician and if possible clear that he is from the pop genre. I expect
this to take up a lot of the page and then at the top will be my masthead which will also be large and
eye-catching. Around my main image I will have several cover lines that give a taste of what features
inside, if I make these interesting then the audience are likely to be more inclined to purchase my
magazine as they can see if what is inside is something they like. I will also have the usual codes and
conventions of a barcode so my magazine can be scanned at checkout and also the date and price.
Initial ideas about contents page
Like with my front cover I would like my title of "music mayhem" at the top to create a sense of
familiarity and consistency. By having the title of my magazine on my contents page I have creating
branding for my magazine as the more the audience see it, the more they are likely to remember the
name of my magazine. They can then tell others about my magazine and my magazine becomes
more popular through "word of mouth." They can then see if I have a website, social network
accounts or any merchandise available. From my focus group my audience felt that I should find a
balance between images and text because too many images can feel you are undermining the
intelligence of your audience and make it appear that you are just trying to fill space and too few
images means there is lots of text and a magazine shouldn’t just have lots of text. I will try to use
rule of thirds with my front cover and contents page because I want consumers to see the most
important aspects of my pages first. My audience may be particularly interested in a particular artist
or article so I will include page numbers, one of the codes and conventions of contents pages, to
help them easily find what they are looking for. I want my contents page to be as attractive as my
front cover but I want to also make sure that you can distinguish between the two because
otherwise it could easily become repetitive.
Initial ideas about double page spread
For my double page spread I am thinking of doing a feature on the artist in the main image. I am
unsure whether I will have one large image to take up the centre of this double page spread or
whether I will use several medium sized images. I will use a drop cap at the start of the article text
because from looking at other magazines they do this frequently. I may do a play on the word for the
3. title of the article because my target audience of teenagers often appreciate a light hearted tone
and humorous language. I want the overall impression of it to be very positive and even people who
are not fans of the artist to want to read and find out more about them. I feel learning about other
artists and passing on information to others is an integral part of music because it helps keep the
genre alive. I will decide the colour scheme later on and will base this on what colours go best with
the images and text. The text needs to be clear so I must ensure I use a colour that stands out on the
background and also that the font is fairly simple and easy to read.
