music magazine research and planning

1. Task 1
MUSIC MAGAZINE RESEARCH AND PLANNING

2. 1. What is a music magazine.
 A music magazine generally covers a specific genre or sub-genre of music. Classical , jazz and rock music are examples
of a genre of music. A sub genre of rock music, for example, is metal.
 The main purposes of a music magazine is to inform , entertain and persuade.
- The primary purpose would be to provide entertainment for the audience. This is very important as it will create great
interest for the brand of the magazine and therefore create "loyal" customers. One way music magazines can entertain
their audience is through exclusive interviews. This links in with the uses and gratification theory of entertainment to
create an escape from problems and relaxation.
- The second primary purpose would be to provide information. This provides the readers who are interested in the
latest news and gigs of the genre information.This therefore gives them recent and new information so they are aware
of upcoming events. Firstly, links in with the uses and gratification theory of information as readers can gain a sense of
security through the knowledge that they learn. Secondly, this links in with the uses of gratification theory of social
interaction as it provides a basis for conversation which allows the reader to connect with society.
- The secondary purpose would be to persuade. The purpose of an advert would be to buy a CD or to go for a gig.
Persuasion can also be used in reviews. This could shape a taste in music or try to make it go in a certain direction.
 The audience of music magazines would be to music listeners and lovers. They would mostly be interested in music.
Also, they could be aspiring musicians and be interested in the latest gigs and news about that specific genre of music.
The music magazine would be targeted at the core audience of the genre of music and tailored for them rather than
trying to pull people from other genres in.

3. 2. What content would you expect to
find in a music magazine?
 The types of articles include interviews with artists, reviews of albums and
concerts and posters (to give away)for an entertainment purpose. This can
provide a personal identity and social integration (Uses and Gratification theory)
as they find a reinforcement of their personal values being shared with others to
create a personal belonging in that "community" of readers of the magazine.
 For an informative purpose there could be tour dates and concerts dates
provided and also historical retrospectives looking back at different careers . This
can provide a sense of self-education. The types of artists that would be
advertised would typically be in the specific category that the music magazine is
in. For example, if the music magazine was in the rock genre they could show the
tour dates for the rock band "Fall out Boy".
 For a persuasion purpose, there could be profiling for new artists or songs.This
too could be in the form of reviews of albums and concerts to show in the artist
in a positive light and to promote their music.

4. 3.What images would you expect to
find in a music magazine?
 Artists such as bands and individuals in that specific genre/sub-genre of the music magazine. This helps
to inform the reader which genre/sub-genre the magazine is by just seeing the artist. For example, if you
were to see Katy Perry you would know that they are in the pop genre and therefore assume that the
music magazine focus's on the pop genre too. Also, by using well known artists in that specific genre as a
main image it allows the brand recognition of that magazine to build.
 Upcoming events such as venues. These could be local or national events such as well known musical
festivals, including Glastonbury and Reading and Leeds.
 Studios – behind the scenes and “VIP” access. These images could show the artist performing in the
studio, the producers of the music and the equipment and technology in the studio.
 Instruments – depending on the genre. For example, it is probably more likely that in a classical music
magazine you would see the instrument compared to a pop music magazine.
 Merchandise – this could be, for example, names of certain bands on t-shirts. These sort of images could
be linked to a magazine competition or to the official merchandise website of the artist/s.
 Posters- one thing I noticed when I went into a shop and looked at the variety of music magazines they
sold was that many of the Pop genre music magazines offered posters for the younger target audience.

5. 4. Identify general characteristics/features that
you would expect to find in all music magazines
 The language would be specific to the genre and the audience. There would certain jargon used. For example, in a
music magazine that is aimed at the British, I expect to read the words such as "tour dates" , "official chart" (in
relation to the Top 40 UK singles and albums), "BRIT nominee/winner" "album" , "studios", etc. To me, all these
words link to back to the music industry. I therefore think it would be important for me to use these key jargon
words in my production of the magazine.
 The frequency of the publication can vary from weekly, biweekly and monthly. Generally, the more expensive and
popular ones would be monthly.
 The cost normally ranges from £2.50-£4.50. This is a typical price of a normal magazine too. When looking at
music magazines in the shops, I noticed too that the more expensive magazine
 The paper would be glossy and thin for less expensive magazines. NME, for example, had a thin newspaper type
of paper for the older audience.
 There is online presence so people know what is going on for example the music magazine might have a twitter
page or a website. The importance and popularity of the music magazine differs the amount of online presence it
has. However, for example, NME only exists online now.
 In terms of the front cover of the a music magazine I would expect to find the following features : a masthead, a
main coverline, coverlines, the date and issue number, a barcode, the rule of thirds format, and a background
image of an artist using direct mode of address.
 In terms of the contents page of a music magazne I would expect to find the following features : an editorial
letter, a masthead, a list of the most important articles in the magazine for that issue, a list of regular articles that
occur in the magazine and an image of the main article.
 In relation to the rest of the magazine I would expect to find aspects such as reviews, interviews, competitions,
adverts, puzzles, posters, a top 10 chart and information on the latest concerts.

6. 5.Identify the features/characteristics
they all have
 Main image of a well known artist in that genre. This sells the magazine by selling
important faces as the audience of that genre would recognise and identify with the
artist.
 The masthead of the music magazine would tie in with the certain genre and style
of the magazine to appeal to the audience.
 A main coverline which usually ties in with the main image.Also, the main featured
artist of that issue may have their name at top of the coverline, the beginning of it
or in the actual main coverline itself. The font size and colour may be different to
the other the part of the coverline.
 The coverlines include the main article , artist names and then other topics of
interest.
 A barcode which is normally placed in the bottom right hand corner and is fairly
small as it is not that of an important aspect of the magazine's front cover.

7. 6. Why are these features present on
all of the magazines? Why are they
important?
 Through the main image, the audience would see an artist you recognise especially for that genre
the audience would know. For instance, if you were to see Kanye West on the front cover of a
magazine you would instantly recognise that he is from the rap genre. The audience would
therefore come to the conclusion that the magazine's genre focuses on rap music. The main
image therefore acts as a symbol to the genre of the magazine when using images of celebrities.
Following on from this, if the main image consists of a well known celebrity, then the audience
would identify that the brand identity of the magazine as being quite prestigious if they are able
to have that certain artist to be featured in their magazine.
 In a similar way, this is how the masthead works as the masthead should relate to music on a
music magazine. For example, the rock magazine "Kerrang" was named that as it thought that this
is the sound a electric guitar makes when being played. Therefore, the masthead signals to the
audience the type of magazine it is.
 The main coverlines and the other coverline on the front cover of the music magazine firstly help
show the audience again the type of music magazine it is and the contents of the magazine itself
by hinting at the type of articles that are written. Secondly, they help persuade the audience to
read and buy the actual magazine by using specific language and jargon related to the genre of
the music magazine.
 A barcode is an easy way for the audience to identify that the product is a magazine an is
essential for shops to sell the product.

8.  Firstly, the genre of the magazine is pop. This is because
there are bright colors and the artists shown are currently
in the charts and are mainstream. The artists are wearing
plain and simple clothing so that they can appeal to a
wide range of audience which is what pop music is aimed
at. I know that this is not a rock magazine, for example,
as the clothing colors aren't dark such as blacks and
greys which are normally associated with emo's and
goths and therefore in turn with rock music.
 Secondly, the masthead also makes it pretty clear that the
music genre of this magazine is pop as it even includes
the word "pop" in "Top of the Pops". The font of the
masthead is simple and swirly, maybe being girly. This
could contrast with the masthead of the music magazine
"Kerrang" as the font for that is shattered to connote the
rebellious actions of the rock genre. I can therefore come
to the conclusion that the masthead implies the magazine
is of the pop genre
 Lastly, there are a lot of heart shapes on the front cover
and the main coverline includes the word "hearts" too.
Many songs in the pop genre are to do with romance.
7 . What type of
music magazine is
this and how do I
know?

9. 8. What is the target
audience for this
magazine and how do I
know?
 The main target audience for pop magazines
would be young girls. This is shown through
the fact that there are mainly images of men ,
the bright pink and yellow colour scheme and
the hearts. Hearts connotes romance which
is commonly linked with girls.
 Through the words “YOUR FASHION
FUTURE” this further implies that it is a pop
magazine for girls as fashion trends and
appearance would be an important aspect of
pop music as well as for young girls.
 There are a lot of smaller images on this front
cover which show many young adult and
teenage artists which a younger audience
would look up to and are part of the pop
genre. Furthermore, a lot of young people are
entertained through the use of imagery and
by using a lot of images on the front page this
suggests that the target audience is young.