The document proposes a magazine called "Amplify" focused on alternative rock music. It will target middle class females ages 16-19, as that reflects the author's own demographic and interest in alternative rock. The magazine will be published fortnightly to cover the many bands and artists in the genre. It will cost £1.60 to be affordable to its target audience. The first issue's cover will feature a photo of a new band member and introduce them in an interview-style article. Interior pages will include photos of bands and a letter from the editor to interact with readers.
1. Magazine Proposal
The genre of music that I am going to focus my magazine on is alternative rock. I have
chosen this as it is the genre that I am most interested in and the most knowledgeable
about. This genre is also quite popular and quite a large proportion of teenagers are
interested in this genre, and this is going to be my target age range. This means that it
is more likely for my magazine to sell as many people will be interested in the content I
create.
The target audience for my magazine would be middle class females ages 16-19 who
have an interest in alternative rock music. I will find it easiest to target towards this
target audience group as I would personally fit into it.
The title of the magazine that I wish to produce and publish is Amplify, and I have
chosen this as it suggests a high volume, which is very typical of rock music. This title
also implies that the volume is so loud that it has become obnoxious. This connotes
rebellion, which is a connotation that is shared with rock music.
Amplify will be a fortnightly magazine, as there are a great number of bands and artists
that create music that fits into the alternative rock genre, meaning there will be a lot of
possible content. The price of this magazine will be £1.60, and as this is considerably
cheaper than many magazines, people will a smaller amount of money will be more
likely to purchase it, and so this will widen my target audience.
My initial idea for the front cover of the first issue of my magazine is to have my
masthead extremely large and bold taking up approximately a sixth of the page. I will
have a photograph of a single member of a new band as my main image, and the main
coverline will be the model's name and it will state that the article is an interview with
that new band.
2. For my contents page, I plan to create a small collage with a few different photos of
various bands and artists featured in the magazine. This collage will be placed amongst
the article titles, anchorage text and quotes. I also plan to write an editorial letter which
will be placed on the contents page to help to interact with the reader more.
The double page spread will be the article that goes with the main image and the main
coverline on the front cover of this issue. I will use a very large photograph of the same
band member as the background for the two pages, and place all of my text over the top
of the image. The article title will take up approximately half of the first page, and the
body of text for the article will take up the other half of the page. The article will be in a
'Q&A' style as it will be introducing the new band. This style of article suggests more
intimacy and more legitimacy, which is effective when introducing a band the reader
may not have heard of previously. This style of article also seems less sophisticated,
which links to the younger target audience.
The photographs that I am planning to take for Amplify should all connote rock musis as
much as possible. To do this I will ask my models to wear more black, as this colour
shares many connotations with rock, such as rebellion. I will also ask any female
models to wear darker makeup, such as black eyeliner or dark lipstick. Both of these are
stereotypical appearances for rock artists.