2. INTENTION AND PURPOSE OF MY MAGAZINE
The intention and purpose of my magazine is to educate and inform people of hip hop and rap music in
the past and present tense. There will also be features educating people on the future developments of
hip hop and rap music. My magazine focuses on this genre of music in the west and east coasts of
America. I have chosen to focus on the genre in specific areas since its publically known that there has
been issues surrounding this genre of music and the artists who take part in it in these areas. For years
there has been rumours and discussions regarding certain events such as the death of famous 90s
rappers such as Notorious BIG from Brooklyn, New York. West coast hip-hop and East coast hip-hop were
originally made to oppose each other. In my magazine I intend to focus on rap in these areas, I intend to
educate the general public on the story behind the opposition involved in one music genre due to the
location in which the artist is based. The magazine will also focus on West coast and East coast rappers in
todays day and age, focusing on whether the feud is still evident yet bringing together two coasts for
people who enjoy artists from both areas. I intend to focus on these areas in my magazine because
recently there has been a sudden increase in hip-hop music due to new groups forming in these areas. My
magazine purpose is to advertise concerts, advertise music events, advertise new artists, educate people
on old artists, celebrate the genre of music, allow purchasers of the magazine to have the opportunity to
meet their musical ideas from both coasts, encourage events where both coasts come together in
celebration of hip-hop. Most hip-hop in 2013 is often found online on sites such as youtube due to harsh
language and graphic lyrics, this means that not everyone will have access to the genre. Creating a
magazine that focuses solely on this genre allows its appreciators to regularly receive up to date
information regarding their favourite artists. The magazine will appeal to its target market as it gives them
information they may desire but do not know how to find on the internet. For an example, people may be
unaware that their favourite artist is performing in concert due to a lack of the genre shown on general
mainstream TV. The internet required previous knowledge as they would have to search for the event in
order to receive details, if there is a magazine providing them with the details efficiently they would be
more inclined to buy it.
3. TARGET AUDIENCE
The target audience of my magazine is 16 to 30 year olds. I have chosen to aim my magazine at 16
year olds despite the language involved in the genre because as a 16 year old myself I am fully aware
that 16 years are highly interested in this music genre. Rap and hip-hop appeals to teenagers as a lot of
artists are about self expression and a lot of teenagers are easily influenced and still finding themselves.
Rap and hip-hop music can often be catchy and is often played on radio shows such as BBC Radio one
which has a high number of teenage listeners. Furthermore, rap concerts taking place in the UK will let
anyone in above the age of 16 so targeting my magazine at people as young as 16 proves efficient as
they are legally allowed to attend events we will be advertising. Secondly, there is no age guidelines on
music as there is on films so 16 years are able to purchase and listen to this music on their own accord.
I have limited my target audience at 30 because there is not a lot of people over the age of 30 listening
to rap music. Although there is some, not including them in my target audience wont prove problematic
as a large majority of readers are under the age of 30.
I have no general race or religion that my magazine is aimed at, as with all music it is a choice to listen
to it and anyone can prefer whatever genre that pleases them most. However, if I am to comment on
who my magazine would appeal to most under this demographic it would have to be atheists. This is
because a lot of rap music such as OFWGKTA show a significant amount of positivity towards ideas
surrounding the devil and hell. Due to this I believe that atheists might be more interested in the
magazine as they are less likely to get offended by the content of the music in terms of religion.
Furthermore, a lot of rap music contains racial slurs, especially relating to people of an African ethnicity
in relation to the times of slavery. This can make people uncomfortable. Diminishing their interest in the
magazine.
My magazine is aimed at anyone who can afford it all over the world with an interest in rap music, I aim
to obtain their interest through publications which provide them with detailed and relevant in an efficient
manner.
4. HOW I INTEND ON COMMUNICATING WITH MY TARGET
AUDIENCE THROUGH EXISTING CONVENTIONS.
I intend on communicating with my target audience through existing conventions such as the font and colour
scheme. The general conventions regarding masthead font for rap magazines are often ones that suggest
the font is bold, loud an easily recognisable. The masthead is also usually directly at the top of the page in
the centre, often supporting the fact that rap is controversial but persistent. I will also follow this convention
when placing and using a masthead, it will communicate to my target audience allowing them to understand
more fully the genre of music the magazine focuses on. Next I will focus on the colour scheme of my
magazine, rap stereotypically features a lot of dark colours and various shades of red which suggest
violence. Again I will use these features to ensure that my target audience know what genre of music I am
focusing on.
In regards of concerts and events advertising, I have decided to communicate with my target audience by
placing various events for different artists throughout my magazine. I do not want my magazine to focus on
a specific group of artists but would instead like it to be very versatile within the one genre. This means that
my target audience would be diverse in the forms of rap that they like and would increase the number of
customers purchasing the magazine on a regular basis. The advertising of events and concerts is me
communicating with my target audience through the conventions of adverts. I am informing my audience of
enjoyable activities and by doing so they will continue to purchase the magazine in hopes of being educated
on more.
In regards to the front cover I have decided to use various existing conventions in order to communicate
with my target audience. For an example, I will feature an image of a person on the cover who is looking at
the audience with their eyes. This is a common convention of rap magazines as it allows the readers to
connect with the article more. Secondly I will use thumbnails informing readers on what else is in the
magazine, this lets them know that I am providing an efficient service for them. Thirdly I will provide a bar
code and serial number on the cover of the magazine, this provides customers with the information they
need to know about price which efficiently improves the purchasing process.
