The document summarizes the ways in which the author's indie music magazine product uses and develops conventions of real indie magazines. It discusses how the format, layout, and design of the magazine follows conventions such as simple block colors, dominant central image on the cover, issue number and price listed, and section headings and images on the contents page. However, it also challenges some conventions with aspects like an unconventionally placed two-page image spread. The target audience is identified as 14-17 year olds interested in indie music and culture based on the tone and content. The selected distributor is Jann Wenner, founder of other successful music magazines, due to his experience in developing music magazines into franchises. The front cover

1. In what ways does your media product use,
develop or challenge forms and conventions
of real media products?
My magazine was in fact very alike that of
real indie magazine that is actually retailed
and here is why; Indie magazines as a
convention have a very similar format this
consists of very simple block colours and
have one very dominant image but tend not
to have any other pictures at all around it
which is exactly what I chose to do with
mine.
This draws all the attention to the picture
which consists of either a band or a
fashion/music icon. The front cover is also
very confirmative to the indie format in the
sense that the title is overlapped by the
image making that the focus of the
magazine itself. Other conventions that m
magazine has followed it having the issue
number, price and bar code all on the front
and tucked to a corner to not draw any
attention away from the image in the
middle. This is very alike that of the
magazine ‘INDIE’. Another similarity
between my product and that of the
magazine INDIE is the name. Mine,
INDIVIDUAL makes it very clear what the
magazine is actually about and INDIE also
does this. Not many other magazines have
the same bluntness when it comes to
genre, KERRANG for instance has no clear
indication of what the magazine is about, I
however prefer to know what im reading
about before I buy a magazine.
My contents page has three areas of
which the conventions of real
magazines. The first of these
conventions is the going in order of the
page numbers smaller stories first then
the main story in the middle with
smaller stories following it. This gave
the main story prominence in the
magazine. The second convention was
the small section underneath each title,
this gave an indication of what the
stories are about this is used in real
magazines such as Q. The final
contents page convention is the image
down the side of the page this is a
technique often incorporated into NME
and Q magazines.
My double page spread was only
conventional is the sense it was on two
pages… I went very different on this
aspect of my product. Its not got very
bright and bold colours. The image on it is
also very unconventional, this is due to
the fact it is spread across the two pages
instead of just being localised to one! It is
also is on the left hand side which is not
usually done by any magazine.

2. The magazine that is clearly targeted at indie music fans also has quite a teenage feel
to it this would make my target audience from around 14-17 this is due to the fact the
magazines content is not very adult but it also not childish, the stories in it are simple
and complex to cater to individual needs. The magazines fan base and main
readership would be from people in the indie culture this is shown by the indie look of
the band members and also odd isolated places that the photo shoot was taken. Indie
people sometimes feel isolated and use their fashion sense to try give themselves
more of an identity something which my product has tried to give itself.
Question 2 and 4.

3. Question 3
The distributor of my music magazine is in
fact a man I came across not in my original
research but a man who came to my attention
whilst reading his magazine. Individual was
going to be Jann Wenner. He is the co-founder
and publisher of Rolling Stone music
magazine, he is also the owner of Men’s
Journal and US Weekly magazine. The reason I
have decided that Jann Wenner would be my
selected distributor was due to the fact he
goes for quality instead of quantity. He has
knowledge and experience to turn a music
magazine not just into the most read music
magazine but also a franchise. Rolling Stone
magazine is no doubt the biggest and most
well known music magazine out there. Men’s
Journal and US Weekly are also two of the
most popular magazines in their respective
categories

4. Question 5
My front cover is very appealing to the indie crowd, the sophisticated look and the
simple design made the magazine attractive to 14-17 year olds as they want to look
more sophisticated as every person of that age group wishes they were older, I can
tell you this from experience being a 17 year old indie. The bold bright blue
contrasts very well with the pure white in a way that catches the eye. This would
be useful say, on a shops shelf, the colour scheme would very much catch the eye
of an potential buyer.

5. Question 6
For me this is quite an easy question, as I didn’t do media last year or
infact ever before all the technology was completely new to me. This
although a hindrance at first, was in fact a very good experience for me as
it gave me the chance to develop my skills in an area that I haven't used
before.
Photoshop was the hardest to come to terms with, struggling with pasting
pictures In and also problems with what tools to use where eventually
overcome with help from friends and the ability to use the software came
in time, this van be seen in my final design especially on the front cover on
which the picture has no green screen marks or any blemishes at all. This I
am quite proud of especially considering the very limited use of the
software before September/October time.

6. Question 7
Well as you can see from the two images below, my preliminary task was in fact
horrific. There is no colour scheme, the writing is everywhere at the pictures look as
though they have been edited by a 5 year old. But the second image however I find
very pleasing on the eye, I think the colour scheme very much works and it to be
honest makes me quite proud when you actually put the two together especially
considering I knew nothing about how to edit or even come up with the idea of a
magazine. The whole process of making this magazine has really highlighted to me
how important the consumers are, without them no business would work and that
is why it is so very important to cater to the needs of your target audience.