The document outlines a pitch for a new indie/rock music magazine called "Oblivion". It will feature the latest music and celebrity news, information on tours and gigs, and advertisements from brands that appeal to the target demographic. The magazine will have a website, Twitter, and Facebook pages to encourage social interaction and promote the magazine's content online. Draft designs are presented for the front cover, contents page, and a double page article spread following conventions of existing indie magazines with minimalist layouts and colors like blue and purple that the target readers will like.

1. FOCUS GROUP
Oblivion Magazine – Kerry Pether

3. Pitch:
My magazine is aimed towards fans of the indie/rock genre, and will be a way for the general
public to find out about the latest music and celebrity gossip as well as information about
tours and gigs. Within my magazine I will have advertisements for coupons or sales at
selected website that appeal to my demographic, such as Drop Dead Clothing and Cheap
Monday. The advertisements in the magazine will be clear, but not too bold as I have seen in
indie/rock magazine such as Clash and Notion that advertisements are quite simplistic.
There may also be celebrity promotions within my magazine, for example band members
could be modelling their own merchandise. This will encourage people to buy the clothing to
be more like the band members that they love. I may also use bands or artists to sponsor my
magazines institution, as their fans will be influenced to buy the magazine to be like them
which will help to widen my magazines demographic.
I will be including a website for my magazine, as I found out through my study of indie/rock
magazine institutions that many indie/rock fans will use the internet to find out about the
contents of the magazine which may encourage them to buy it themselves. My magazine will
also have a Twitter and Facebook account where the magazines audience can go to find out
more from the magazine, and also get more information about the bands/artists that I feature
in my magazine. I know that social media is very important to my magazines audience, as well
as encouraging social interaction.

5. Front Cover: This is my draft front cover. I used a combination of
blue and purple house colours, as these are colours
that I have seen on existing indie/rock magazines and
that I know my magazines target demographic will like
to see on my magazine.
I decided to call my magazine ‘Oblivion’ after the
Bastille (an existing indie/rock band) song called
Oblivion. I felt that this was appropriate for my
magazines genre.
The main cover model I used were well-known
indie/rock band, The 1975. I used this band as I know
they will be recognised by both a mainstream social
group as well as fans of indie/rock music.
I used an enigmatic cover like “The 1975 take on the
USA” as it leaves the reader wondering both why they
have decided to tour in the USA and whether they can
get tickets to go and see them on this tour.
The secondary artists that I included were Bastille,
Haim and Arctic Monkeys, who are all existing
indie/rock artists. I didn’t use any secondary cover
images as I have seen from existing magazines that I
have studied that they layout is usually quite simplistic
and minimalistic.
I also included a flash (“Free festival guide inside”) as
this will encourage the reader to buy the magazine for
this free gift, therefore widening my demographic.

7. Contents Page:
This is my contents page. I used a similar
colour scheme for the front cover,
however I faded the colours slightly in
order to highlight the text more.
I included a photo of the front cover, as
well as two images of the artists that are
featured within my magazine. I also added
an editors note, in order to add an
element of social interaction between the
reader and the editor.
There is a features and a regulars section
to separate the different content of the
magazine, whilst also including more in
formation about the cover lines.
Lastly, I added the masthead on the
contents page in order to highlight the
institution and add an element of
continuity throughout the magazine.

9. This is my double page spread. I again used the blue/black colour scheme to add an
element of continuity throughout the magazine. I added a large image on the left side
of the page, as I feel this is common for my magazines indie/rock genre. I used a
large, enigmatic pull-quote on the double page spread to gain the readers interest,
as well as adding a Twitter page to encourage social interaction. I also used the
bands own logo as the title, as it is recognisable to their fans thus widening my
demographic.