1. Music Magazine Research
Music magazinescome invariousshapesandformsespeciallywhendirectedtowardsaspecific
target audience.Ourtaskwasto researchpopularUK musicmagazineswhichhasshownme the
mainelementsof thisparticularstyle of magazineandhow the layout,textandimagesare able to
effectivelytranslate itsgenre tothe directedaudiences.
What I foundnoticeable whenresearchingUKmusicmagazineswasthatquite alot of themare
dedicatedtowardsRockandMetal.When musicmagazineswere firstpublishedwhichwasaround
the 1950s, the mostpopulargenre of musicwas especiallyRock.Musicwas
startingto move awayfrom traditionandwasmodernisedintothisnew genre.Ithinkthatthishas
almostbeena keyfactorin the productionof musicmagazines.Althoughmusicmagazinesare a
lotmore variedintoday’ssocietyfrommulticultural musictastes,it’simportanttohighlightthat
longstandingmagazinessuchas‘Kerrang!’and‘NME’ still containsthisheavilyinfluencedgenre
of musicwhichIthinkis evidentintheirdesignof magazine.
Target audiencesare amainpriorityforparticulargenresof music.It isevident
that rock magazinesseemtobe mature intheirdesigns,fromtheirphotographs
displayedonthe frontcover andevensomethingasminorasthe font.These magazinesare
directedtoquite mature audiencesbecause of the simplicityof theircoloursandstandout titles.
In contrast,‘Top of the Pops’magazine isverydirectedtowardsyoungeraudiences.Theircontent
isa lotmore relevanttotoday’smusicsuchas boybandsand typical popmusic.The brightness
and busynessof the actual magazinescoverappealstoamuch youngeraudience whoare enticed
by these particulardesigns.There isamassive difference betweentwogenre’sandtheirmagazine
content.The factor beingthe audience playsalarge role inwhatwe wantfrom a musicmagazine
and howit ispresentedtoshow itsgenres.
I alsohad to lookat publishersof these magazineswhichIthinktellsusabout the relationshipof
themesandcontentinparticularmagazines.BauerMediaGroupisa popularpublisher,who
publishes‘Kerrang!’,‘Q’,‘PlanetRock’and‘Mojo’.Each magazinesistargetedtodifferent
audiencesinordertobroadentheirconsumerbase andpresentrelevantmusicindifferentgenres
intoday’sindustry.ImmediateMediaCompany(Topof the Pops),TeamRock(ClassicRock),Ryan
Bird(Rock Sound – dedicatedtoupcomingandestablishedbands) andMusicRepublicltd.(Clash)
are some otherpublishersof popularmusicmagazines.
