The document discusses conventions used in alternative music magazine covers and contents. It describes using bold red and black titles to follow conventions while using full body shots of bands on the cover instead of headshots to seem less serious. Splashes are included to grab attention and drive sales. The contents page is kept simple with minimal text as younger readers prefer less text. A letter from the editor and band photos create involvement. Overall, the magazine follows conventions like darker colors but breaks up long blocks of text preferred by younger audiences.

1. One typical convention of an alternative music
magazine cover I have used is a bold and
recognisable title in colours such as red and black as
these are common colours to use in alternative
music magazines, therefore I am following
convention. I did this because it creates a strong
brand identity for my magazine and the reader
creates a familiarity and emotional attachment to the
magazine and is therefore more likely to
continuously buy it. Another typical convention I have
used is using a musical artist on the front cover to
attract the audience – however one way in which I
have gone against convention is that I have done a
full body shot of the band as opposed to the typical
upper-body/head shot studio photography that most
magazines use. I have done this because a more laid
back and informal photograph shows that the
magazine is not as serious as other magazines –
which is key in attracting a younger audience as
younger audiences do want to read interesting and
fun music magazines to hold their attention. As well
as this, if my magazine was on sale next to these
magazines my unique photography may stand out
more to consumers and give it a competitive edge.
Another convention of a music magazine that I have
used splashes to further draw in the reader i.e the
chance to win tickets/reviews of live performances
as these are typical things that you expect from a
music magazine. I have done this because once the
main feature artist has already captured the
attention of the reader and these splashes would
further grab their attention and make them want to
buy the magazine.

2. I have not used many conventions when making my
contents page. For example, other alternative music
magazine have very cluttered and busy contents
pages, whereas I have kept mine simple and
concise as younger readers tend to ignore big
chunks of writing – therefore I have used as little
text as possible to hold their interest. Another
convention I have used is a letter from the editor,
while not all music magazine do this I chose to have
one in my magazine because it creates a bond with
reader as it addresses them directly – this makes
them feel involved and part of the magazine and as
if they are somehow involved. Another convention I
have used is a picture of my main cover feature
band to further capture the attention of the reader –
however one difference is that I have included
pictures of earphones and vinyl records. I have
done this because I wanted to further express that
my magazine is all about the music (new and old)
and the earphones represent the new, modern
music and the vinyl represents the older music. I
think this is effective because it shows that my
magazine will always be interesting because it
includes a variety of music from across the years
for those who appreciate older music, but also
includes lots about new music for the more modern
alternative fans.

3. One convention of an alternative music magazine I have
used is darker colours. I have done this as it is typical of
most alternative music magazines as most mainstream
pop magazines are brightly coloured so they do this to
show individuality. I decided to follow this convention
very closely to establish to consumers that my magazine
is in this genre and fits in. However, one way in which I
have differed from these other magazine spreads is I
have broken down my questions so that my writing is not
in one large block. I have done this because my target
audience is younger therefore they will as a rule not want
to read through large blocks of text to get the information
that they want, whereas if it is broken down they can just
read the parts that they are interested in without losing
interest. Furthermore, I have also used a bold title
including the name of the band and pictures of them to
grab the attention of the reader and know that this article
is all about this artist. I have done this as fans of the band
or artist are more likely to read on and find the spread
interesting if they know it is about a band they like. Also,
instead of using one big image I have used two smaller
images. I have done this so that the different images on
different angles create a sense of chaos and
disorganisation which adds to the point I am making
about how my cover band are. Also, my younger audience
would appreciate more images to look at along with the
text.

4. For the most part I think that I have achieved the necessary conventions of an alternative music magazine as I did
some audience research into what people expect from an alternative music magazine and this what they said:
“Be bold and make a statement”
“Lots of pictures”
“Bold fonts, dark colours, info about what is inside the magazine”
“Dark colours, band pictures, bold font”
“Live music reviews, interviews with bands about
controversial issues, album reviews”
“Interviews, reviews of CDs and gigs, merch”
I then asked: ‘Does this magazine meet those expectations?’
100% of the responses said ‘Yes’