The document is a portfolio for a media studies course that includes the design and planning for a magazine focused on hardcore and beatdown music genres. The summary analyzes the target audience as primarily males aged 16-26 interested in underground music scenes. Market research found a lack of magazines dedicated to these music subgenres. The portfolio also outlines plans for magazine content, identifying Bauer Media as a potential publisher due to their experience with music magazines. Technologies used included Photoshop for image editing, a digital SLR camera for photography, and publisher software. Lessons were learned about improving layouts and using house colors and styles to better represent the intended music audience.

1. Music Magazine Evaluation
Rachael Vaughan

2. Rachael Vaughan
3039
33435 Aquinas College
AS Media Studies
OCR G321: Foundation Portfolio

3. Q1. Who would be the
audience for your media
product? Who know
Influenced by…
Who like to
spend
money on…
Men
I aimed my
magazine at…
what music
they like…
16-25 year olds
Who go to gigs
and festivals.
Who like to
shop at…

4. Q1. Who would be the audience
for your media product?

5. Sub-Genre’s and Hybrid Publications
Based on my audience research, I
have found there is a gap in the
market for a Hardcore/Beatdown
magazine. There is magazines
such as Kerrang and Metal
Hammer which include a few
Hardcore bands, but it is not
directly aimed at the sub genres
themselves.

7. Primary Audience
The primary audience of my magazine
would be mostly males as in the
Hardcore/Beatdown scene, there are very
few girls. The majority of my primary
audience would most likely be between the
ages of 16-26 as I feel this age would be the
highest percentage of people who listen to
these sub-genres.

8. Secondary Audience
My Secondary audience would most likely
be people who buy it because of the main
band, rather than the whole contents. It
would also apply to people who are
interested in starting their own band or to
have ideas of it, they may aspire to be like
people in the Magazine so they’d buy it. I
would aim my magazine at a demographic
who are interested in underground
music, and music you wouldn’t necessarily
be in the charts or you’d see on the usual
rock channels.

9. Demographic
The demographic of my product would be
people who are interested in starting their
own band and buy clothes and shoes from
brands like Nike, New Balance and Band
Merchandise.

10. Ideal Readers
The ideal reader for my magazine would
be interested in the Hardcore/Beatdown
music as well as the culture. They’d want
to keep updated with the latest debates
going on and aspire to be themselves but
within the culture itself, for example,
buying a pair of custom Air Max, purely to
show their individual style, while wearing
a band t-shirt such as Ninebar to show the
music they’re into. They go to local shows
and support their local scene.

11. Q2. How does your media product
represent particular social groups?
To appeal to my ideal target audience, I have made the main image a photo of a girl
wearing a Beatdown band shirt. This will appeal more to boys as it is a picture of a girl, and
may be more interested as she is wearing one of their favourite bands shirts.
The Magazine name itself would also be more appealing to people within the scene as the
words “Two-Step” will relate to something they do or see people do.

12. Mainstream Audience
The mainstream audience would be people who get involved at shows and follow bands on
tours and lyrics with keeping up to date. They buy merch and wear it proud, they may also
wear brands such as Nike and New Balance, along with wearing Balaclavas.

13. Niche Representation
This would be people who don’t necessarily follow the bands, don’t tend to follow trends in the
scene and keep themselves to themselves, starting there own trends, but read for advice on
creating their own band and adverts.

15. Q3: What kind of media institution
might distribute your product?
I’d choose Bauer Media Group to publish and distribute my publication as
Bauer have published magazines such as Q and Kerrang! So I feel that they
both will fit with how serious the music is to this magazine. They also have TV
channels such as 4Music, The Box and Kerrang TV. As well as their own radio
shows.
With offices all over the world, this would also help the magazine go global
with more people interested in the scene.
The magazine will be weekly and sold at a price of £2.99.
It will be full of advertisements and offers.

16. Festival Stages

17. Merchandise

18. Q4. In what ways
does your media
product use,
develop or
challenge forms
and conventions
of real media
products?

19. I have chosen this double page spread because Taylor Momsen is very alternative
and is a member in a rock band called the Pretty Reckless, she puts forward the
dark look with the Headline stating she’s a “wild child” which fits in with my
magazine as Beatdown and Hardcore is meant to be wild.

20. I have chosen this Front cover as it’s the front cover of a metal magazine called
Metalhammer. It’s not as dark as a lot of other metal magazines so it fits well with the
genre of my magazine.

21. I chose to use Red and Black for my house
style as red makes it seem like blood and
black as death as the genre’s are put forward
to be incredibly violent.
I have also included festival logos so the
music style stands out instantly as these
festivals I have listed are the most popular in
the scene.
The fonts are also very young looking so it
makes it seem more youthful put the
headline is like lightning so it makes it seem
more strong and outgoing.
Not only does the girl as the cover star put
forward a girl into a Beatdown band, it may
also appeal to more girls to get into the
genres and show them it’s not just for men.

22. Q5. How did you attract/address
your audience?

23. I have added a strong Masthead, as if it’s
being struck down by lighting or a hazzard
sign in red as it stands out well along with
the black. This is the largest to show this is
the main focus of the weeks magazine.
I have decided to add Festival logos to the
cover as I feel if people recognise the logo
and are interested, they’d buy the
magazine.
I have stuck to using a grunge sort of
font which links to both the story of
Malevolence and the magazine itself.
I have added a banner at the bottom of
the cover in red because I feel this will
stand out well with white writing. This
banner includes a list of bands included
in the magazine so people can easily see
what else is in the magazine and if
they’re interested.

24. Audience Research

26. Q6. What have you learnt
about technologies from the
process of constructing this
product?

27. I felt there was a lot of white in the
background that was un-needed, so I
cropped this first before I did anymore.
I then changed all the reds to -100% which
made her skin look clearer and gave it a much
brighter and uplifting effect.

28. I started off making my banner with a plain purple box on photoshop. And
adding text onto it, but half way through I realised purple isn’t used
anywhere on my cover, and wouldn’t go well with red and black, so I decided
to change this to red so it fits in with my house colours. It also gave me the
chance to add more bands in as I made the text much smaller so I could fit
more in and give more information to the reader.

29. Q7.Looking back at your preliminary
task (Aquinas College magazine), what do you feel
you have learnt in the progression
to the full product?

30. For my contents page on my Aquinas magazine, it
was a very average layout, with the house colours
as the contents colours a main image taking up a
quarter of the page and a simple list of numbers
and pages down the left hand side, to the right of
it, I have used a box to put the “subscribe” section
In and ad the bottom there is a note from the
editor. I used a brownish/reddish colour which
fades in the background and white and black text,
so it is all very plain and doesn’t really stand out all
that well.

31. This is my first Idea for a contents page, but there
were many things wrong with this. Firstly, I feel
that the blue background has nothing to do with
my house colours. I also believe that everything is
too large, for example, the main image and the text
for the pages, as well as the contents. It all just
seems very plain and boring. Especially with the
two large boxes of text put together at the bottom.
I also feel where it said “contents” that it was all
too plain and unoriginal and had no significance to
the magazine itself.

32. For 2Step, I kept it similar but added a lot
more in. At the top, I have the 2Step
official logo in the house colouring, next to
this at the top, I also have the strapline for
the magazine in white so it stands out
onto the black background. I have also
made all the main sections on a white
background with black text so you know
they aren’t just pages. Under the strapline
and logo, I have an advertisement for
concrete fest, so first page is already giving
out information on it. Below this is a photo
from a gig, which relates to one of the
main articles. All the pages are boxed off
in red with black text so it’s easier to read
and it has the numbers at the side in
white. At the bottom of the page, I have
the editors note.

33. I feel I have progressed a lot throughout the course, improving my photography
and photoshop skills as well as understanding the conventions of a magazine,
which is shown throughout my work.

34. Technology Used
Publisher
Photoshop
Digital SLR
Camera

35. Choosing a cover photo