Music magazine revision guide

The Exam
 1 hr 30mins
 4 Questions to answer
 2 Questions on the theory behind Music Press. 2
Questions based on your own Pitch.

The Brief
 4 weeks before your exam you will get a brief from the
exam board and this will hint at the content of the
exam
 For those 4 weeks we will only be able to give you
guidance and not teach you from then on.

2 Questions on Theory?
These are hinted at through the Brief. It could be
something based on the issues of:
 Relevance of the Music Press
 Issues of targeting Young People
 Relevance of Print Press
 How to make money from Online Versions
 Gender and Ethnicity issues in the Music Industry
 Stereotypes and Genre

My Pitch?
These questions will ask you to do two very clear things:
1. Describe your idea for a new/rebranding of a Music
Magazine
2. Design your front cover/Home Page

Key Points from the Exam Board
You should be able to:
1. Analyse the generic conventions of the front cover of
a music magazine. Discuss their effect on the target
audience.
2. Compare the content of a print publication with the
online equivelant.

Where do we find out about music
from?
 Music Magazines?
 Magazine Websites?
 Youtube?
 Facebook?
 Twitter?
 Radio?
 Friends?
 Going to Gigs?
 Myspace?
 Charts?
 Fan Sites?
 Chatrooms?
• itunes Genius
• Spotify
• Soundcloud
• Adverts
• Tv Programmes
• Apps

Changes in where we find out
about music
 We don’t look at Print based media for our info as
much any more. Only 2 people out of 3 classes used
them.
 We like the immediacy of the internet
 Apps like Shazam mean we can hear a song and link
straight to on youtube or buy it on itunes.
 Not interested in Music journalist as we can just read
comments on youtube.
1. Analyse the generic conventions of the front cover of a music magazine. Discuss their
effect on the target audience.

NME Magazine
 Started in 1952 and continues today.
 Went through a lot of changes since it started
 Changes to suit the music interests at the time.
 During the 60’s and 70’s it was the source of all respected
music journalism. The journalists were rock stars along
with the musicians they followed
 Biased accounts of music and artists they didn’t like
 During the 80’s it became more commercial using artists
they knew would sell on the cover.
 Still going today because it understands it’s audience.
 Has become less biased.

Smash Hits Magazine
 Started in 1978 and ended in 2006
 Established by Nick Logan the ex editor of NME.
 Primary audience was always females
 Began to decline in 1990’s when Top Of the Pops
magazine came out and the rise of Gossip magazines
which featured soap and film stars
 Used to be for teens. When younger girls became
interested in the magazine their older sisters stopped
buying because they felt it was no longer cool.
 It could not change to keep up with the demand without
changing it’s focus and lost out on market shares to
gossip magazines such as Heat and Now!

What does this tell us?
 Music Press need to change to suit the audience
 Audiences demand more than just hearing about
music careers
 The change in culture means that the press must
evolve along with them.

You Do…
 Consider why Music Press have set up legitimate
websites that match, in places, the content of the
magazines.
 What do you think this has helped to prevent?

Magazine Terminology
 Masthead
 Buzz Word
 Puff
 Pug
 House Style
 Copy
 Lead
 Headline
 Caption
 Drop Capital
 Banner
 Strapline
 Sell line
 Anchorage Text
Name of the Magazine
“Wow”, “Exclusive”, “Free”
are all examples of this.
Colourful boxes promoting
features inside the magazine
Placed at the top left and right hand corners of the
paper and are known as the ‘ears’ of the page. The
price of the paper, the logo or a promotion are often
positioned there
A magazine’s distinctive design
that distinguishes it from its
competitors
Text used either inside or
out the magazine
The introductory paragraph of
an article. Usually written in
bold or capitals.
Main Story in the
magazine
Description of an image
Really big letter;
starts off an article
Text, which stands out because it’s on
a coloured background.. Runs along
top or bottom of the cover.
A Motto
Text on the cover that helps to sell
the magazine to the audience.
The way in which text helps to
pin down the meaning of a
picture and vice versa

 Banner
 Sell line
 Anchorage
Text

Headline Drop Capital
Lead
Copy

Website Terminology
 Navigation
 Landing Pages
 Homepage
 Splash Pages
 Jump Pages
 Microsites
 Interstitials
 Banner
 Skyscraper
 Overlayz
key terminology that simply refers to the process of working
through a web page or website, thus revealing its content.
Primary navigation refers to user interaction with the main
section of the site.
are where you literally ‘land’ after clicking on a link from the Front
Page. Often there are less graphic design considerations on a
landing page than a front page.
simply refers to the main page of the
website
are a graphic introduction that directs you to the front page, often
using Flash animation. Market research suggests some Splash
Pages often alienate and frustrate the user in terms of time and the
need for simplicity.
are pages that suddenly appear that have not been requested by the
user. The obvious example is a piece of advertising that you have to
navigate through or in some circumstances, close the website down
to remove.
– cross between landing pages and front pages, often
containing their own domain name. They ‘extend’ the user
experience and relate indirectly to the front page.
similar to Microsites they are adverts that load between two
content pages (a Pop Up is an Interstitial). They draw an above
average amount of response and resentment.
a long, horizontal, online advert usually found
running across the top of a page in a fixed placement.
a long, vertical online advert (resembling a Skyscraper)
usually found running down the side of a page in a fixed
placement.
a quirky graphic design that takes over the whole page
when clicked on
Rich Media – where as many interactive and audio-visual elements are used to give richer content and a richer
experience for the user e.g. watch a film, play a game, listen to audio. It is a form of convergence.

Navigation Homepage
Rich Media
Banner
Skyscraper

Possible Exam Question
“How will you use the codes and conventions of Music
Press to attract a teen audience to a Pop Magazine?”
Where do we start? Mind map in your book what you
think you need to consider.
Analyse the generic conventions of the front cover of a music magazine.

LO1: Apply the knowledge learnt so far to an exam style question
Where do we
start?
Respond
in Role
What are the
Codes and
Conventions?
Who is the target
audience?
What
terminology
do we need?
Use Examples
from Magazines
you’ve looked at.

 How Important is the music press to the success or
failure of bands/artistes?
 Complete a case study of a publisher of a music
magazine. What other magazines do they own, if any?
 Explore the cross-media presence of a music
magazine. What are the advantages of this presence to
both music fans and advertisers?

Major Publishing Houses
LO2: Develop an understanding of how Institutions differ and are ran

What Music Magazines?
 Egmont: We <3 Pop
 Immediate Media co: Top of the Pops
 Future: Prog, Metal Hammer, Classic Rock
 Bauer Media: Q, Mojo and Kerrang
 IPC: Uncut, NME
 Blaze Publishing: Acoustic
 Development Hell: MixMag

Additional Magazines
 Egmont: Ben 10, Thomas the Tank Engine, Hello Kitty
 Immediate Media co: Radio Times, BBC Good Food
 Future: Total Film, XBox World, PSM3
 Bauer Media: Heat, Closer, Empire
 IPC: Nuts, Now, Anglers Mail
 Blaze Publishing: Clay Shooting, Bow International
 Development Hell: None

Independent Magazines
 Bido Lito!
 Loud and Quiet
 The Fly

Independent: Free Press Model
Paper Quality is cheap Money is made on advertising only so cheaper
quality of paper is used to keep the cost down and
to ensure that the money goes towards printing
costs and paying contributors
More Adverts Only way of making revenue and so the adverts are
plentiful
Adverts are suited to the
audience
Whilst there are more adverts they are usually in
keeping with the target audience and centred around
music and the interests of the reader. For example
music festivals and Bido Lito! Use local venues in their
advertisements
Less well known artistes Greater access to up and coming bands than “stars”
often target audiences who are interested in the fresh
bands rather than those always on the radio or in other
press.
Selective Content Only include artistes they want to write about, there
front page cannot be bought.
Corporate Vs Independent

Glossier more
polished finish
More revenue from both advertising and sales so they can
afford to create this finish. Greater anticipation of sales
through the regular sales figures from retailers so they
can anticipate demand.
Well Known
Artistes
People are more likely to pay for information about well known
artists than unknown or unsigned artistes on the front cover. It
makes the magazine seem more exclusive if they have a big
star on the cover.
Less Adverts Revenue can be made elsewhere so there is less emphasis on
advertisement s
Adverts are more
global
More adverts from high quality global brands as they have a
wider distribution. Less concern for the integrity of the
content, so may find advertisements for cars etc…not exclusive
to music
Free Gifts/Poster Giveaways can be afforded as incentives to buy the magazine
Corporate Vs Independent
Corporate: Paid for

Best performing Magazines
 The Fly: Why?
 98593 copies circulated in 6 months
 2% drop in circulation based on the previous year’s
sales.
 Less expensive to run and those figures will boost their
advertising prices as it is 4 times as widely circulated as
NME.

Best performing Magazines
 Uncut: Why?
 Target audience is older therefore an audience more
used to buying magazines
 Focuses on a genre of music that is very popular in
today’s society.
 Growth on 0.1% and almost triple the figures of NME.

Benefits?
 Raises awareness of the brand
 Greater revenue coming in for the magazine due to
listeners or subscribers elsewhere
 More advertising revenue giving up radio/tv spots
 Reinforces the ideologu through the bands debuted on
the tours/festivals/live performances they sponsor.

“With the general
decline in circulation
for print music
magazines, what do
you see as the future
for the music press?”
Respond
in Role
What areas of the
print music press
are thriving?
What can Print
versions offer that
online can’t?
Use your research
into circulation
figures, is it all
bad?
Who is the main
target audience for
print based
magazines?
Use
Examples
Paywalls for
the future
What can
Online offer
that Print
cannot

 Create a profile of a typical reader for two contrasting
Music Publications
 Examine the content of each publication and explain
how it appeals to this typical reader.

The Theory: Uses and Gratifications
Blumler and Katz
 To be informed and Educated
 To Escape Daily Troubles
 To Socialise with Others
 To identify with characters
 To be Entertained
Examine the content of each publication and explain how it appeals to this typical reader.

The Theory: Reception Theory
 Encoded: By the creator. Gives signs and signals of how
they want the magazine to be interpreted.
 Decoded: The audience read the signals and interpret
them in the way the audience are familiar with.
e.g. Just Pop uses bright pink and the name ‘pop’ to signal
the genre so that the audience can instantly identify with
the genre and encode it correctly.

Why Theory?: Print
 These theories can help you to identify why certain
pieces of information are included in the magazines.
 For example some items are purely in there to inform
and educate people such as charts or technical fact
boxes.
 The more a magazine has on facts, the more
sophisticated their audience will be. This could change
the Demographic for example.

Why Theory?: Print
 For a lower Demographic group such as E or D you
would be more likely to find more articles that
Entertain or are a form of escapism.
 It could also be that for a niche audience (PROG) there
are lots of articles where it’s readers can identify with
others, meaning they are not as ‘alone’ in their musical
taste as they thought.

Why Theory?: Online
 The use of audience theory can help distinguish the
reasons behind it’s popularity.
 ABC1 are more likely to take advantage of web based
media because they have less time (15 mins vs 1.5hrs)
 It is also more likely that they use APPS and other
smart phones in order to receive their information

Why Theory?: Online
 In order to meet the needs of today’s audiences there
needs to be a way for audiences to have their voices
heard.
 Online is the best way and forums and comment boxes
allow them to socialise with others through these
options.
 It may also have a link to twitter or facebook.

You Do…
 On the next slide there is a sheet we did in class.
 Look at this again and choose 2 different genres and
think about all the reasons why the content is what it
is.
 These are all magazines we have in school or you could
buy newer copies of your own. You should already have
one Music Mag at home.

What is your demographic Profile?
 Age?
 Gender?
 Ethnicity?
 Demographic Bracket?
 Income?
 Disposable income?
 Outlook on life?
 Interests?
Create a profile of a typical reader for two contrasting Music Publications

Demographic Profiles?
 Help an Institution to define its audience.
 Tailors the advertising so it meets the needs of the
audience.
 Ensures that they money they receive from advertising
continues.
 Audiences feel that the magazine is geared towards
their needs.

Q

You Do…
 Thinking of a magazine of your own choosing,
replicate the Demographic profile of the TYPICAL
reader in the same way that the examples have shown
you.
 Think about the key questions and how you could
incorporate them.

Exam Question?
 This Key Concept will be incorporated into at least 2 of
the 4 questions you are given
1) Your Pitch
2) Your Drawing
You will need to make explicit HOW you will make your
magazine attractive to the reader, using Media Language
as your argument.

Practising this response?
 Look back at the first question given on page 11 and
redo it but now including Audience theory and
demographic profiling information to boost your
response from a grade C/B to A/A*

Key Prompts from the Exam Board
 Explore representations of Gender or race in the Music
Press
 Select a Music Magazine. What kind of lifestyle does it
promote? How?

Defining Youth Culture
 What makes up your life?
 What do you spend your spare time doing?
 What are your priorities?
Select a Music Magazine. What kind of lifestyle does it promote? How?

True or False discussion
 Many young people use music to define themselves, to fit
into social groups and sub-cultures: emos, geeks, gangstas,
skaters, metallers etc
 What music you like is often connected to your look and
style, your values and beliefs, your life aims and goals.
 The Music Press uses this to help sell its products as a
lifestyle. They don’t just write about bands, they sell a whole
way of life.

What is an ideology?
 Each genre of music has a different set of ideology
and values (ways you think and feel about people
and the world).
 For example, a text might be described as having a
feminist ideology, meaning it promotes the idea that
women are the equal of men and should not be
discriminated against on the grounds of gender.

Music Press and Ideology
 Each genre of music has its own sub-culture
which supports this ideology. For example, you
wouldn’t expect someone who is into hip-hop / rap
music to have the same attitudes, values, beliefs and
approach to life as someone who is into classical
music.
 What do you think the ideology is for the magazines
you have on the desk?

Remember:
 This is dealing with stereotypes and broad definitions.
There might be occasional rare individuals who like
both rap and classical music; ideologies and values can
overlap and change; but on the whole, each genre of
music appeals to different types of people, who have
different ideologies.

Values/Beliefs
Below are some Values and Beliefs, which of these 3
Genres/subcultures do you think they belong to?
EMO/GANGSTA RAP/POP
 Poetry is cool
 Looking pretty is important
 Guns are cool
 Making money is important
 Men are more important than women
 Being different is cool
 Women are equal to men
 Falling in love is important
 Big cars are cool

You Do?
 What would be the ideology of your magazine?
 What types of Values and Beliefs would you try to
promote?
 How would you do this?

Representation of Women and
Ethnicities
 Average covers for mainstream magazines are
 Males
 White British
 If you look back at the Demographic profiles the
names used are generally those associated with a white
culture.
 If we look at a cross section of covers, what can you
notice for yourself?
Explore representations of Gender or race in the Music Press

Women on covers

Feminism
 Women have to be sexualised as part of the idea of
voyeurism
 Objects of desire
 If men were sexualised on the front cover of music
magazines men wouldn’t buy them as they need to
associate with the image.
 It would make them feel uncomfortable.

Name of the Magazine
 Has to be simple and convey the nature of the
magazine.
 NME = New Musical Express
 Q = Queue the music
 Kerrang = Sound guitar makes
 Think carefully about the name as this sets the tone.

Web design
 It needs to be functional and something that is easy to
navigate
 Look at the existing ideas used by magazines that are
in the same genre as yours, try to use these as
inspiration
 Make sure that you consider sponsors and advertisers

Make sure you refer to all
examples
 Justify the choices you are making by talking about how
your research into other publications have informed your
decisions.
 When doing your practical task you need to make sure you
have done the following:
 Use a ruler
 Shade in the colour where it is needed (don’t be meticulous)
 Justify your choices around the edge, use Media Language to
describe why you have put things where you have.

Music magazine revision guide

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (18)

Similar to Music magazine revision guide

Similar to Music magazine revision guide (20)

Music magazine revision guide

Editor's Notes