G324 A2 Media (Harlow College)

1. Zoe Brant
TIMELINE OF MUSIC
MAGAZINES

2. Billboard music created the first music magazine with the first issue being
printed in 1894. however it wasn’t until the late 30’s (1936) when music
magazines became popular. The Magazine is targeted towards music
professionals but it is also accessible by the public. It was named Billboard in
’61 and first became available in the USA.
The billboard charts involved from the issues of the magazine later on in the
century and became radio airplay. The Billboard charts played and provided
different music genres.
BILLBOARD MUSIC

3. Britain's oldest music magazine which was released in July 1926. It was originally created for the genre of Jazz,
but eventually moved on to accompany the Rock and Indie genres.
During the 50’s it was rivaled with another magazine called New Musical express which was targeted more
towards the younger generation and towards unoccupied rock. Both magazine had articles about upcoming
music and new artists.
In 1999 Melody maker went though a make over and came out with a glossy format. In 2000 Melody maker
was merged with new Musical Express which were both owned by IPC media.
The developments in the printing and with the introduction of the digital era have changed how Melody
maker was printed. During the early years of the magazine life it was printed on what seems to be news paper
and had. Very dull fonts and colours.
Compared to melody maker in its last years the way the magazine was produced was a lot better, the logo
stood out more and the magazine was now made out of a better quality a per with a a glossy cover.
MELODY MAKER

4. New Musical Express was created in 1952 and was also set up in the UK alongside Melody Maker.
However while Melody maker was associated with Jazz, NME was associated with the Rock genre. NME was
also targeted towards youth. During the rampage of the Mods V Rockers, those who’s collective identity was a
rocker may have read this magazine.
In society today it is one of the most popular running magazines in the UK. This showing that the rock genre
is still very large and active today.
NME has come a long way in how it was first launched and the look of two magazine today. Back in the 50's
the magazine was printed on newspaper paper, the re was very little/no colour scheme. Today the magazine
has undergone a major transformation with a news and shorter masthead. It also has a glossary finish to the
cover, and with the digital era, it has become much more colourful and bolder.
NEW MUSICAL EXPRESS
(NME)

5. The Rolling stones magazine was first published in 1967 and in the USA.
The target audience for this magazine was youth due to their more knowledge
of technology than the older generations.
The magazine created and documented music as an important part of youth
culture. Articles included topics about youth subcultures and social change,
and even about political issues within the music industry at the time. It
primarily focused on culture music.
ROLLING STONES MAGAZINE

6. Smash hits was created in 1978 and first launched in the UK.
It’s target audience was primarily young people and teenagers. This magazine is important in the development
of music as the magazine covered different genres of music. It also showed and wrote about music in a
different way from previous magazine's (I.e Like Pop).
The last Issue of Smash hits was published in February 2006.
The production quality of smash hits has changed since it was first launched. The colour scheme back in
1978 was rather dull and looks like it would attract the target audience of young people. Also the quality of
the magazine is quite poor and nothing stands out. Compared to the later version of smash hits, which has a
bolder masthead and more colours;which draws the attention to it more.
SMASH HITS

7. Kerrang was introduced in 1981 in the UK and was often compared to Smash
hits.
The magazine itself focused more on heavy metal and rock music and was
more focused on music culture.
There is no target audience for Kerrang and it sells to a wide ranage of
different audiences. With different generations the sale of of the magazine
has either dropped or rose.
KERRANG!

8. Published in the UK during 1986.
Q magazine did not have a target audience as it did not primarily focus on one
specific genre like Kerrang did.
It also looked at music from a different perspective.
Q MAGAZINE

9. Became available in the 80's.
It was filled mostly with adverts and contained sources of buying and selling
music.
It first started out as a A5 publication. However in 2003 it became a A4
magazine in colour.
RECORD COLLECTOR

10. Mojo was first published in 1993 within the UK.
This magazine looked more at classic rock which catered to a wider target
audience.
This meant that the magazine itself had to contain a large variety of different
types of rock music.
MOJO MAGAZINE

11. First published in 1995 in the UK and was published by BBC magazines.
This magazine was aimed towards the younger generation as it discussed
Music such as pop.
Top of the pops had more posters and content which aimed towards the
younger generation. Today it does not primarily focus on music anymore.
TOP OF THE POPS