The document discusses various aspects of planning a new magazine focused on the slam and death metal genre. It will be published monthly to allow for in-depth articles and interviews. The magazine will be priced at £3.50 to include free CDs and posters, between the prices of similar magazines. It will be 125 pages long to provide a wealth of information to readers and bands. The working title is "Slam" to clearly indicate the genre and capture readers' attention. The target audience is mainly males ages 18-26 interested in discovering new bands in the slam and death metal scene.

2. FREQUENCY OF PUBLICATION
My magazine is going to be a monthly magazine because this enables me to include the articles that my audience
voted most popular in the survey I conducted, these articles are; in-depth interviews and brief interviews as well as
‘how-to’ guides. If I chose to publicise weekly my magazine would be shorter limiting the amount of bands I could
include and the information I can provide to my audience about gigs and tours.

3. COST OF MAGAZINE
• Also I am going to advertise my magazine at £3.50 because I want to include free CDs
and posters with every issue. From my magazine research I know that the monthly
magazine Kerrang costs £2.50 and that often has free posters and CDs included
however Terrorizer costs £4.25 which is also published monthly and always includes
CDs and memorabilia. Therefore I am going to advertise my magazine in between the
two prices so my magazine is appealing to my audience because although Kerrang is
cheap, it does not provide enough detail about bands however terrorizer is quite
expensive therefore my magazine will be more appealing because it is better value for
money. And from my research I found my audience will spend between £1-£2.50 and
£3.60-£5 therefore my magazine is at a price that my audience will consider as
reasonable.
• My magazine will also be distributed in the main supermarkets such as Tesco’s and
Morrisons as well as WH Smith’s and Waterstones. The magazine will also be
available on a subscription service where if bought for a year, as a reward and a thank
you to the buyer, they will receive a 25% off voucher for Gear4Music.

4. LENGTH OF MAGAZINE
• My magazine is going to be 125 pages long because this
means I can include a variety of articles in my magazine which
will make my magazine be a great guide for musicians and
music lovers. This will be done through music charts and
review pages which will help them make the right choice for
albums, equipment and gigs. Also if my magazine is long and
contains a wealth of knowledge my audience will be more likely
to keep it for future referral. This is important because from my
audience research, many said they like to keep magazines for
future referral so I need to make sure the magazine includes
information which would be helpful for the future.

5. WORKING TITLE
• I have chosen the working title of ‘slam’ because it makes it clear to my
audience what genre of music my magazine is- Slam and Death Metal.
Also I have found through my magazine research that lots of Metal
magazines use onomatopoeia for their title to represent the violence in the
heavy metal genre, for example “KERRANG”, therefore by following the
magazine convention of having a title which represents the metal genre my
audience will know my magazine is part of their genre and it will make my
magazine more recognisable and realistic. Furthermore Slam is short and
clear which will help to capture the readers attention and be memorable to
my audience. I will also have a very stylised Masthead which represents
the slam and death metal band logos which are often ‘unreadable’. This will
make it clear to my audience my magazine is about the slam and death
metal genre.
• Click here for examples of Slam and Death Metal Logos

6. GENRE
• I have chosen to use the slam and death metal genre as the main focus of my magazine because there is
not a magazine which covers this genre, I have found through my research that lots of heavy metal
magazines focus on the mainstream bands or the classic metal bands like Black Sabbath and Iron maiden
however a large majority of the Metal community don’t like these mainstream bands, therefore they would
benefit to a magazine like mine.
• By choosing this genre I can include lot’s of articles about new and upcoming bands and about a lot of
small bands which are local to cities around the UK there are also lots of small festivals and one day
festivals which are focussed around slam ad death metal like ‘dreadfest’ and ‘slamfest’. This is important
because it will enable my audience to enjoy their music in ways they were probably unaware of.
• Here are some links to understand more about the slam and death metal genre that my magazine will be
about.
• Slam

7. FEATURED ARTICLES
• I will include a wide range of articles in my
magazine so it is interests all of my target
audience. From my audience research it
became apparent that how to’s, reviews and
interviews were the most appealing things
people looked for in a magazine, therefore I will
have these as the focus of my magazine.
• This is reflected in my finished product because the contents page highlights how
I have separate sections for interviews, reviews, how-to’s and festivals. Through
doing this I know I am specifically meeting my audiences needs making them
more likely to buy my magazine.
Contents

8. MY AUDIENCE
• My target audience for my magazine will be mainly for males (80%) ages between 18-26 however it will
also appeal to older people anywhere up to age 45. For females (20%) with an interest in heavy metal,
my magazine will provide information on their favourite bands and to make them feel more accepted I will
not include sexualised images of women.
• By researching my target audience in detail I now know how to make my magazine more appealing to
them, making my magazine more popular than the other heavy metal magazines also available. By
knowing what the average male heavy metal fan likes and dislikes, as well as a female metal fan I can
reflect these values in my magazine so my magazine attracts their attention. I also know abut the different
sub genres of metal and the cross genres therefore despite focusing on slam and death metal I can
reflect the different types to broaden my audiences knowledge and taste, this will be done by providing
free CD’s and download links as well as doing interviews with new and upcoming bands.

9. MALEAUDIENCEPROFILE Name: Aron Watson, 22
Ethnicity: White
Where he lives: York, near the town centre
Interests: Politics, drinking and guitars
Music: Kraanium, Meshuggah and Lamb of God
Favourite Shops: CEX, Gear4music and Topman
Occupation: Music technician at a small local recording studio
Hobbies: He enjoys gaming, often playing Fallout: New Vegas or GTA 5.
He goes running daily and cycles everywhere. When he isn’t listening to
music he is drawing or playing the bass.
Likes: He enjoys takeaways especially an Indian and he often goes
drinking at the pub with his friends before a gig. He always listens to music
and is forever discovering new bands! He writes a lot of songs about his
political opinions for his heavy metal band. He often goes to see
comedians like Rob Beckett.
Dislikes: He doesn’t approve of vegetable pizza – pizza always needs
meat, he dislikes clubbing and pop music and fashion trends because he
believes it takes away from people’s individuality and there is no talent in
pop music because it is all made with a computer.

10. FEMALEAUDIENCEPROFILE Name: Emily Smith, 20
Ethnicity: White
Where she lives: Salford, Greater Manchester
Interests: Make up, piercings, blogging and writing songs
Favourite Shops: H&M, Topshop, Etsy
Occupation: Trainee Tattoo artist
Hobbies: She loves to blog about new hairstyle trends and document
her trying them out. She regularly updates her hair colour and cut
as well as always adding new piercings and tattoos. She always
does her make up and dresses up for an occasion. She writes
songs for her metal band and plays the drums.
Likes: Keeping fit and going to the gym but also enjoys going clubbing
and drinking with friends. She loves animals and people – she can’t
go anywhere without making friends.
Dislikes: She doesn’t like boring people who object to her style , She
didn't like college because she can’t express herself properly.

11. STYLE SHEET- MASTHEAD FONTS
I like this font for my masthead because it is bold, with medieval connotations which
lots of slam and death bands reference. This font is also like no other magazine‘s font
so it would stand out to my audience however it is does like the ‘Death’ font so fans
of death may look at the magazine for that reason.
I love this font because it is a key theme of slam logos that they are illedgable
therefore this has a good balance between being so stylized that is hard to recognise
at first but it is readable, this will make it unique, also lots of slam fonts have these
stylized scratches on the letters to represent the violence of the Slam and death
genre.
This font would be good as a masthead, because it is clear and bold and the shattered
effect reflects the violence of the death and slam genre. However it has the same
dragged edges as ‘metal hammer’ therefore it is not very original and might not stand
out on the shelf.

12. STYLE SHEET- COVER LINE AND TAGLINE FONTS
EXCLUSIV
E!
EXCLUSI
VE!
This sans serif font is good due to it’s uniqueness because the misaligned letters it makes the font eye catching
however I think it is too busy for my magazine and has child like connotations due to its misaligns but as I am
using a heavily stylised masthead, I think I need a simple font for cover lines and taglines to make my magazine
look professional.
This sans serif font is nice because it is clear, plain and simple. Unfortunately I think it is too plain and simple to
be eye catching on my front cover.
This serif front is a nice and bold font which is unique. It stands out as well and has medieval connotations and lots of
death metal bands have medieval themes.
This sans serif font is good because it is bold and clear. The different size edges make it look interesting and eye
catching.

13. COLOUR SCHEME
I like this colour scheme because they are dark tones which all compliment each other, it has a burgundy
red associated with blood and danger key themes of death metal and as you could see lots of band logos
include black and red therefore by turning the red to a burgundy colour it makes my magazine look unique
and individual against the other magazines.
This colour scheme is very eye catching and vibrant. It includes a very bright red which has high visibility;
causing people to make quick decisions which is good when I am trying to encourage someone to buy my
magazine. However I think it is too bright for the genre of magazine; death metal which has connotations of
violence and power.

14. This colour scheme is also vibrant but incorporates the three key colours death metal bands use in their logos, this makes it
easy to distinguish what genre the magazine is however I don’t think it is unique enough to stand out on the shelf amongst
other heavy metal bands.
I like these colours because they are a different variation of the key colours used in death metal logos; instead of red, I will use
a dark burgundy like blood denoting violence power key themes of the death Metal genre. Then I will use grey oppose to black
because it can still stand out and be a contrasting colour. I could even use a gradient so my text goes from black to light grey.
Then the dark navy blue is different and unique making my magazine stand out amongst other magazines.

15. DUMMIES- FRONT COVERSplash
Image
Heade
r
Plu
g
Cover lines
and
selling lines
I like this layout because it is
simple allowing a lot of the
audiences attention to be on
my splash image and the
page will not look crowded
therefore making it look
professional and
aesthetically pleasing. But
my audience will still be
drawn in by including key
articles and a great
competition in the pug.
Megadeth
2017 tour
Messugah
The new
album!
Exclusive!
Death
Interview
This is a good example because the
lighting is low key making the image look
threatening which is a key theme of death
metal. Includes an iconic band logo to grab
attention from fans of cannibal corpse but
fans of death metal too. I will want my
magazine to look similar to this, with a
large eye catching splash image, simple
font and clear, concise taglines to grab
interest.

16. DUMMIES- CONTENTS PAGEMain Splash
Image
Heade
r
Plu
g
Cover lines
and
selling lines
Images
Heade
r
Plu
g
Cover lines
and
selling lines
Contents
This is a good, appealing
and exciting contents page
with a collage effect of
photos showing my audience
what is in this months issue.
Also I will include exciting
photos creating enigma
codes so my audience are
intrigued and read my
magazine to find out about
the images. Could also have
this on a single page or a
double page.
This is another interesting layout for my contents page again
using a collage effect for my photos. This layout is for a double
page spread and by using lots of pictures it makes the page
look appealing. The text could even be arranged into sub-
categories too, to make it organised and easy to navigate.

17. This contents page is good because it has a stylised title to suit
the death metal and slam metal genre which will help to attract
my target audience. I have also included lots of photos which
was a key preference made in my audience survey, therefore
by accommodating my audiences preferences, they will be
more likely to buy my magazine.

18. Splash
Image
Heade
r
Plu
g
Cover lines
and
selling lines
Dummies- Double Page Spread
This is a simple yet effective layout with a large
image on the left drawing attention to the article
and then 2 other images to make the text page
look more aesthetically pleasing. There is also a
pull quote on the left to create interest.
This is a good layout for a double page spread because there is an
interesting layout of photos including 4 small images for interest and one
large interesting image to grab attention. Also the amount of text is good
because too much text on one page can be daunting and make the
article look boring.

20. • The flat plan created is a representation of how the 1st edition of my heavy metal magazine will look and
all subsequent magazines will follow a similar plan. I have chosen to include a variety of single page and
double page adverts because by showing my audience new products, albums and tours, the magazine is
helping them to become a bigger and more involved fan of heavy metal music. Through advertising I will
be able to connect more with my audience and make them feel understood as a genre and community.
This will be done by including music centred adverts, for example advertising new tours or products and
not lifestyle advertising like clothes brands because metal fans do not invest into fashion brands. The
adverts also help to break up the articles so the magazine doesn’t over faze my audience because from
my survey, my audience did prefer photos over text.