The student's music magazine uses conventions of real magazines such as a masthead, cover lines, issue date and number, main article highlight, and barcode. However, it also challenges conventions by covering a non-pop music genre and artists not typically featured. While following conventions like other magazines in its genre, the magazine aims to attract its target audience with topical cover lines and images.

1. EVALUATION
Question 1: In what ways does your product
use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?

2. My music magazine is somewhat very stereotypical
when it comes to following the usual forms and
conventions of a magazine. However in some ways
I've challenged them also. The music genre I chose
isn't a 'pop genre' and its articles aren't full of artists
that fill up todays pop charts. The music and artists I
cover are slightly different and not everyone is into
them so if anything it would be better for my
magazine to challenge the typical techniques every
magazine uses. Although I did study other
magazines already on the market covering my
music genre and tended to use techniques the
same as them.

3. My media product uses conventions of
real media products…
On my cover I used the typical magazine design features such as a masthead, puffs and
plugs, reversed out cover lines, issue date and number, a main article, a barcode and price. I
also included an image of a feature in the magazine. I also used sans serif fonts to make it
easier to read.
Other features I used in my magazine:
• The masthead is larger than the rest of the text and is in a bold font and a colour that stands out.
• I used capital letters to make the main article stand out as it is a point of interest in the magazine.
• I also used the first name of my artist, and put it in a bolder, contrasting coloured font to make it
stand out.
• I also included a made up price, date, issue number, barcode, to make the magazine seem more
realistic.
• I used cover lines that would attract my specific target audience as they were cover lines that were
topical to the music genre.
• I used an appropriate front image, that wasn’t too busy so that the writing on top could not be seen.
• I used a circle, to make the main cover line stand out, and also used boxes to make the smaller
cover lines more obvious to the reader.

4. By looking at another magazine covering the same genre I can see many resemblances between the two.
They both consist of similar style images, fonts, cover lines, a main article, and a catchy masthead. My
magazine may not look exactly the same as many ‘pop’ music magazines but this is the look I wanted to
achieve. Even though this image wasn’t taken at the final stages, my magazine was basically finished and
even still the resemblances are extremely noticeable.