The document discusses the conventions and codes used in the media product of an indie music magazine. It uses technical codes like fonts, layout, and images as well as symbolic codes like posing of subjects and color schemes to identify the magazine's genre and challenge stereotypes. The cover features indie artists to attract readers interested in that genre. The black and white color scheme and lack of color on the contents page further signals the indie genre. However, a double page spread subverts expectations by posing the artist with an indirect gaze rather than a direct smile at the camera as seen in other magazines. Overall, the document examines how the magazine's forms and styles develop and challenge conventions to effectively represent its target indie music audience.

1. In what ways does you media
product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of a real
media product?

2. According to the uses and gratifications theory,
a magazine is used to divert you from your
boring lives. Also, you can share the magazine
with the community i.e. share it with your
friends and family and also talk about it with
your friends.
Defining a magazine.

3. Conventions to allow the audience to
understand the genre.
Audience will understand what genre my
magazine is due to the cover lines that are on
the front of my magazine. They feature; The
1975, Imagine Dragons, Bastille, Ella Eyre,
George Ezra and Twenty One Pilots. These
artists are signed by independent divisions of
major record labels. My readers might like
George Ezra, so they will therefore buy my
magazine so then they will find out about more
indie artists and become gig fans on the genre.
Moreover, the colour scheme is a big indication
on what the genre is. The colour scheme is black
and white and according to my audience
research, that is the most popular colour
scheme and it’s the colour scheme that they
think is the most indie.
Contents Page
My contents page goes along with
the theme of my front cover. My
audiences will know that this is indie
because I have a paragraph from
the editor stating what genre the
magazine is. Again, the contents
page lacks colour but the black and
white theme clearly highlights the
genre. The fact that it lacks in
colour, however, might not be
appealing to all indie music fans.
Double Page Spread
The model for my DPS is
stereotypically dressed as an indie
artist. She’s wearing darker colours
and she has an indirect mode of
address. This connotes moodiness.
Also, by looking at other indie
magazines such as ‘Q’ and ‘NME’ all
the artists had direct modes of
addresses in their interview. By
doing this, I have subverted the
stereotype and have broken the
codes and conventions.
Cover Page.

4. Technical codes
Like most magazines I have used technical codes to present my magazine. So the juxtaposition of my
model in the double page spread, they way I have technically constructed my magazine by the use of
language and words. On the front cover my masthead has a calligraphy type face, with the background
being black and the type face being white, it was easy for my audience to read. I used a sans serif font
on my DPS, Contents Page and Cover Page. This is because my magazine is a modern magazine and my
target audience is a young audience. On my contents page, I placed two big images with the two main
articles within the magazine. There is one photo of my artist ‘Rosie Breeze’ and a photo I took when I
went to see Imagine Dragons in November, 2015. The photo is bright and will instantly draw the
audience in to take a closer look at the article. My musician on the contents page is juxtaposed in a very
stereotypical way – she has a direct mode of address and she is smiling straight at the camera.

5. Symbolic codes
On the front cover, my musician has an indirect mode of address which connotes moodiness. I have posed her the
way I have because it challenges the conventions of a stereotypical magazine cover. That’s also the same with the
way she is posed for the DPS. She’s not looking at the camera which could highlight that she’s in her own trance.
Her clothing is very indie, navy, black. This connotes that she is quite a dark and serious person which definitely
comes across in the interview.