Top of the pops case study

1. Top of the Pops magazine was first launched in February 1995, since then it has been
releasing a monthly issue keeping its readers thoroughly informed and up to date with
everything they need to know relating to the pop music genre. The magazine has a total
circulation of 63,483 a month as of 2013 and is distributed by Immediate Media company
(IMC).
Each issue is sold for £2.30* and usually has around 42 pages of new content. Top of the
pops magazine is owned by the BBC, this is why the logo for BBC worldwide is
conventionally placed in the top left corner of the magazine's front cover, it is also on some
pages on occasional issues if they are trying to promote a new TV programme the target
audience will enjoy.
The magazine was made to run alongside the top of the pops Tv programme, this is where
they would play music and talk about the artists in more detail. The magazine itself originally
had no intention to continue after the programme was cancelled, to begin with, the
programme was the main feature and the magazine was a supplement, but an increase in
interest occurred in 2006 after the cancellation of the show. The magazine then continued
independently and has been a huge success. At one point Top of the Pops was labelled as
the perfect magazine between Smash Hits and NME, it has gradually moved away from this
genre and changed to purely pop with the target group of young girls in mind.
There is an online website edition, where the magazine has become online based, it also
works closely with their social media sites such as their twitter page. The website is
specifically to target the audience in more place than one. The website features the same
codes and conventions as the mags,
lots of content, bright colours and pop
artists.
There have been several owners and
contributors to the magazine in the
past, for example Rosie Snaith and
Peter Lorraine.

2. The current owner of the magazine is Peter Hart, he has summarised the top of the pops
magazine by saying “We bring our readers closest to their idols, because we’re the
magazine that knows celebs the best. Every issue is packed full with exclusive interviews
and photos of the stars , as well as brilliant advice and affordable fashion and beauty
products. We’re the friend our readers can rely on to give them confidence, make them
laugh, and share all their juiciest gossip. And that's why BBC Top of the Pops Magazine is
the biggest selling teen title”.
The genre of Top of the Pops magazine is clearly pop. this is displayed through many
factors, including bright colours and the name which includes the genre Top of the ‘Pops’.
The magazine completely reflects their magazine around their target audience of young girls,
the use of catchy rhymes and cheesy lines are primarily to get the young reader's attention,
but some phrases used have intentionally become classic conventions.
Pop music is the shortened term for popular music, Top of the Pops covers all aspects of the
pop industry as well as recent popular music, keeping readers up to date with all the latest
celebrity news and gossip. Friendly appearances are given off by this magazine through the
bright colours and happy facial expressions from all featured celebrities, this lures the
audience in by making them be able to relate to the magazine.
Pop magazines always attempt to feature well known influential artists as the main image on
the front cover. This type of advertisement attracts a wide range of fans who generally enjoy
the pop genre as a whole. The content delivered based on these artists is generally about
their love and hate relationships,their love life and information about them their fans may not
know. This is because the broad target audience love exclusive details about what is usually
kept out of the public media by the celebrities.

3. 8-13 year old girls are the main target audience for Top of the Pops, they are interested in
fashion, music and good looking boys. Each member of the reading community will be in late
primary school or early secondary school education and should be on the edge of
developing a taste for fashion and boys. The magazine aims to be a huge help to them and
encourage the girls to embrace their style, the mag will share an interest in boys and music,
hopefully acting as a friend to its audience. This is a technique used by the magazine to
relate to the target audience and build up a bond and loyalty to the mag.
Male artists that are usually featured are portrayed and viewed as an object of desire,
whereas women are viewed as objects of power and inspiration for example “learn how to
rule the world like Beyonce” this example displays how the magazine holds an influence over
its readers as they know that their young female readers aspire to be like their favourite
celebrities.
Abbreviations are frequently used within the magazine such as “OMG” or “AWKS”, by using
these abbreviations, the magazine can stay relevant and up to date with the type of
language used by today's generations. Talking like this as well as previously mentioned
helps create a bond with the individual as you are talking like friends.
Top of the Pops features a huge variety of different articles such as a ‘Gossip2Go’ section,
this shows the readers this month's new celebrity gossip.
‘Shameful Celeb Muck Ups’ is a page dedicated to celebrities worst moments caught on
camera, it provides pictures of celebrities with a funny quote or remark alongside it.

4. Posters are included in each issue of the magazine to lure in the younger audience who
prefer images rather than text. Fashion and beauty advice, games and quizzes, interviews
and many more features are included in Top of the Pops to attract readers and make it fun
for young girls to read. This content is usually provided as the girls want large posters of
their favorite band or artists hung up in their room.
The magazine attempts to have a friendly and casual relationship with its readers, the artists
on the cover almost always are seen smiling and conveying friendship. The language used
is done to specifically target the person who walks past it on the shelf, words such as ‘you’
and ‘we’ are frequently used to directly address the reader and make them feel more
involved in the magazine. Exclamation marks are used throughout to show a sense of
excitement and emphasis on important information featured in the magazine.
Pop artists are usually photographed smiling and most of the time looking directly into the
camera giving off friendly looks, they are presented as youthful and are wearing up to date
clothing with all the latest fashion trends. Featured females are stereotypically dressed in
pink or other bright feminine colours to stand out. They are
also wearing lots of makeup which exaggerates that
convention, whereas the males are told to take a laid back
casual approach when in the photoshoot. The magazine
tends to avoid adding references to drugs, sex and alcohol,
this is generally because of the target audience's age being
too young to know the responsibility of these things, also, they
can be heavily influenced by celebrity role model who they
look up to. If they are seen doing these bad things, it may
encourage the reader to do so aswell.

5. The target audience have different conventions that will feature in the magazine to attract
them. For example there is an expectation that a main image will always be present on the
front cover and on the full range of double page spreads inside the magazine. The
magazine targets the audience's personal aspirations and goals and tries to make the
content appeal to them in order for them to be able to achieve them. As the younger
audience is encapsulated by the content relating to pop artists, boys and fashion, Top of the
Pops strongly indicates their presence in the market and life and keeps their young female
audience engrossed with the content..