Front Cover Ideas

Going for something with isnt normally seen:
- Having two Mixed raced Girls on my front cover isnt what you would expect on a rock magazine as the target audeince is usually Caucasian . However it seems to me that the Mixed raced people who are audience based dont get targetted as often which is why i would like to publish a different type of Front cover which is normally seen. (Corinne and Nicole)
Costume - I am having then wear Black Skinny Jeans, and  i have the same boxfresh branded Graphic Tees but in different colours > Red and Purple.
One thing which is significantly differently would be Mixed-raced girls have Big and Beautiful hair which could really be used to add to the style of a Rock Magazine. Thick Eyeliner is also used in within the style of Rock which is what i will get my Models to wear.
 - Unique Front cover which is why i want to include a unique angle.

Contents Analysis

Kerrang!

Rock Sound

Single page content Colour scheme – Black, white, pink 4 images on the singular page One main image bigger than the rest Heading Included ‘This Week’ – White text with Pink background Subheadings, There are 9 e.g ‘Feedback ‘ Written in pink Masthead stating it’s a ‘Contents’ Numbers are the same size are the page references Each image has a reference to what page they are related to. Editors letter Subscription enticement, there are images/examples of other editions of the magazine and the option whether to set up a subscription. Banner – Advertising along the bottom of the page, sticking with the colour scheme also Recycle advert used There are 79 pages The page also includes the issue number and date Emphasise on live music as the images are people performing live – linked to the rock genre as a whole though. Rebellious as there is a naked woman on the front, showing her tattoos.

Double page content Colour scheme – Black, white, Red 4 images on the first page, 2 on the second One main image bigger than the rest on the singular page Heading Included ‘Features’ - White text with a red background Subheadings e.g ‘Bangs in vans’ meaning touring which is written in red The Numbers are written in red and are larger than the page references (Band Names) The Names of the bands on which page are written in black which also means that the readers are usually looking for a certain point in the magazine (Visually Impaired) so this layout makes it easier for them to find where they want to go. No Masthead used Editorial letter and also Editorial Credits on the second page The background of the whole contents page looks like the squared paper used in maths, which could symbolise the fact that they should be working but instead are reading the magazine again linking to rebellious, this is also furthered as there are certain bands circled as if a pencil had been used which then refers to the pictures on the page. There is also Swearing showing the rebellious side and also expressing the genre of music.

        

               

Audience Profiling

Demographical Profiling

Male 60%

Female 40%

Ethnicity – Majority White British Male

Target Age – 16-24

-Main Focus of Hard/soft Rock Music

- However there is a subgenre of Indie and some Metal

Price £3.20 But Cheaper with Subscriptions

Kerrang! Radio/ a Kerrang TV Working together

Looking through the Profiles of a Magazine like Kerrang! has helped me with Profiling my intended Music Magazine because:

• Firstly, my music tastes varies across the whole musical field and when looking into Heavy Metal and Rock which I thought Nationally wasn’t as Popular and Mainstream Pop for example, It Gave me an Insight and made me realise the amount of people which do listen to Rock. From January and June this year, 80,186 Copies were sold compared to 74, 206 copies sold by NME.
• It’s clear that Kerrangs Methods of appealing to its Audience are working as figures show that 83% of readers bought an album as a result of an Article in the Magazine.
• This Magazine includes Reader Polls, Letters Page, Promotions of up and Coming Artists, Recommended Entertainment, Adverts - for Clothing(Which Suits the Genre)/ Playstation/HMV/Music Companies/These are all which increase the Value of the Magazine and are things which I would like to include in my magazine as they are the context of the magazine and are added bonus's.

Mood Board

This is a brief outline of things related to my target audience, however this is not my final piece and im open to change it throughout the process of work. Im appealing to people who have a passion for music and Enjoy going to see live music whether it be at festivals or Gigs. This usually targets the rock fan base, however i am targetting those who are into fashion also. Obviously everyone is individual and taking me for exmaple, I listen to several different genres of music and i would like my audience to be able to aswell, however i wanted to included a specific genre as in my audience research i found that it was prefered overall. Ive Included things such as Make up, Converse, Supra and Vans as these are a preference to my target audience and things which they wear as a certain Fashion. People who like to make an impact and to rebel are those that are more likley to listen to rock music, however i would hope that my magazine would be open to anyone who enjoyed listening to the music i speak about whether its with a Dramatic style or not.

Audience Research

These are Snap shot/print screens of Conversations i have had with several people i know, getting a general overview of what they think of music magazines. 

 

From this i can see that The majority, if not all of the people asked don't read Music Magazines regularly which could be something significant in meaning there isn't enough appeal to read it, which is hopefully something i can think about when designing my own front cover. I can also see that the majority prefer to have a specific demographical profile only to suit one preferred genre. However my sample of people asked could be slightly biased and i could have broadened my audience. 

Textual Analysis of a Music Magazine

This Front Cover is dominated by the main image, which is of Rhianna a Famous pop Artist. The Mid Shot is taken at an Unusual Angle, from the side of the model as she looks over her shoulder directly at the camera. The Overall look is very Seductive as the model is revealing a lot of flesh, which is contrasted to the Bright Vibrant colour from her Lips and Hair. Her Costume also encourages this as she is wearing a Beige Coloured top which Connotes Innocence and Vulnerability while enhancing her red lips and hair which appeals to the male target audience of men as they would find the image sexually appealing while the Female Target audience would be inspired by the image. The Model has her hair covering half of her face, which could connote that she is hiding something which connects to the Main Coverlines Kicker of “MY FANS DON'T REALLY KNOW WHO I AM".

The Models Non-verbal Communication is also questionable as her facial expression is serious and if anything expressionless which could link to the Red Hair and lips connoting Anger, Danger but also remaining Beautiful. We are also able to see her tattoo of s Gun underneath her arm which could also be intentional as the Billboard's main Target Audience would be the U.S however its sold also in the U.K and the relevance with guns and crime could be seen as higher, it could also be something to do with the article inside and it even seems that in the way she is positioned, its like she is showing it off. The Background is very dark and Mysterious with no intentional setting, while high key lighting highlights her frame and also Causing shadows among the picture, which could also Match the Connotation of Her Hiding something and linking to the Kicker.

The Anchorage of the whole Front cover is very Mixed and Matched. The Masthead is placed at the top of the Front cover in a San serif font and very Large as it takes up the top third of the magazine cover, resulting in the Image being in front of the Masthead.The Font is very simplistic and clear, however, modern also as there are Red, blue, orange and yellow fillers to the Letters but because of the composition of the piece we are only able to see red and yellow within the 'b' and 'd' which add a sense of youth, Considering that the main text is in White and the Dark background, the contrast highlights the Filled in letters could possibly give the idea of a Logo or a symbol that the Magazine can be recognised from.

The Main Coverline spreads across the whole page directly half way down the page, also in a Sans serif font however it differs from the Masthead as the Coverline uses a font where it fades out at the bottom of the letters. The Coverline is also in white which fades to a grey, however because it runs through the main image the contrast against the background isnt as effective as the Masthead. The Coverline Simply Says 'Rhianna' The Name of the Artist in the Main image of the picture, and then Quotes her in the kicker which doesn't give you any information at all and makes you want to read the article to explain what was meant. There is also text written much Smaller above the coverline saying 'The Re- REinvention of' this is in the same font as the coverline and kicker, and is introducing who is on the front cover and who the coverline is talking about.

The Selling line of this Magazine is situated at the top of the Front cover, artistically and intentionally between the 'b' and 'd' of the word Billboard which neatly tucks it away and keeps the composition neat, which still letting it be noticed and read. The selling line consists of 3 separate lines, the first being small and in white, with the Second being placed underneath being Bigger and in Yellow, and the 3 below that following suite with the first line. All of the Information within the selling line is based on a Film and TV Music event which broadens the field that the website covers. Even though its a Music magazine, there is some areas of Film mentioned which are also made noticable by the fact that “FILM & TV MUSIC CONFERENCE” Is written bigger than the two other and is also in Yellow. The whole overall look of the front cover sticks to the colours of Red, Black, white and Skin-tone, so the Yellow draws the attention of the user. The Dateline, Barcode and Price are all placed at the bottom left hand corner.

The Composition of the layout is very Simple but effective, There are 3 Coverlines which are on the left hand side of the page. Each Coverline include a Kicker and all follow the same font of being Sans serif. The coverline is written in Black but with a White Highlighted background, in contract to the kickers being written in white placed on the already dark background of the magazine. All of them Relate to music and illustrate that its a music magazine.

Music Magazine

I will now be Looking into Music Magazines, Analysing Others and Creating my own. I will also be looking at double Page Spreads and eventually be making my own too.