Music Magazine Double Page Spread Analysis

As I have found out from researching double page spreads to analyse, most tend to keep the writing to one side and the image to the other. The image above does not show this as there is lots of images with text all around it. However the article goes across to the next pages so we do not know how it is continued.

A lot of articles are based around questions and answers, especially in an interview which is more likely because we are looking at music magazines where the institution of it wants to give readers the up to date gossip on key figures that industry. However we do have to take into account that there are articles in music magazines which are not to the question and answer format but more as an informative piece or a debating one. Like the article above is more of an interview (question and answer) piece.

The font used for the features headline is usually in a different font that makes it stand out. Also the serif font relates to the type of music the article is about. For instance like this one where it's about a contemporary music band the serif font is quirky and modern. Whereas if the music magazine was for rock music the serif font would take on a more gothic style.

The colours that have been chosen interlink with each other as the band members are all wearing black clothing. The headline uses these colours to tie it all in.

The picture of the band has been taken as a medium long shot. This means that the majority of someone’s body is viewable. Using a medium long shot gives the reader a sense that the image is dominant in a sense but unknown world wide, yet reinforces the importance of this feature being about them.

I think this double page spread gives of a modern feel relatable to the magazine and the band it has interviewed. I think the use of serif font and colour work really well with the modernistic view as well. However I do not like how they have put a block colour behind all of the text that is over the picture as it breaks the image up too much.

Music Magazine Contents Page Analysis

Masthead -This lets the reader know what page there looking at so when flicking through, especially the contents page would be something most people would want to read. Most likely to be at the top of the page. In a bold serif font with a bold colour too. NME magazine places it's masthead at the top and uses a simple font face but that still manages to be bold and eye catching. This is because of the white and red font on a black background.

Features - Features are again formatted in a listed structure. This is much easier for a reader as it makes finding what you want fast and easy. This magazine has an every month section on its contents page similar to that of the regulars from the first magazine I looked at. This shows the magazine as being consistent and regular.

Layout - The way NME magazine sets out their contents like many other music magazine with a large picture of the image with title from the main page and a list of other articles.

Date - The date of publication is present on the page as it is underneath the masthead and is clear to read.

Contact Details - There is a website URL address for the magazine which will contain contact details but there is not really any contact details.

Images - Over both of the pages there are several images that relate to the list of contents, the main image is the large one of Jay-Z as he is the main image on the front cover.

Page Numbers - Page numbers are situated next to each feature headline. They are in a different colour than the headline itself, but are the same size of the font. There are also a page number on each picture that is related to the list whether it is a feature or a regular; this is situated in the corners of the pictures.

Music Magazine Front Cover Analysis

Language - The first thing we notice on any magazine cover is the image, if we don't like the images were more likely to move on to the next magazine on the shelf. The Wombats who the main image is off is very well known as The Wombats who have recently hit the headlines with their debut album. Keeping to the theme on contemporary music The Wombats are dressed in the typical trend of an indie band, which is in tune with the magazine normally. The mast head, font type and font colour are all simple yet effective too. This is crucial when targeting specific audiences because anything other than contemporary would be misleading and would loose some customers.

The camera shot used (Medium Long Shot) creates an eye catching statement look. This will automatically draw the reader’s attention, as they are displaying the typical view of a band being energetic.

The layout of this magazine is very simple, there is little unfilled space; this is very eye catching with the image clearly being what the institution wants you to focus on. The choices of colours used are typical to most magazines using black with a splash of a different colour, to highlight they key parts of each headline like that of 'The Wombats'.

Like other magazines 'NME' consists of a barcode and price on the front. This may be because they wish to let the reader decide on whether to buy it or not, based on the price because for some it would not be a consideration with the types of musical acts on the covers. Like the majority of magazines the month of publication and the year is printed in the lower right corner of the cover page.

Ideology- The ideology of this magazine seems to be to show an up to date, in the moment outlook on contemporary music. It does this by using well known people within the industry to cover their magazine as well as who they feature in it. Using a stylish, laddish, confident pose The Wombats show the right ideology for the magazine.

Institution - NME music magazines institution is IPC Media, which produces over 85 iconic media brands, with our print brands alone reaching almost two thirds of UK women and 44% of UK men –almost 27 million UK adults – while our online brands collectively reach 20 million users every month. IPC's diverse print and digital portfolio offers something for everyone, with a focus on three core audiences: men, mass market women and upmarket women.

Audience - The NME advertisers pack states what their audience profile is as the following:

Male: 71%

Female: 29%

Median age: 23

Student: 31%

ABC1: 65%

Circulation: 357,000

Representation - this magazine is representing well known, talked about figures within the music industry. By using figures like these for example The Wombats, the representation of the magazine which is a positive take on what is happening at the moment within that industry is capable of happening.

My Music Magazine Target Audience

My magazine will target both male and female readers from the age of 15 and onwards, as it is looking at a more student market. It will appeal to those individuals who have a passion for the latest trends in music and who wish to learn more about the industry itself and the artists who represent it. On the other hand it will also target those individuals who wish to learn more about music festivals and gigs as this is commonly used in music magazines by which they review tours and line-ups for festivals. Having fewer restrictions allows my magazine to appeal to the highest number of customers as possible. This allows me to get a higher profit than say if I limited the magazine to only males, and making money is the highest priority of these sorts of magazines.

Front Cover & Contents Analysis

My front page contains a clear large logo which I know is essential for a good quality magazine. This logo in my opinion can relate to school life and many students, as the title ‘Chenderit times’ captures pupils attention while its keeps them focused on the fact it is a newspaper.

My magazine front cover uses a medium close up shot of a student on the cover with relevant props to the title of this image. The text is normally placed either to one of the sides and sometimes the main image title is placed centrally so it is in line with the image so people know the two relate. This is the layout I used because my research showed many best selling magazines are similar and I wanted to make mine look and feel real in the same ways.

I think another main part of my front cover which gives the professional look of an actually magazine, is the few small images on the contents pages. This is because the audience is mainly attracted to the photography in the magazines.

I used a desk top publisher (DTP) to create all of my front cover and contents page. I found it useful to manipulate the imagery and text, especially when re-arranging the layout.

I believe I reflect the values of the target audience as I show what information that is included in the magazine, using images which are eye catching.

The main aim of my magazine, if it was real and available to students, is to give them what they want and more, and for each pupil to look forward to the next issue.
Creating these two pages will help me design and create my final music magazine pages, with the different uses of imagery and layout.

I feel that after doing this task that I would prefer not to use a DTP program, as it can be difficult to manipulate different aspects of the front cover and contents. I found it easier to use a photo manipulator to design the music magazine as I find it much easier to manipulate the design.

Preliminary School Magazine Final Front Cover & Contents Page

School magazine task

Front cover

Contents page

The Forms & Conventions Of A Magazine

The conventions of a magazine can change depending on whether their target market is for a niche or mass audience. The mass section will contain magazines that have a large target audience. For example, a magazine like Q has a very large target audience as it focuses on a wide variety of music genres. While a niche magazine will target a small section of the public and will make a small amount of profit compared to those with a mass audience that would give the magazine a large circulation. For example, Sailing is a magazine focused on sailing so it has a very niche audience as it caters purely for their needs with a low circulation. Where as a large section of the public would not have any interest in this magazine.

Magazine front covers tend to stick with a standard layout with a large masthead along the top, with a medium long shot on the front cover showing the main pull of that particular issue. Many magazines may use this large picture and claim to have an exclusive as a way to grab the reader’s attention. The front cover will contain many different subtitles with titles of different articles inside the magazine which will also be in the contents page.
Large Title - This will draw attention to the magazine through use of bright colours and a bold font type. The title also distinguishes this magazine from others of a similar kind.
Main Image - This will be relevant to the magazine and the genre of music, is usually of a band or solo artist who is of high demand or has a large expose within their field.
Cover Lines - This is to give the reader an idea of what they can find within the magazine. Cover Lines will usually cover a wide range of subjects within the genre and be the most appealing to customers out of all the articles inside.
Main Image Cover Line - This is just a reference to the picture, will most likely be eye catching.
Date Published - This is so the readers can keep track on each issue. Making sure they do not miss one.
Institution Name - This is usually in the small print at the bottom of the cover.
Contact Details - This could be in the form of a telephone number, fax number or website.
Price - This is because magazines are profit based. Having the price on the front cover makes sense so it is easier for readers to see how much they will have to pay, this may determine what client is attracted to the magazine as some customers may have a limit as to what they spend.

Magazine contents pages tend to have a list of feature and regulars in their magazines. This may be over one or two pages as some magazines will split the sections up, in order to allow more detail in the contents and more images that are relevant to the individual articles within the magazine. Each different subtitle has a small detail of what the article is about to try entice the reader to go further, into the magazine and read about that particular article.

Preliminary Task

Before I begin designing my own music magazine I shall begin a preliminary task that involves using a desktop publisher. My preliminary exercise is to use DTP and an image manipulation program, in order to produce a front page and a contents page for a new school/college magazine. This will have to fit the norms and conventions of a magazine as well as possible, although this task is mainly to gat a grasp of using the two different types of programs before I start creating my music magazine.

Music magazine analysis

Magazine Research

The Q magazine

Image Source: www.qthemusic.com

Introduction
Q is the “UK’s biggest music magazine” and is published by Bauer media. Q magazine was founded by Mark Ellen and David Hepworth and first published in 1986; they were widely discredited as they felt Q was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology. Setting itself apart from much of the other music press with monthly production and higher standards of photography and printing.
Q magazine is a very popular music magazine with an average circulation of about 100,000 per month in the UK.

The content of Q
Every issue of Q has a different message on the spine. Readers then try to work out what the message has to do with the contents of the magazine. This practice — known as the "spine line" — has since become commonplace among British lifestyle magazines.

Q magazine does not have a specific genre of music that it represents; inside the magazine they have interviews etc with all sorts of artists and bands. The magazine has regular articles and features in their issues like all magazines. The magazine includes interviews with the most popular artists at the time; this also depends on what is coming out in the month that the issue is released.

The issue has regular articles that will have differences to them each month, mainly which band or artist is being involved or reviewed. The regulars were changed in November 2008 to give the magazine a new look. They created more interesting regulars in which they would be doing quick interviews with artists and music news etc.

The magazine consists of many adverts throughout the magazine with an advert or double paged advert every 5 pages; this is dependant on where the advertiser has chosen to place their advert in the magazine. Early in the magazine the editor gives his account of what is in the issue and what he thinks of various articles.

The Publishing Institution of Q
The publisher of Q magazine is Bauer media, the company claim to engage 19 million readers in the UK each week.

Bauer Media is a division of the Bauer Publishing Group; Europe’s largest privately owned publishing Group. The Bauer Publishing Group is a worldwide media empire offering over 230 magazines in 15 countries, as well as online, TV and radio stations.

Bauer Media joined the Bauer Publishing Group in January 2008 following acquisition of Emap plc’s consumer and specialist magazines, radio, TV, online and digital businesses. Collectively, the Bauer Publishing Group employs some 6,400 people and has a 2007 turnover of 1.79 billion Euros.

Bauer Media is a multi-platform UK-based media Group consisting of many companies collected around two main divisions – Magazines and Radio - widely recognized and rewarded as being industry innovators.
Source: http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/Insight

The typical reader profile
The Bauer media website defines the Q magazine audience profile as ‘Open minded experience seekers, the Q audience don’t define themselves by the music they listen to. Music is an important passion, but their love of music will never be to the detriment of their other passions, such as film, sport and comedy’.

Through reading the magazine myself I would say that is correct but it is too brief, I would say that the readers come from a B1 C1 group as the price is towards the expensive end of the scale for a magazine so would put off the students etc.

The magazine tends to be advertising commercial artists new releases more than products so it is hard to distinguish which gender the magazine is targeted at.
Source: http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/Brands/Q/

Layout trademarks of Q – Including forms and conventions
Like all magazines Q starts with its contents pages followed by the editors’ page. Throughout the magazine each page with articles has the recognized red banner with title or vice versa, though the features don’t follow this pattern, they will have different layouts to the whole magazine.
The layout of text is standard and an expected convention with a standard text and large opening paragraph.

The interviews will always have a photograph of the subject, whether it is a posed shot or action shot of the artist live.

Does Q represent the values of its audience?
I believe that Q represents its reader’s views very well in the case that the magazine focuses on the music and rating it to the generation it is targeting. While catching the personal interest of the younger generation, Q is still looking at the older generation by looking at old renowned bands such as The Beatles.

Q looks at a lot of the commercial artists to have the wider market but still looks at the independent artists, though reading through an issue I would draw that they prefer the commercial music.


Empire

Image source: http://www.empireonline.com/magazine/

Introduction
Empire refers to itself as “The World’s Finest Film Magazine” and is part of the Bauer media group. The magazine was founded by Emap and first published in July 1989 and has ever since on a monthly basis. Empire prides itself by being the finest movie magazine in the world, with first ratings of films and behind the scenes access to many films and film production companies to give its readers the best reading experience they can.

Empire has an average circulation of 194,016 per month; this is based on how many magazines they sell and how many will then read each issue.

The content of Empire
Empire magazines content varies each month due to the change in film releases that particular month. Though there are a few regulars that turn up each week, for example the letters, news and cross word. These may be regulars but the magazine itself follows the same pattern each month in how they rate and review a magazine.

Each week they evaluate an upcoming promising film that they expect to do well in the box office and give it a thorough review as to what should be expected from the film. They may focus on upcoming films but much of their interviews are also with actors and directors. Most of the interviews are with the directors rather than the actors; this is so that the readers get the full image of the film that the director is trying to portray.

A lot of attention was paid to empire when they released a special edition issue in collaboration with Steven Spielberg, this really got people pumped for the magazine due to the nature of the issue which then acclaimed them more of the market.

In common with most British film magazines, Empire is populist in both approach and coverage unlike less irreverent and more 'serious' magazines such as Sight and Sound. It reviews both mainstream films and art films, but feature articles concentrate on the former.

As well as film news, previews and reviews, Empire has some unique regular features. Each issue (with the exception of issues 108 - 113) features a Classic Scene, a transcript from a notable film scene. The first such classic scene to be featured was the "I could have been a contender" scene from On the Waterfront.

The regular Top 10 feature lists Empire's choice of the top ten examples of something film-related. For example 10 Best Chase Scenes or 10 Best Movie Gags in The Simpsons. Readers are encouraged to write in if they disagree with the choices made.

The At Home section covers DVD news and releases; Empire's editors consider this section to be of sufficient quality to term it a magazine in itself, which is also relevant to the growth and importance of the DVD market, where sales can often outstrip that of box-office.

Pint of Milk presents celebrities' answers to silly or unusual questions, including the question "How much is a pint of milk?" This is intended as a guide to the Chosen Celebrity's contact with reality, and as such can be more informative than a direct interview, often reporting some surprising responses.

Each magazine includes a "Spine Quote", in which a relatively challenging quote is printed on the spine of the magazine. There are usually some obvious and obscure links from the quote to the main features of that month's edition. Readers are invited to identify the film source and the links to win a prize.

Kim Newman's DVD Dungeon is a regular feature in the At Home section, in which critic Kim Newman reviews the most obscure releases, mostly low budget horror movies.

The Publishing Institution of Empire
The publisher of Empire magazine is Bauer media, the company claim to engage 19 million readers in the UK each week.

Bauer Media is a division of the Bauer Publishing Group; Europe’s largest privately owned publishing Group. The Bauer Publishing Group is a worldwide media empire offering over 230 magazines in 15 countries, as well as online, TV and radio stations.

Bauer Media joined the Bauer Publishing Group in January 2008 following acquisition of Emap plc’s consumer and specialist magazines, radio, TV, online and digital businesses. Collectively, the Bauer Publishing Group employs some 6,400 people and has a 2007 turnover of 1.79 billion Euros.

Bauer Media is a multi-platform UK-based media Group consisting of many companies collected around two main divisions – Magazines and Radio - widely recognized and rewarded as being industry innovators.

The typical reader profile
76% Male, Affluent ABC1 movie fans and cinema hounds. I found this reader profile at http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/Brands/Empire/

Layout trademarks of Q – Including forms and conventions
Empire magazine has a standard layout like all magazines by starting with the contents page followed by the editors’ comments and then letters from readers.

Media Magazine

Today I start my media blog, I will be updating this regularly with different analysis' of other magazines, outlining what I like about each and what I think could be improved.
This will also include my practice of a magazine as I create a school magazine; this is to experiment with a photo manipulator program and a design manipulator.
After I have completed my school magazine I shall comment on how I found the task and what was easy and what was hard to do. So once I have identified my weaknesses I can move onto my music magazine to create a more professional design.