What i have done so far.

Having now done all my research and survey, i have started to put together my music magazine i have decided on a name "outloud", a band, the genre of the band, and i have written the article and taken the pictures for my magazine.

I have used two friends to be the face of my funky/pop duo and we took pictures in the park to portray their glamorous yet casual life style, also thier look is not a london look it is more universal and will appel to fans across the country. here are some of the images i will use in my magazine.

To gives me ideas to how i should write my article i looked at other artcle written in music magazine. this has helped me as i have used the typical langugae used in a magazine but i have changed it a bit to suit my genre.

I have also followed the typical structure of an article, i have given some background knowledge on the band and images on one side and on the other side is the interview. i have also taken quotes from the article and made it big so if a reader were to flick trough this magazine the quotation my catch thier eye which will make them read the whole article.

My article

Here is my article i made up a band called SDH(So Damn Hot) they are a funky pop duo, I got the idea of a duo from an existing called mini viva girl pop group but as their are so many pop group i thought i will make them a funky/pop because there are not many funky/pop bands out there.
i got the questions from looking out other magazine interviews and made them my own here is my interview:

Interview with SDH (So Damn Hot)
From youtube to fame in a month, with their first music video summer on the internet getting over 2 million hit in its first week and now this new funky/pop sensation have a number 1 under their belt.
This duo managed to get UK to fall in love with them in a matter of weeks which is a big task for two young ladies. The question on everybody’s lips though is will this funky/pop duo be another one hit wonder or will they be sticking around for a little while longer.
My first impressions of SDH where they were very fun bubbly carefree girls and were living the life that most teenage girls can only dream of, but once they start talking about their music I soon realised that these girls are very mature about their music and they really work hard even if they play harder.
I talked to Karina Green and Delilah Jones the faces of SDH. 17 year old Karina Green, half of the group and a collage drop out, was studying fashion but wanted to follow her dream of singing “I have been sing since I was a little girl and I knew that was what I wanted to do I mean I love fashion but it didn’t satisfy me I knew if I didn’t do this I would regret it for along time”. The other half of the group 19 year old Delilah Jones was a solo artist and used to be a backup singer for quite a few A- listers such a Rhianna, and our very own Pixe Lott. “Singing for the stars was great but I wanted to do my own thing, I had my own ideas and I wanted to pursue them”
The girls met at an audition for The Saturdays and when they didn’t make the cut they decided to form a duo and they hit it off right away, this was the start of a great friendship and the beginning of their success.
I met the Funky/pop pair at a small café in their home town Watford just outside London. They were a complete contrast to the atmosphere in the café it was like they walked into the wrong restaurant, their designer dresses and shoes were out of place to the paint splattered jeans and the of the chatter of the economic down fall and what was on telly last night.
But the girls looked so comfortable with the people around them everyone talked and laughed with them they even flirted with the guys, everyone within a 5 mile radius of them has a smile on their face even they waitress had a twinkle in her eye everybody loved these girls; they were so down to earth and ordinary yet so fabulous.

So girls how are you?
Yeh were good, nice to meet you how are you?

Good thanks, so how do you feel about getting you your first number?
Yeh yeh were so exited we didn’t expect this song to be this big, we love all the support were getting and all the fans, it so amazing.

When did you realise that your song has been so successful?
We don’t know we just heard our song on the radio everywhere and we were getting load of calls to be doing gigs it’s just so unreal.

How has life changed for you?
Oh it changed dramatically people recognise us everywhere it like so weird because Its like we’ve come from being strangers to like everybody’s friends, people just come up to us and start a convo it used to be so crazy when people used to do that, but now its like Hi how are you stranger (giggles)

What are the fans like?
Yeh their fab, their so lovely and funny, they come up and start sing our song in our face its like ok and they expect us to give them a mini gig and it like I(Karina) only came out to buy pint of milk. But the fans are great.

What is the weirdest think a fan has given you?
Ummm well there has been quite a few, a guy gave me (Delilah) underwear with his face on it (laughs) he was like here is something to remember me by.

Did you take them?
Yeh I didn’t want to be rude so I took them and I think I left them in the taxi on the way home (laughs) at least I still remember him.

Growing up in Watford who was your influences as you grew up?
Well love all the old Skool stuff like bobby brown and Tina Turner. And we loved the UK music scene like the spice girls and s club seven it quite embarrassing but we can’t lie we loved them.

What do think of the UK music scene now?
I (Karina) think that it’s really growing allot more UK artists are breaking through which is great, UK artists are becoming to be known all around the world which is what every artist wants they want to spread their music, joy and they want to entertain the world really and that is what we want to do to.

Are you glad that one of you didn’t get the chance to be in the Saturdays?
“Looked at each other with questioning looks on their faces and laughed.” Well yeh (Delilah) because if one of us did get into the Saturdays all this wouldn’t have happened, and I don think I would have done this with anyone else we have become great friends is a year, plus without the Saturdays none of this would have happened.

So what new stuff are you working on?
We are working on our album which is coming along nicely and we are working with some really cool people like N-dubz, chipmunk, and we just recorded a single with Egypt another funky house artists.

Oh so when is the album coming out?
In March next year

It’s great that you have a very unique individual look how did you come up with it?
Because I am (Karina) is into fashion, I used to buy outfits for gigs and I didn’t want us to look similar but individual so I used put us in the same outfit but using different material or colours or put us into the same outfit using different material which made which gave us an individual but similar.

So Karina as you the youngest so how did you family react when you drop out of collage to get into the music industry?
My mum was quite mad and the beginning because you know im young and I understood why she was mad because she was just protecting me but she came around and became very supportive dad had always wanted me to be a singer so he was very supportive from the beginning and he had a lot of friend in the music industry and he was the reason I got the audition for the Saturdays so if it wasn’t for my dad I wouldn’t be in this position so thanks dad.

I hear you guys will doing a UK tour are you excited about that?
Yeh were going all other the place, were gonna be on tour with girl aloud which is great we love them?

Wow have you met them yet?
Yeh there all lovely, and they give us so much support their like we love what your music and it like wow Girl aloud like us their like the hottest girl band in the UK right now, so it great.

SDH will be going on tour with Girl aloud in June next year and their single ft Egypt will be coming out next month so look out for it!!!

Double page spread ideas

For my double page spread i have decided to do Reviews, an interview or have a what hot whats not page. Having looked at examples of other music magazine i have seen that all these pages have been successful in a mangazine, here are the reasons why i would have chosen to do theeses topics or not.


Whats hot whats not - I think this a good idea for a a double page spread as muisc has a big influences on peoples fashion has you can kind of tell what kind of music some one listen to by what they wear, however as my magazine is one genre it will be quite difficult to have styles for all genres.

Reviews - Doing a review is a good idea as it tell the public your thought of an album which may helps people decide do buy an ablum or not.

Interview - I have decided to do an interview because it will be easy to write about an made up band than a made up album and i think it will be better that the front cover has a connetion with the double page spread.

Title options.

Here are the four title options i have which will be on my final front cover. I have numbered them so you can indicate which title i am talking about.

1) The first title is is plain, but i think it it has a memorable look because it is so simple. however i get the impression that id this was on a front cover of magazine the image will overpower the title, also i don't think that the title says anything about the magazine and the music.

2) This title says a lot about the music because i get the impression that the title is like bursting out and the music is explosive and new. Also i think that this title looks memorable and it will not be overpowered by an image.

3)I think that this title is something different and retro, however i think that this title appeals to a male audience more than a female audience, i do think that this title is quite memorable, also i think this magazine says that the music is not straight forward and different and edgy.

4)This title is more feminine and will appeal to a female audience, because of the flare. Also i don't think it is title is memorable and i don't think that the title says anything about the music.

I have decided to go for the second title because it says something about the music and it is something different and not standard and basic.

survey and results

Having done a survey and collected responses from ten people. have been able to come up with ideas for my magazine based around the results of my survey here is a copy of the survey ;


1. How old are you?

• 13-17
• 18-25
• 26-30
• 31-39
• 40+

2.Gender

• Male
• female
  

3.What music do you listen to?

• Hip-hop
• R&B
• Funky
• Rock
• Indie rock
• Pop
• Pop rock
• All of the above

4. Do you buy music magazines?

• Yes
• No
• Sometimes

5. How many times do you buy magazine

• Everyday
• Every week
• Every month
• Every year
• A few times a year
• Never

6.What type genre magazines to do read?

• Celeb gossip
• Gig info
• New band info
• existing band info
• Politics

7. What genre magazines do you read?

• Hip hop
• Pop
• Rock

8. Would you prefer a magazine with one genre or a mixture of genes

• Yes
• No

Having now sent out the survey I collected a response from 10 people here are the result and my evaluation.

1. How old are you?
13-17 - 9
18-25 -1
26-30
31-39
40+

2.Gender
Male - 3
female - 7
The majority of the people who took my survey were female and between 13-17, this with mean that the final results will be from the opinions of 13-17 year old females

3.What music do you listen to?
Hip-hop - 2
R&B - 3
Funky - 4
Rock - 3
Indie rock - 2
Pop - 2
Pop rock - 2

All of the above - 5

All of the above got the highest vote which shows that people listen to a mixture of genres however i cant include all these genres in a magazine because from my knowledge of music magazine, music magazine have a particular genre which they then work around so i have decided that i will use the next highest scoring answer which is Funky and i will muisc which are linked with it.

4. Do you buy music magazines?
Yes - 2
No - 0
Sometimes- 8

5. How many times do you buy magazine
Everyday
Every week
Every month - 2
Every year -1
A few times a year- 6
Never - 1

This shows that not many young people buy music magazines regularly however music is a big part of young peoples life so they must be getting there music infomation else where maybe from the Internet from television.

6.What type genre magazines to do read?
Celeb gossip - 3

Gig info -2
New band info-2
existing band info-3
Politics-0
This show that young people are interested in tabloid magazines and information on existing artist but some were interested in gig info and new band, so i have decided to included all of these topics in my magazine as i think all these think are relevant for a music magazine however i won't include politic because i don't think that young people these days to mix politics and music.

7. What genre magazines do you read?
Hip hop -4
Pop -4
Rock -1
This shows that pop and hip-hop were most popular however i think this is the case in my survey because the people who done my survey like these genres but there is a hug range of rock magazine out there so i dont think there is a gap in the market for this kind of music

8. Would you prefer a magazine with one genre or a mixture of genes
Yes -5
No -5

There was an equal number in the people who wanted mixed genre and single genre which gives me the impression that people don't really mind weather the magazine has mixture of genre or not as long as they get there information.

music magazine outline

Outline

Name?
I Have decided to call my magazine Out loud, I think that Out loud is a good name for a music magazine because I think that people should celebrate what music they listen to and I don’t think music should be keep to one self but to be shared and played out loud hence the title music Out loud.

Genre of music?
I have chosen to use funky house, hip-hop, R&B and pop, because I know about this music and it will be easy for me to write about them also they were most popular in my survey. Also because these genre are linked and they influence each other.

Why have you chosen to do this?
I have chosen to do these genres because I know about this music and it will be easy for me to write about them also they were most popular in my survey. Also because these genre are linked and they influence each other.

Audience: My target audience is 13-17 year old because most o the people who done my survey were 13-17 year old and it is this people that like these genres and these genres is what they want in a magazine.

Institutions: If I were to publish my magazine I would use IPC because they have the budget to pay for printing and it will be good quality and professional. It will also be more mainstream

Design: For my music magazine I will do a simple font so it does draw attention from the images but for teasers and headline I would use a bright font to draw attention to it. This is the ‘look’ of the magazine will have an image on the front cover and the title in the corner and on the sides will be teasers my ideas for my front cover is to have an image if a band or an artist with instruments in the background with the title in the corner and teasers along the side of the page.

Language
I will use a balance of slang terms and easy to read language so it is easy for all people from all area will e able to understand as slang terms vary from areas. However I won’t use slang too much as I would only be using the old word and will mainly be using easy to understand language so young people will not find it to formal.

Kerrang!- the brand with attitude

The article is Stuart Williams, publishing director of Kerrang interviewed by Stephen hill. This article is about the way Kerrang! has positioned itself as the leading rock brand.
"Kerrang! is the world's biggest music weekly magazine", Stephen Hill has been working as the head of marketing for Kerrang for 18 months and it that time he has expanded the magazine into other media area, such as a radio station, in 2003 Kerrang radio station was set up and was the first major rock station in the west midlands, this as help the magazine name to become more known and has helped the magazine grow.
"Kerrang tend to ignore the stuff it doesn’t like and is just be enormously enthusiastic, passionate and evangelical about the stuff it does like" this shows that the magazine is for people who are very passionate about rock music as Kerrang is a rock magazine, I also get the impression that the magazine is for older people (people aged 16 and upwards) as I don’t think that very young people are as serious about the type of music they are into and young people are more interested in gossip.
"Kerrang role has been about educating and informing and passing on knowledge onto the next generation" this statement shows that my first perception of the magazine is not as I expected as I thought that Kerrang magazine was for an older generation however the magazine does attract young people and does include newer artist in their magazine, and after looking at an issue of their magazine I have seen that Kerrang has does have younger, popular artists and band in their magazine and does appeal to a younger audience.

Case study of NME magazine

NME is a music magazine which has been published weekly since March 1952. During the 1970s it became the best selling British magazine. It was closely associated to gonzo journalism which is written in a subjective way and the writer was often part of the story and would get involved in whatever they were writing about, which allows the reader to be able to relate the article and it feels more personal than if the magazine was written in an objective way. During the 1970s the magazine was also closely associated with Punk/rock which was the main genre of the magazine.
Nowadays the magazine has more of a variety of music in the magazine as this generation doesn’t really stick to a particularly genre of music and now listen to a mixture of music the magazine consists of rock, indie rock, rap, hip-hop and dance and this generation would want to read a magazine with different which includes all these genres. However as music has changed in the way it sounds many different genres have collaborated with each other letting themselves become known and popular with people interested in a different genres so NME has change the look of their magazine so a mixture of audience are likely to buy the magazine.
The cover has the typical forms of a front cover, it has the title, price, date, issue number and an image if a musican. The cover of the magazine is of “Dizzee Rascal” who is a rapper; this is an interesting cover choice as my perception of the NME was that it was mainly all about rock and indie rock but seeing Dizzee Rascal on the front cover who is a black rapper shows that NME has become more involved with different genres and are moving with the times and not sticking to a particular genre but a mixing different genre. The content page inside the magazine is very simple making it easy to navigate as the main articles page numbers are highlighted. the advertisment in the magazine is mainly drink, mobile, games, computer, clothes and music companies, i think that theese compaies have put their avertisments in NME magazine because they know that young people read this magazine and their products they are selling is mainly used by young people and young people are more intrested in their products. The magazine also has a lot of gig infomation about upcoming bands showing that NME try to support bands and artists trying to make it in the music industry.

Review of NME"Behind the line"

The article was written by Eva Wiseman, Observer music magazines, November 2008, I will be reviewing this magazine to understand what NME magazine think about the magazine industry.

Magazines have been having recent fall in sales “is readership falling 17.4 percent a year to little over 56,000…bloggers and media pundits started questioning whether the title has a future at all in its print incarnation.” this suggest that less people are buying magazine and maybe in the near future the magazine will stop selling in shops as not many people are buying the magazine but as this generation is not as interested in reading magazine as much, but are almost always online young people are less likely to read magazines but get their information of the internet. However “it recently registered 3,501,326 unique users online almost 2 million from June 2007” this shows that even though not as many people are buying magazine there is a huge fan base online which makes up for the falling magazine sales.
NME has been being published since 1952 and since then the magazine has changed drematicaly as before the magazine was all about rock muisc and now NME has a mixture of music in it. "People bang on about heritage, but we still offer a true alternative" showing that people still expect the magazine to be the same as it was and the magazine has changed since it firist stared and isnt as good as it was. I get the impression that adult who used to read NME magazine think that it isnt as good as it was but because todays genration have a different taste in music than before so NME has change the magazine as time has changed and has become more recent. I get the impression that adults who used to read NME magazine feel as if NME Magazine has lost its uniqueness.

Research on how magazines are reaching out across different media platforms to secure sales.

Due to the improvement of technology there are now different ways of finding out information, and magazines are trying to improve the way they reach to the public as less people are opting for magazines and instead finding other ways to access their information. Nowadays magazines are seen as “old media” and magazines sales are falling.

To increase sales magazine are turning to the internet as most the world is using the internet now and can get their information by it, not only can magazine websites be accessed by UK consumers but by consumers worldwide, also as advertisement companies are putting less money into ad campaigns in magazines and magazines gain a lot of income from ad campaigns, so as magazines have websites, advertisement companies put their ad on their websites which increased their income.

Also as there are now over 300 channel on TV due to sky and virgin media, particularly music magazines are making channels dedicated to the genre they appal to for example NME now has a TV channel, this also consumers to watch their favourite musician instead of read them since Television is more popular than magazines as this generation are more likely to watch TV than read a magazine.

Plummeting sales in magazine industry.

In recent years there has be a fall in the sales of magazine, some may blame the fall on the increase in internet users and the easy access to information on the internet. Magazine industries have started websites to give a more wide range of access to their information however due to this more people are using the websites instead of buying magazine which is what the industries want them to buy. Also more companies are withdrawing their ad campaigns from magazines and using it for internet advertising, which is reducing the profits music magazines are making and magazines are quite dependent on advertisement to make their profits.

Some may argue that the fall in magazine sales is due to the latest recession which many people have been affect by and I presume the magazine industries has been affected as magazines are considered by a luxuries and many people were losing their jobs and had to cut back on their luxuries therefore not buying as many magazines this may have caused a negative multiplier effect on the industry where people are not buying magazines.

Another factor which is decreasing magazine sales is that a lot of magazines are appealing to a certain genre particularly, woman as there are much more magazines are targeted at woman and girls than at young people and men. I think that magazines are targeting woman because woman are more loyal to a magazine whereas men and young people are not as loyal. As there is such a range of magazines marketing the same information woman can go for a different magazine instead of the same one.

Semotic anyalysis of Rolling stone cover issue 1080

The "Rolling Stone" magazine cover provides the typical conventions of a magazine such as title, issue number, teasers and price.

The image on the cover of the magazine is of a female music artist called "Lady Gaga" in the image she is surrounded by pink form and it appears that she is being covered by bubbles. This image is polysemic as the bubbles may suggest her new title of "Queen of pop" or it can just be showing off her wild fashion sense. The image slightly covers the title of the magazine which can emphasizes the sub title on the right and side of the magazine "the rise of Lady Gaga" The magazine also has teasers which many most magazine have to show what else consists in the magazine and the teasers also shows what kind of people read the magazine as people intrested in the teasers are likely to buy the magazine. This magazine is drawn to attract fans of Lady Gaga, who want to know more about her music and influences and what made her become what she is today.

The magazine is typically american, as even though this magazine is a music magazine it does include some aspects of politics seeing as some musicans included their views in ther music about the last presidental election and many people where intrested in their views and their invovlement also helped some people gain knowledge about the election and somes musicians used their music to show their support to the president they liked.

Inside the magazine there are various different artists from different genres, suggesting that the magazine is not for a particular type of audience but for people interested in music culture or people interested in all the different genres. The magazine doesn’t have much gossip, images and is very text based showing that the magazine is a more serious magazine and for people who like reading and are interested in musicians view. The magazine also has quite a lot of politics in it showing that music and politics are quite closely linked.