I would say that my music magazine challenges the forms and conventions of the music magazine industry today because rather than just looking at a particular genre (kerrang) or just looking at whats new (NME) I am looking at the whole picture and that includes old classic artists and music from generations ago, I also felt that it would to a wider audience this way, in fact it's meant to apeal to pretty much everyone because it looks at all different kinds of music. to look at these different genre I have different sections to my magazine such as the oldies section which looks at old music in particular, I have a top ten artists section which changes each issue because a different genre is looked at for example one issue it might be indie rock and thenext it might be pop .
Like NME I wanted to look at what was new in the music industry accept less tabloidy and more to do with the music because whilst I was in my reasearch stage of the project I realised that over the years NME's music content had declined and it became more tabloidy which is somthing that I don't like to see in music magazines, I want to read about music.
After the research I had done and generally having read different music magazines over the years I realized that there was'nt anything like what I have come up with, I also wanted to bring together the different music I love in my magazine and because the range of music I like is so wide I came up with this idea for a magazine. I also think that even though the younger generation will want to know what new sounds are out there that they are apreciating classics more and more.
Because my magazine looks at different music genres I had to kind of steryotype the different generations for example for the older generations, I have put a section on Jimi Hendrix in my oldies section because he is a music icon of the seventies (and just in the history of music) and for todays generation I have put added a section on Muse because they are very big right now and alot of todays youth really like them, I also added a section on the very popular metal band Slipknot because during my reasearch I read a couple of metal magazines (Kerrang, Metal Hammer) I saw thay they both had sections on their tenth anniversary so I thought that if I wanted my magazine to be one that kept with the times like NME does then I should include this so I did.
When looking into different magazines I realized that a good publisher for my magazine would be the same one that publishes The NME who are called Jellyfish. First of all because my m,agazine is similar to The NME in that it releases new information on current bands and artists but because this company specialises in publishing magaszines and has also published BBC Magazines and Which (more info on http://www.nme-magazine.com/company/publishers).
As I mentioned before one of my main inspirations for my magazines was to create a music magazine for everyone because it hadn't been done before so in terms of target audience I am not aiming this magazine at a specific age group or gender I wanted to create somehting that would essentialy satisfy everyone. I supose I had to come to one decision I would be that this magazine is aimed at music fanatics who are into all kinds of music and are not fixated on one specific genre which many are and that brings me back to my first point about universal apeal.
When it came to designing my magazine's look and layout I knew this would be I high point in my project because I am very creative and pationet for design and ilistration so I came up which a whole bunch of visual easter eegs to put in my magazine and I took alot of photographs which you will see in earlier blog posts, I am also skilled in the use of photoshop and publisher both of which I used to create and put together my final product. I found many interesting and cool fonts on the websit www.dafont.com which I used to add proffesionalism and an overall nice finish on my final product which I am quite satisfied with.
The images that I used in my magazine are very eyecatching and interesting for example my photos of the band I did my double page spread on are humerous and cool and I created some cool imagery using some sketches I scanned and coloured in on photoshop (see.
As I mentioned in the previous paragraph I used photoshop and publisher to put together my music magazine. Photoshop is something I have been using for a while now because I did many subjects that I could encorparate it with in GCSE such art art, graphics and media studies all of which I have continued in to A-level, I also used it in my work expirience during GCSE, I worked in a design company called 'Crumpled Dog Design' (http://www.crumpled-dog.com/). Not only is is a very useful program but I enjoy using it alot and I loved designing on photoshop for this project. Publisher is something that I have also been using for a while now and it has served me well, I have used it alot in this project, especially in the making of my magazine as it is a very sraight forward and effective program. using a blog to do all my coursework is actually new to me, in fact I had never created a blog before this project and I was quite worried when I was told this was how I had to hand in all my work but I have grow to like it alot, it is very easy to use and whenever I had some ideas or some research I could post it on the blog whenever which is a very convinient tool. The preliminary task was quite useful because it helped me to get to grips with using the blog and it prepared me for the task of creating my music magazine. it allowed me refresh my skills in both photoshop and publisher and I precticed researching which was good preperation for the main project.
Tuesday 29 December 2009
Friday 18 December 2009
Double page spread-page2
This is the second page to my double page spread and the last page of my magazine!Lkike the previous page I used a couple of full body shots accept they are of the other members of the band. I got some fonts from www.dafont.com and I put this page together with publisher.
This page features an interview with the band and an advertisment on the bottom banner. I also put a little box which has information about gigs and an upcoming tour.
Double page spread-page1
This is my first page of my double page spread. I used full body shots of two of the band members and the little shark image I created on photoshop. It includes a little add on the bottom and a little text about the band which I wrote.I pieced this together on publisher and I got some of the fonts from www.dafont.com
I
Intro to double page spread-page2
Here is the second page to my intro which has the other two members of the band and their little picture quotes.It also features a little bit of text titled 'Who the Hell are these Guys?' which just gives a little backround on them. again I pieced this together on publisher as I did with the previous page and I used fonts from, www.dafont.com.
Intro to double page spread-page1
As well as doing a double page spread I did a couple of pages to introduce it as many magazine have this for their main article. I used downloaded fonts from http://www.dafont.com/ and added some pictures I previously took.I added some text showing what the story is behind this band and how they have grabbed the world's attention and generally looking at their amazing success!
I decided to add little quotes from each band member in the framed picturs of them.
Final Contents Page
This is my final contents page which includes fonts that I downloaded off of www.dafont.com and some of my own images being the two images of the band members and the picture of Jimi Hendrix which I drew and scanned in to my computer and tweeked on Photoshop.
I have also included a little editor's note because I wanted to make this as professional looking as possible. I decided to add a little t-shirt advert as well because virtually every magazine regardless of genre have advertismets in them.
I pieced the magazine together on publisher because on this program it is very easy to manipulate images and text
Thursday 17 December 2009
My Final Magazine Cover!
Finally here it is, my final music magazine front cover!
My final product shows poictures of each band member in a different pose, it includes the shark image I created on photoshop as well as some fonts that I downloaded off the internet from the website: www.dafont.com and an image of a barcode which I found off of Google images.
I did the backround (the title, the shark, the grey box and the grey textured base) on photoshop and added the images og the band and the cover text on publisher because not only did they show up better but they were also easier to manipulate.
I am quite happy with my final product and I feel I have delivered a successful front covewr however I feel I could have made it look better; I think that the main improvement I coulde have made would be to present the images and text more professionally.
My final product shows poictures of each band member in a different pose, it includes the shark image I created on photoshop as well as some fonts that I downloaded off the internet from the website: www.dafont.com and an image of a barcode which I found off of Google images.
I did the backround (the title, the shark, the grey box and the grey textured base) on photoshop and added the images og the band and the cover text on publisher because not only did they show up better but they were also easier to manipulate.
I am quite happy with my final product and I feel I have delivered a successful front covewr however I feel I could have made it look better; I think that the main improvement I coulde have made would be to present the images and text more professionally.
Contents Page Screen Grab
Here is an image of my contents page in the making.
This contents page includes an editor's note, images of whats inside my magazine and a little list of whats in the magazine. It also has a little advert for t-shirts and a few visuals I drew and made on photoshop.
This contents page includes an editor's note, images of whats inside my magazine and a little list of whats in the magazine. It also has a little advert for t-shirts and a few visuals I drew and made on photoshop.
Extra visuals 2
Here are a few more extra visuals I created as I was tweeking my final magazine.
The first one is this image of a t-shirt I created which has an image of the cover art for one of my band's albums it is called 'Swimming with Astro Sharks' I created it to be part of an addvertismet to promote the band.
With this second image of Jimi Hendrix I was origionally going to just get an image of him off the internet but I then found out that all of my images have to be self taken or self made so I just got the nearest thing to draw on which was a piece of cardboard from a shoe box and drew Jimi on it and scanned it in. I then cropped it to the right size on publisher and added it to my contents page, I actually think the cardboard gives a nice effect.
Double page spread Screen Grabs
Here are a couple of screenshots of my double page spread drafts which will be going in to my magazine once tweeked a little more.
This is the first page of my double page spread. to make this got the image of the shark which I altered on photoshop and then I layed out the whole thing on publisher. I then pasted the writing which I had on another file and I added the images above it.
This page gives us a little bit of backround on the band and what they have achieved in so little time.
The second page has the interview with the band as well as some more images, it also has a little box with gig and tour information.
This is the first page of my double page spread. to make this got the image of the shark which I altered on photoshop and then I layed out the whole thing on publisher. I then pasted the writing which I had on another file and I added the images above it.This page gives us a little bit of backround on the band and what they have achieved in so little time.
The second page has the interview with the band as well as some more images, it also has a little box with gig and tour information.
Intro Pages Screen Grabs
As well as doing a double page spread I have also added an 'intro spread' for my double page spread because I thought this would be just like how it is donbe in real magazines plus I had a bunch of extra images!
The first page just gives us a little intro to tell us what we are about to read and generally the baisic jist of whats coming up.
The second page tells us who the band and that they are a new sensation who are taking the worlds attention by storm... you know the usual!
Front Cover Screen Grabs
Here are a couple of screen shots I took of the process of making a draft of my final cover.
This screenshot shows me working on the front cover in photoshop, I have added the title, the backround and the image of the shark which I talked about a couple of posts ago. to make It look really nice an professional I have added shadow to everything to give it a nice 3-d effect.
I then moved the work I did on photoshop on to publisher so I could add images and text. I moved it to publisher because my images and text showed up much clearer and nicer in publisher than they do in photoshop and it was they are just easier to manipulat using publisher.
This screenshot shows me working on the front cover in photoshop, I have added the title, the backround and the image of the shark which I talked about a couple of posts ago. to make It look really nice an professional I have added shadow to everything to give it a nice 3-d effect.
I then moved the work I did on photoshop on to publisher so I could add images and text. I moved it to publisher because my images and text showed up much clearer and nicer in publisher than they do in photoshop and it was they are just easier to manipulat using publisher.Magazine Pictures
I have finally taken the pictures I needed of my made up band and I can now start to put together a final magazine!
I took a few pictures of my friends as well as myself because we are the members of the band I made up. we are in a bunch of crazy and silly poses because these are the types of poses I see alot in music magazines and because I want to make this look like a real magazine that you would find in the shops I thought that these poses would work the best.
I took a few pictures of my friends as well as myself because we are the members of the band I made up. we are in a bunch of crazy and silly poses because these are the types of poses I see alot in music magazines and because I want to make this look like a real magazine that you would find in the shops I thought that these poses would work the best.
When I start to make my magazine I will pick out the best images and I will corpthem to the sizes they need to be.
Monday 14 December 2009
Extra Visuals
For the magazine I have come up with a few extra visuals such as band logos and front cover art for albums and here I will be showing a few that I have com up with.
This is an image of part of the cover art for one of my band's albums called 'Swimming with Astro Sharks'. What I did was I drew a picture of the logo and then scanned it in to my laptop, the image on the right of the photoshop window is of a previous design I did a while ago on paint which in my opinion does not look that good so what I did was I got the origional scan and I coloured it in on photoshop which now look alot better.
To create this image I used paint, the dodge tool, the burn tool, the patch tool, the blend tool, the smudge tool, the heal tool andf the magnetic lasso tool which I can say from experience is a far better range that paint! I enjoy using photoshop very much and this was alot of fun to create.
This is an image of part of the cover art for one of my band's albums called 'Swimming with Astro Sharks'. What I did was I drew a picture of the logo and then scanned it in to my laptop, the image on the right of the photoshop window is of a previous design I did a while ago on paint which in my opinion does not look that good so what I did was I got the origional scan and I coloured it in on photoshop which now look alot better.
To create this image I used paint, the dodge tool, the burn tool, the patch tool, the blend tool, the smudge tool, the heal tool andf the magnetic lasso tool which I can say from experience is a far better range that paint! I enjoy using photoshop very much and this was alot of fun to create.
Tuesday 8 December 2009
Double Page Spread Rough Draft
This draft of my double page spread is just to get some ideas down and my final draft will probably be longer.
The first time I saw these guys it was in a gig for loads of 'Un-knowns', there where some pretty average bands there with nothing special about them, I mean no one thought anyone there would make themselves known, it was nothing special, just a bunchof bands coming together and playing for some people who had nothing better to do, I belive it was called Wild-Stock or something (origional right). I thought to myself this was "it for these guys" and no one would remember them, then about 18 months later I hear a familiar band playing a song called 'Oh S*!? Zombies' and I thinking "I know these guys" and I was glad because I knew now that they would make it big I just, didn't think anyone thought so but I am glad I was proven wrong.
To be honest I did think they stood out from the rest of the bands playing because with song titles like 'Oh S*!? Zombies@ you can see where I coming from when I say they wern't exactly 'Run of the Mil'. I am also glad they are becoming known because while there are loads of great knew artists out there right know they aren't really coming up with anything knew and different because to be honest most of these knew artists are getting a bit same same and Radioactive Righteousness is that different musical expirience that I think the music world needs it's likea healthy dose of weird just to spice things up a little.
Fortunatly I managed to get an interview with the boys about a week ago which was suprisingly easy, as soon as theyknew I saw one of their early gigs they thought it would be "Awesome" they even let me do it in their studio which to looked like a boys bedroom for lack of a better description; there were comics, video games and junk everywhere as well as the recording equipmnet and instruments of course.
Q: So how long have you guys been playing together for?
A: Well we've actually been friends scince high school and we used to jam after school almost every day so after a while we thought why the hell not make a band cos thats baisically what we were any ways. Jay-Me and jake have actually known each other scince primary school then we met Rish and a couple of years after that Miguel came along to our school and I all kicked off from there I guess.
Q: Tell me, who does your song writting or is it done by one of you?
A:Well we do all of our song writting but we kind of take it in turns but not in the sense that who ever wrote a song last the next person after has to; when ever we each come up with something we share it with each other and it takes off from their but we all usually pitch in on tweaking it and making it better.
Q: So what kind of stuff do you guys do in your free time?
well besides song writting as you can see from the state of this place we a still children at heart; we love to play videogames, watch movies and cartoons, read comic books and all kinds of stuff, Jay and Miguel- scince we met we just got along and then we descovered our interests in comics and stories and have bee coming up with comic ideas scince and whenever we come up with stuff we share it with the rest of the guys and ask for ideas much like our music, Miguel- scince I am also pationet about drawing I draw all the comics we come up with, I also do all the cover art for all of our albums. Rishi- I love to make thsose little warhammer figures and paint them, Iv'e been doing it scince I was a kid.
Q: How are you finding this whole new stardom expirience?
A: Its pretty freaky but of coarse we're enjoying it you know what I mean? it's like we've just taken a step up and it's great that we can do what we love for a living, it's like every persons dream to do what they love for a living and we are living it and I know that it sounds cliche but that pretty much the best way of describing it.
With their new album 'Swimming with Astro Sharks out now, a bunch of gigs line up and a tour in the works Radioactive Righteousness have taken our attention by storm and are the biggest thing in the record business!
The first time I saw these guys it was in a gig for loads of 'Un-knowns', there where some pretty average bands there with nothing special about them, I mean no one thought anyone there would make themselves known, it was nothing special, just a bunchof bands coming together and playing for some people who had nothing better to do, I belive it was called Wild-Stock or something (origional right). I thought to myself this was "it for these guys" and no one would remember them, then about 18 months later I hear a familiar band playing a song called 'Oh S*!? Zombies' and I thinking "I know these guys" and I was glad because I knew now that they would make it big I just, didn't think anyone thought so but I am glad I was proven wrong.
To be honest I did think they stood out from the rest of the bands playing because with song titles like 'Oh S*!? Zombies@ you can see where I coming from when I say they wern't exactly 'Run of the Mil'. I am also glad they are becoming known because while there are loads of great knew artists out there right know they aren't really coming up with anything knew and different because to be honest most of these knew artists are getting a bit same same and Radioactive Righteousness is that different musical expirience that I think the music world needs it's likea healthy dose of weird just to spice things up a little.
Fortunatly I managed to get an interview with the boys about a week ago which was suprisingly easy, as soon as theyknew I saw one of their early gigs they thought it would be "Awesome" they even let me do it in their studio which to looked like a boys bedroom for lack of a better description; there were comics, video games and junk everywhere as well as the recording equipmnet and instruments of course.
Q: So how long have you guys been playing together for?
A: Well we've actually been friends scince high school and we used to jam after school almost every day so after a while we thought why the hell not make a band cos thats baisically what we were any ways. Jay-Me and jake have actually known each other scince primary school then we met Rish and a couple of years after that Miguel came along to our school and I all kicked off from there I guess.
Q: Tell me, who does your song writting or is it done by one of you?
A:Well we do all of our song writting but we kind of take it in turns but not in the sense that who ever wrote a song last the next person after has to; when ever we each come up with something we share it with each other and it takes off from their but we all usually pitch in on tweaking it and making it better.
Q: So what kind of stuff do you guys do in your free time?
well besides song writting as you can see from the state of this place we a still children at heart; we love to play videogames, watch movies and cartoons, read comic books and all kinds of stuff, Jay and Miguel- scince we met we just got along and then we descovered our interests in comics and stories and have bee coming up with comic ideas scince and whenever we come up with stuff we share it with the rest of the guys and ask for ideas much like our music, Miguel- scince I am also pationet about drawing I draw all the comics we come up with, I also do all the cover art for all of our albums. Rishi- I love to make thsose little warhammer figures and paint them, Iv'e been doing it scince I was a kid.
Q: How are you finding this whole new stardom expirience?
A: Its pretty freaky but of coarse we're enjoying it you know what I mean? it's like we've just taken a step up and it's great that we can do what we love for a living, it's like every persons dream to do what they love for a living and we are living it and I know that it sounds cliche but that pretty much the best way of describing it.
With their new album 'Swimming with Astro Sharks out now, a bunch of gigs line up and a tour in the works Radioactive Righteousness have taken our attention by storm and are the biggest thing in the record business!
Monday 7 December 2009
Music Magazine Front cover (Rough Drafts)
Before I start to take pictures and create my final music magazine cover I thought that it would be a good idea to draw up some rough drafts of what my final cover could look like when it is finished. I also think that it is a good idea because if there is an element of one which i like and an element of another which i like I can combine ideas to create a really good result which has the best characteristics of each front cover I have designed.
Initially I havwe come up with three cover ideas which are baisically rough visuals of all the ideas I have and I thought it would be good to get them down on paper so that I had something to look at and could think about i more detail.
Cover 1
This cover has a clear view of all the band members which are actually me and three of my friends. behind the ban is an image of the band's logo which is a combination of the very popular smiley image and commonly seen in tv and film the radioactive caution symbol reason being the band I have come up with for this magazine is called 'Radioactive Righteousnes' Which I now realize I have forgotten to add to this draft but this can be improved upon. . on either side of the band there are images relating to an album I made up for them called 'Swimming With Astro Sharks'. I thought that it would be funny to put us in order of height because our tallest member is rediculosly tall (about 6ft 4 If I can remeber) and our shortest member is very short, I think this adds to the image that band's hummer and non-seriousness which I am trying to get across.
Cover 2
This cover is quite a bit different; I have written the name of the magazine in thiker more boxy text because I fwelt thet the previous font was just to thin and scratchy, I also think that this font would be clearer to the reader. On this cover I have added teasers to what is inside the magazine and the name of the band, this was mainly to get a good idea of where the teasers would go if this were to end up as the final design and also to get an idea of what teasers I will be putting on my front cover.
The image of the band members themselves I have decided to put the min the classic box with four sections. I feel that giving each bend member their own "frame" shos they are all eaqully important to the band as is the case with virtually every band and also that each member adds a certain elememt of personality and diversity to thae band, I also thought it would be a good idea to have each member in a different pose or pulling a different face as this would give the reader a little idea of what that particullar band member is like.
Cover 3
For this front cover I have decided to go with the same kind of font for the name as I feel it is effectivebecause of it's clarity and boldness. I decided to put the teasers all over the magazine to give it more of an exiting kind of look and because the double page spread on Radioactive Righteousness is the main article in this magazine I have decided to make it the biggest piece of text besides the title.
The main image of the band is again different and more exiting I think, it shows the band lined up and in perspective and each member is wearing a black t-shirt with the band logo on it.
I think that each design has something special about it and when designing my final front cover I will take each design in to account and I will probably end up using different elements from each design.
Initially I havwe come up with three cover ideas which are baisically rough visuals of all the ideas I have and I thought it would be good to get them down on paper so that I had something to look at and could think about i more detail.
Cover 1
This cover has a clear view of all the band members which are actually me and three of my friends. behind the ban is an image of the band's logo which is a combination of the very popular smiley image and commonly seen in tv and film the radioactive caution symbol reason being the band I have come up with for this magazine is called 'Radioactive Righteousnes' Which I now realize I have forgotten to add to this draft but this can be improved upon. . on either side of the band there are images relating to an album I made up for them called 'Swimming With Astro Sharks'. I thought that it would be funny to put us in order of height because our tallest member is rediculosly tall (about 6ft 4 If I can remeber) and our shortest member is very short, I think this adds to the image that band's hummer and non-seriousness which I am trying to get across.
Cover 2
This cover is quite a bit different; I have written the name of the magazine in thiker more boxy text because I fwelt thet the previous font was just to thin and scratchy, I also think that this font would be clearer to the reader. On this cover I have added teasers to what is inside the magazine and the name of the band, this was mainly to get a good idea of where the teasers would go if this were to end up as the final design and also to get an idea of what teasers I will be putting on my front cover.
The image of the band members themselves I have decided to put the min the classic box with four sections. I feel that giving each bend member their own "frame" shos they are all eaqully important to the band as is the case with virtually every band and also that each member adds a certain elememt of personality and diversity to thae band, I also thought it would be a good idea to have each member in a different pose or pulling a different face as this would give the reader a little idea of what that particullar band member is like.
Cover 3
For this front cover I have decided to go with the same kind of font for the name as I feel it is effectivebecause of it's clarity and boldness. I decided to put the teasers all over the magazine to give it more of an exiting kind of look and because the double page spread on Radioactive Righteousness is the main article in this magazine I have decided to make it the biggest piece of text besides the title.
The main image of the band is again different and more exiting I think, it shows the band lined up and in perspective and each member is wearing a black t-shirt with the band logo on it.
I think that each design has something special about it and when designing my final front cover I will take each design in to account and I will probably end up using different elements from each design.
Thursday 26 November 2009
My Music Magazine Outline
Outline: I want my magazine to look at both present and old bands e.g. a band that has come back together after a few years to release a new album or an upcoming band. I will focus mainly on new ones and will have a mini ‘oldies’ section where I will look at classic bands and artists.
Name: I have decided to go with the name because after doing a little survey of which name would be best out of the names I came up with in the previous post the majority of people liked the name ‘Sync’ because it was short and catchy. I also feel that it links to my magazine well because sync is a term used when two things are happening at the same time or when play sounds together or when someone sings in perfect synchronicity with music which is great because my magazine is obviously a music magazine and it keeps people in formed or in ‘Sync’ with what’s new and good in terms of music these days.
Genre: I will be looking at the music industry kind of as a whole as I will bee looking at new music like ‘NME’ does however I will also look at some genres of music the NME does not such as Metal bands. I will also look at some old bands in my ‘oldies’ section because not only will in appeal to older readers but because a lot of old music is being liked by younger people more and more it will appeal to the younger readers as well.
Why have I chosen to do this? : Well I like the whole modern keeping with the times thing that NME has but I realised that there are some genres of music that NME do not look at mainly Metal bands and because metal is one of my favourite genres of music I feel like I combine the two magazines and look at all different kinds of music including metal plus the stuff NME covers.
Target audience: My magazine is mainly for the younger generation however a small part of my magazine does cover old bands and artists as I mentioned before so there is a small appeal for the older generation but it is predominantly aimed at young people. : Well I like the whole modern keeping with the times thing that NME has but I realised that there are some genres of music that NME do not look at mainly Metal bands and because metal is one of my favourite genres of music I feel like I combine the two magazines and look at all different kinds of music including metal plus the stuff NME covers.
Name: I have decided to go with the name because after doing a little survey of which name would be best out of the names I came up with in the previous post the majority of people liked the name ‘Sync’ because it was short and catchy. I also feel that it links to my magazine well because sync is a term used when two things are happening at the same time or when play sounds together or when someone sings in perfect synchronicity with music which is great because my magazine is obviously a music magazine and it keeps people in formed or in ‘Sync’ with what’s new and good in terms of music these days.
Genre: I will be looking at the music industry kind of as a whole as I will bee looking at new music like ‘NME’ does however I will also look at some genres of music the NME does not such as Metal bands. I will also look at some old bands in my ‘oldies’ section because not only will in appeal to older readers but because a lot of old music is being liked by younger people more and more it will appeal to the younger readers as well.
Why have I chosen to do this? : Well I like the whole modern keeping with the times thing that NME has but I realised that there are some genres of music that NME do not look at mainly Metal bands and because metal is one of my favourite genres of music I feel like I combine the two magazines and look at all different kinds of music including metal plus the stuff NME covers.
Target audience: My magazine is mainly for the younger generation however a small part of my magazine does cover old bands and artists as I mentioned before so there is a small appeal for the older generation but it is predominantly aimed at young people. : Well I like the whole modern keeping with the times thing that NME has but I realised that there are some genres of music that NME do not look at mainly Metal bands and because metal is one of my favourite genres of music I feel like I combine the two magazines and look at all different kinds of music including metal plus the stuff NME covers.
Possible Magazine names
A name is obviously an important part of the magazine because that is what it is called and what everyone will know it by besides what it is about, In fact a name is important for anything, they have to be memorable cool relevant and catchy which is actually another important factor because if a magazine has a long name it is less likely to become know and popular.
It is always good when the name of a magazine has something to do with the magazine itslef or can be linked to it in some way for example the name 'NME' is directly linked to the magazine because it is short for 'New Music Express' and the magazine looks at all of the modern bands that are out at the moment anbd upcoming ones we can expect to see more of in the near future.
I want my magazine to be similar to this, I want to look at whats new in terms of music, bands artists what ever is out there thats new and people would want to know about
Here are som names that I have come up with which I think link well to my magazine and are catchy:
It is always good when the name of a magazine has something to do with the magazine itslef or can be linked to it in some way for example the name 'NME' is directly linked to the magazine because it is short for 'New Music Express' and the magazine looks at all of the modern bands that are out at the moment anbd upcoming ones we can expect to see more of in the near future.
I want my magazine to be similar to this, I want to look at whats new in terms of music, bands artists what ever is out there thats new and people would want to know about
Here are som names that I have come up with which I think link well to my magazine and are catchy:
- Sync
- In Sync
- Sync It
- Syncronize
- Current
- Wave
- Bytes
I am not sure of which one I will pick yet but I will probably narrow it down in terms of what is the catchyest and coolest.
Friday 16 October 2009
Case study of METAL HAMMER magazine
METAL HAMER is one of the most well known metal magazines that you can buy nowadays and is very popular amongst the die-hard metal fans out there.
The Magazine
As soon as you pick up the latest issue of METAL HAMMER you don't need to be a reader to know that this magazine is not cheap. METAL HAMMER comes in a sealed bag which in this case came with a cd and a large poster to get the reader that little bit more intetrested in buying it. The front cover rather than being made of the same material as the rest of the magazine is made of glossy card and the graphics and imaging used can't of been cheap either because the image of the band (alice in chains) has been put on a digitaly created backround and the guitar in the hands of Jerry Cantrell has been digitaly made to look like it's slowly being engulfed by flames.This magazins retails at £3.99 which is at the top end of magazine prices in generall which is quite pricey in my opinion which is why I don't buy every issue but there are many out there who are willing to pay that much for every issue because it has alot to offer to the reader.
Imagery
With METAL HAMMER I wasn't suprised with the imagery. you had the classic pictures of metal bands posing and on the front cover of the latest issue (above) Sean Kinney from Alice in Chains is putting up his middle finger. looking inside the magazine I can see loads of images of bands such as slipknot with scary masks and prisoner convict outfits and there are loads of images with Satanic and deathly references such as demons, maggots and fire. Common font styles used in these sorts of magazines referance gothic culture which many metal bands use and generaly the sort of imagery used in this magazine looks very similar to the front covers and merchandise of metal bands.
Commercial aspect
METAL HAMMER obviously has lots of information about the current metal bands aand generally everything to do with the genre that someone who is in to metal and reads this magazine would want to know, however there is alot of advertisment that has been put in to this magazine for quite a large range of things but that would all apeal to someone who reads this magazine. There are the conventional advertisments that you would expect to find in a magazine like this such as CD albums and singles being released, upcoming festivals, upcoming gigs and all thatsort of thing but there are also adds for alot of merchandise and products such as DVDs, electric guitars and clothing , in fact there is a whole other little catalogue that comes with the magazine which is filled with clothes accessories and gadgets which all to do with the metal genre.
Overall contents of the magazine
METAL HAMMER look at the current metal bands out there in cluding new ones and classics plus I can tell from having read a few ohter metal magazines that METAL HAMMER is a magazine that keeps with the times because I have noticed that the other magazines I have read have been look ing at the fact that the band Slip Knot's tenth anniverssary was this year and Metal Hammer have also picked up on this and have dedicated a whole five page spread to the exeadingly popular metal legends. Aswell as looking at the expected things in a metal magazine which i have just covered this magazine covers a fewmore things; They have sections where they list popular movies and review them, sections that review new gameas such as guiter hero and generally things that would apeal to the reader and in a way it is like a break from the the metal so to speak.
Music magazine questionaire
I decided that it would be a good idea to do a little market research to find out how to make my magazine interesting and apealing to todays readers of music magazines so I have created a little questionnaire consisting of ten simple questions about the music/magazine industry.
Here is my questionnaire:
1. What Gender are you?
Male
Female
2. How old are you?
16-18
18-20
20-25
25+
Other
3. How often do you read Music Magazines?
Every day
Every Week
Every Month
A few times a year
Never
4. Which of these Magazines (if any) do you read? (you can pick more than one)
NME
Q
Mojo
Rolling Stone
KERRANG!
Metal Hammer
Top of the Pops
Other
5. What type of music do you listen to? (you can pick more than one)
Rock & Roll
Indie Rock
R&B
Metal
Rap
Country Rock
Classic Rock
Other
6. How much are you usually willing to pay for a Music Magazine?
£2-£2.50
£3-£3.50
£4-£4.50
£4.50+
7. When do you usualy read your Magazines once you buy them?
As soon as you buy them
Throughout the day
Throughout the week
When you get home from work/school
Other
8. What do you usualy do with your magazines once you’ve read them?
Keep them
Throw them away
Give them to a friend or family member
Other
9. Do you prefer to buy a magazine or find out the information you want on the internet?
Buy a Magazine
Go on the internet
10. What are the main pieces of information you want know when you read a music magazine? (you can pick more than one)
What new albums/singles are being released
Who are releasing new albums/singles
Information about the personal lives of artists/bands
To find out about up coming gigs/tours/festivals
To find out about new bands
Other
Hopefuly this will give me some insight in to the music magazine industry and help me to start work on my own music magazine and what will go in it.
Here is my questionnaire:
1. What Gender are you?
Male
Female
2. How old are you?
16-18
18-20
20-25
25+
Other
3. How often do you read Music Magazines?
Every day
Every Week
Every Month
A few times a year
Never
4. Which of these Magazines (if any) do you read? (you can pick more than one)
NME
Q
Mojo
Rolling Stone
KERRANG!
Metal Hammer
Top of the Pops
Other
5. What type of music do you listen to? (you can pick more than one)
Rock & Roll
Indie Rock
R&B
Metal
Rap
Country Rock
Classic Rock
Other
6. How much are you usually willing to pay for a Music Magazine?
£2-£2.50
£3-£3.50
£4-£4.50
£4.50+
7. When do you usualy read your Magazines once you buy them?
As soon as you buy them
Throughout the day
Throughout the week
When you get home from work/school
Other
8. What do you usualy do with your magazines once you’ve read them?
Keep them
Throw them away
Give them to a friend or family member
Other
9. Do you prefer to buy a magazine or find out the information you want on the internet?
Buy a Magazine
Go on the internet
10. What are the main pieces of information you want know when you read a music magazine? (you can pick more than one)
What new albums/singles are being released
Who are releasing new albums/singles
Information about the personal lives of artists/bands
To find out about up coming gigs/tours/festivals
To find out about new bands
Other
Hopefuly this will give me some insight in to the music magazine industry and help me to start work on my own music magazine and what will go in it.
Tuesday 13 October 2009
Review of news article 'Behind NME Lines'
I will be looking at Eva Wiseman's article in the Observer Music Magazine about her weeks experience in the NME magazine headquaters and the different views on what NME used to be and what it is now.
The Internet has had a big impact on the sales of NME as people can just as easily look at blogs containing articles withe the same information as we could find in the latest issue of NME and it's not just other media stealing readers, its also to do with the magazine itself for example Wiseman writes "I was 15 and the NME was important. Pre-Jarvis at the Brits, pre-tabloid invasion and internet saturation, it was the only place I read about music." this gives us a breif overview of the main factors into NME's decline over the past few decades and shows us that it was not just because of the internet but that NME has become more tabloidy and less about the music overall.
Later in the article Wiseman shows the extent of the decline of readers for NME: 17.4 percent year on year to little over 56,000. As far as magazine sales go it's not just NME who are declining, its the whole music magazine industry which is going down in very similar (baisically the same) ways; Wiseman mentions this in the article "Other specialist music magazines are suffering similarly, with Q Magazine seeing circulation fall 13.1 percent to 113,174 year on year" This shows that in general music magazines are apearing to be a duying media form with things like the internet and tv to replace it and in my opinion (and I'm sure I speak for many others) it is quite sad that music magazines have changed so much and that people of my generation and onwards will not get the same experiance as those who read music magazines twenty-thirty years ago.
Monday 12 October 2009
Music Magazine Types
When it comes to Music magazines, there are many different ones which cover different areas in the music world. There are so many different aspects of the music industry which people want to know about; wether it the music itself, the artists or just whats new in music as it is such a widespread and popular aspect of our lives which just keeps on growing.
In my opinion (and I probably speak for many if not most) the best music magazine on the market are the ones which focus mainly on the music itself and the artists/slash band because after all they are music magazine and whilst it may sound like I have stated the obvious alot of music magazines that you get these days do not focus mainly on the music.
Some magazine will look prodominantly at the behaviour and backround of artists and bands as opposed to the music element for example if there was an artist who was going through a drugs phase and another artist who had say just re-leased an album many magazines would look more at the one who was going through a drugs phase because at the end of the day this is what grabs people's attention and you could say thet this is one of the reasons why music magazines are duying, because there may not be enough magazines out there for the people who want to know about the music and because of this sales have gone down. these are baisicaly very tabloid- esque music magazines which I personally am very against because in my opinion this takes away the purpose of the music magazine, however this is just my opinion and I don't want ot make this to biased.
I know that there is a very large market for these types of magazines and this is exactly what some people want to read on a regular basis because it can give them a low down on how their favourite bands or artists personal lives are going and wether or not it is affecting their music carears.
you also get magazines which look at the music industry as a whole including artist's/band's backrounds, whats at the top of the charts, what tours are coming up, the releases of new albums etc. these are sort of all-round music news magazines not to say that all music magazines do not provide us with news on the current status of the music industry but some magazines prodominatly look at whats new.
In my opinion (and I probably speak for many if not most) the best music magazine on the market are the ones which focus mainly on the music itself and the artists/slash band because after all they are music magazine and whilst it may sound like I have stated the obvious alot of music magazines that you get these days do not focus mainly on the music.
Some magazine will look prodominantly at the behaviour and backround of artists and bands as opposed to the music element for example if there was an artist who was going through a drugs phase and another artist who had say just re-leased an album many magazines would look more at the one who was going through a drugs phase because at the end of the day this is what grabs people's attention and you could say thet this is one of the reasons why music magazines are duying, because there may not be enough magazines out there for the people who want to know about the music and because of this sales have gone down. these are baisicaly very tabloid- esque music magazines which I personally am very against because in my opinion this takes away the purpose of the music magazine, however this is just my opinion and I don't want ot make this to biased.
I know that there is a very large market for these types of magazines and this is exactly what some people want to read on a regular basis because it can give them a low down on how their favourite bands or artists personal lives are going and wether or not it is affecting their music carears.
you also get magazines which look at the music industry as a whole including artist's/band's backrounds, whats at the top of the charts, what tours are coming up, the releases of new albums etc. these are sort of all-round music news magazines not to say that all music magazines do not provide us with news on the current status of the music industry but some magazines prodominatly look at whats new.
Thursday 8 October 2009
Why are Magazine sales plumeting in todays magazine industry?
There are many different factors that come in to magazine sales having gone down in the last few years some being more direct and noticable that others and some having started out as minor problems and growing into big problems as the years went by.
Here are the figures of music and film magazines for the first half of 2008
Dance Music
-ixmag 34,073, down 8.3 per cent year-on-year
-WD 31,333 down 5.1 per cent
Rock Music
Q 113,174 down 13.1 per cent
Mojo 106,367 down 5.1 per cent
The Fly 105,212 up 11.1 per cent
Uncut 86,925 up 1.2 per cent
Classic Rock 66,632 down 0.9 per cent
Kerrang! 60,290 down 27.9 per cent
NME 56,284 down 17.4 per cent
Metal Hammer 48,540 down 1.2 per cent
Rock Sound 22,527 down 3.2 per cent
Other Music
Word Magazine 33,775 down 3 per cent
Film & Video Reviews
Cineworld Unlimited 500,500 no change
Empire 187,202 up 4.4 per cent
Total Film 84,520 down 1.3 per cent.
The Economy
One of the main and most obvious factors is the current recession we are going through; it has affected almost everthing about our lifestyle including the prices of products, businesses and peoples employment. Because many people are trying to cut down on the more unneccesary things which include magazines because magazines on average cost about £3-£4 which may not seem like all that much but it adds up to a fairly large amount when you think about how many people buy because some people buy more than one magazine and poeple even subscribe to them on the internet whci again can add up to large sums of money.
Other Media Forms
Another major factor is the fact that because of all the media forms we have today we can find out the things we would in a magazine from other forms of media.
The Internet
one of the main scources we can get this information from is the internet. there are many websites which show the information,articles and pictures we would get from a magazine, many people prefer to do this rather than buy a magazine because it is cheaper and they don't get all the adds they would in a magazine; it is the same principle as downloading music on to an mp3 player rather than going out and buying a CD. people are even able to access the internet on their phones so they can look for the information they would find in magazines on their phones instead.
T.V. and Radio
People can also find out about the issues looked at in magazine by watching programs on television which look at the same thing that the magazine does and radio stations that have talk about these issues aswell. even some magazine have spawned their own t.v. and radio stations which some people are focussing on more than the magazine itself meaing that even though the magazine company has expanded in the media they begin to loose magazine sales.
Conclusion
Overall I think that Magazine are facing up to new media forms which is making it harder for magazines because in some ways they have been replaced by major media forms and I think that Magazines will never have as many sales as they did years ago.
Here are the figures of music and film magazines for the first half of 2008
Dance Music
-ixmag 34,073, down 8.3 per cent year-on-year
-WD 31,333 down 5.1 per cent
Rock Music
Q 113,174 down 13.1 per cent
Mojo 106,367 down 5.1 per cent
The Fly 105,212 up 11.1 per cent
Uncut 86,925 up 1.2 per cent
Classic Rock 66,632 down 0.9 per cent
Kerrang! 60,290 down 27.9 per cent
NME 56,284 down 17.4 per cent
Metal Hammer 48,540 down 1.2 per cent
Rock Sound 22,527 down 3.2 per cent
Other Music
Word Magazine 33,775 down 3 per cent
Film & Video Reviews
Cineworld Unlimited 500,500 no change
Empire 187,202 up 4.4 per cent
Total Film 84,520 down 1.3 per cent.
The Economy
One of the main and most obvious factors is the current recession we are going through; it has affected almost everthing about our lifestyle including the prices of products, businesses and peoples employment. Because many people are trying to cut down on the more unneccesary things which include magazines because magazines on average cost about £3-£4 which may not seem like all that much but it adds up to a fairly large amount when you think about how many people buy because some people buy more than one magazine and poeple even subscribe to them on the internet whci again can add up to large sums of money.
Other Media Forms
Another major factor is the fact that because of all the media forms we have today we can find out the things we would in a magazine from other forms of media.
The Internet
one of the main scources we can get this information from is the internet. there are many websites which show the information,articles and pictures we would get from a magazine, many people prefer to do this rather than buy a magazine because it is cheaper and they don't get all the adds they would in a magazine; it is the same principle as downloading music on to an mp3 player rather than going out and buying a CD. people are even able to access the internet on their phones so they can look for the information they would find in magazines on their phones instead.
T.V. and Radio
People can also find out about the issues looked at in magazine by watching programs on television which look at the same thing that the magazine does and radio stations that have talk about these issues aswell. even some magazine have spawned their own t.v. and radio stations which some people are focussing on more than the magazine itself meaing that even though the magazine company has expanded in the media they begin to loose magazine sales.
Conclusion
Overall I think that Magazine are facing up to new media forms which is making it harder for magazines because in some ways they have been replaced by major media forms and I think that Magazines will never have as many sales as they did years ago.
Wednesday 7 October 2009
What other media forms have spawned off of magazines as they have grown?
As music magazines become more popular and successful the companys look for new waysto get themselves more involved in todays media. This not only allows the magazine companies to keep their readers interested with something new but it also makes them better known by the public and it can get new people interested in buying their magazine because any other media forms that magazine get involved in will always advertise their own magazine and whatever else they have got.
I have chosen to look at kerrang magazine. Kerrang is a music magazine which focusses on the different genres of metal that we have today and all the different genres that are still being created. Kerrang of started off as a magazine which became very popular amongst those who were in to metal music and metal gigs and they realised that they needed to expand on their busines and become more than just a magazine . Kerrang have a website where they put information about their magazine e.g. whats in the latest issue, when its coming out, how much it will be and they have information about their other media forms.
Kerrang Radio and tv
Kerrang have a radio station which plays metal music and all the bands and artists that they look at in their magazine. thay also do interviews with metal artists and bands and they discuss new events and bands to do whith Kerrang and Metal music .
Kerrang also have a television channel where they show music videos of metal band and they show tours and interviews with different bands and artists to do with the genre.
The most recent instalation in the Kerrang company have something called Kerrang tour which is baisically a tour of loads of different bands and artists and the progress of the tour is followed by their television channel, their radio station, their website and of coarse their magazine.
Semiotic deconstruction of NME front coverThe music magazine that I have decided to write about is NME (New Music Express) a well known music magazine focusing on modern artists and bands. The dominant image on the front cover of this magazine issue is the band Muse followed by Muse written in large letters and although it is not the title it is the biggest bit of text on the front cover which suggests that the band Muse are the main item in this particular issue of NME. The picture shows three men of around mid-twentys to early thirtys who make up the band Muse which suggests that this magazine is for young people of teenage years to thirtys.
The band members of muse are all wearing clothes which are in fashion e.g. blazer, cardigen, t-shirts with weird designs etc and even though the cover is in colour the band members are wearing fairly dark colours such as black and grey which is also in fashion which suggests that this magazine is looking at modern music e.g. indie rock.
The title NME is being covered slightly by the image of Muse which may mean that this magazine is well known enough that even a glimpse at the title is enough for people to know what the magazine is. The cover is also dominated by teasers and snip-its of what is inside of the magazine so that people become interested and would buy it because that want to read more.
The band members have average looks on their faces with quite confident poses to go with them and in a way they are sort of representing modern clothing and hair styles.
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