Audience Questionnaire

While creating a music magazine you should always keep your audience in mind, therefore to help me create the best possible magazine I have created a questionnaire to help me understand what an audience would like to see on the cover and the inside of a magazine.

I am an AS media student and as a part of my coursework I am creating a music magazine and the genre I have chosen for my magazine is alternative rock. Please answer the following questions to help with my research:

1. Name?

2. Age?

3. Gender?

4. Out of these names which would you prefer for a music magazine?

- Pause

- Amped

- Unplugged

- Notes

- Replay

5. In a monthly magazine what kind of articles would you expect to see?

- Concert reviews

- Album reviews

- Artist interviews

- Competitions

- New and upcoming artists

- Other..........................................................................................

6. What artists would you expect to see in an alternative rock magazine?

Please state at least 2 below

......................................................................................................................

7. Would you prefer a formal or informal approach to the magazine?





8. Which colours you associate with an alternative rock magazine?

- Black, Red, White

- Black, White

- Dark blue, White, Red

- Green, Grey, White

- Other..........................................................................................

9. Would you be interested in advertisements of upcoming albums and gigs?





10. How much would you pay for a monthly music magazine?

- £2.00

- £2.50

- £2.75

- £3.00

Audiences

What is an audience?

An audience is a indivdual or collective group of people who read or consume any media text, while creating any media product the audience are always kept in mind because they are the people who will recieve it and make sense of it. However without an audience there wouldnt be any media, no audience means no profit which means there isnt enough money to create magazines. Audience can be defined by age, gender and nationality

My target audience are ages 18-34 both male and female because both genders listen to this genre of music and therefore would enjoy reading this magazine. I think that the maximum age for this type of magazine would be 28 because people above that age would be more likely to read more formal text such as newspapers. The percentage of kerrang readers that are male and female are very close however there are more male readers because men generally listen to rock music more than women and therefore want to read about who they're listening to. I think this is because there are more all male bands than women in the rock industry which means there are more idols for men to look up to than women because most women prefer to have a female to idolise and look up to, therefore on the front cover of my magazine it will feature an all woman band.

The data above shows that the highest percentage of readers are of the age rang of 15-24 and the second highest is 25-34, therefore I have chosen my age range to be 18-34 because these are the highest readers of Kerrang! magazine therefore they will read mine. My magazine will also be aimed at one specific genre with a more structured approach than Kerrang! therefore i will attract a wide audience.

This chart shows the amount of alternative rock listeners and rock magazine readers that are in a profession, because the majority of people are in fact students they may not have much money to buy an expensive magazine, therefore I will make my magazine affordable for the whole of my target audience and i will have a large audience rather than the small amount of people that have jobs and are able to buy luxuries such as magazines.

The Different Representations of Men and Women in the Rock Industry

While researching into alternative rock magazines I looked at the different representations of women and men in the rock industry. I noticed that magazines such as Kerrang! usually have all men bands on the front or one woman on the front with men behind her such as Hayley Williams as she very well known in the rock industry. This is because more women rock listeners are 'hardcore' fans and buy magazines with their favourite band members on the front than men rock listeners. I Google searched 'Kerrang!' and all the front covers that came up have males on the front. Therefore my magazine will feature a woman on the front and my double page spread will be about an all woman band.

Women are also represented as 'Masculine' and wear jeans with t-shirts on stage and even at award shows. Hayley Williams and Jenna Mcdougall.

                           

                

Both women are wearing jeans and t-shirts therefore the women in my magazine are going to wear clothing that is considered feminine, although woman wearing masculine clothing makes the genders seem more 'equal' my magazine will prove that women can be successful in the rock industry even if they are wearing dresses and skirts. However this does not mean they will be wearing really short and revealing clothing items, my magazine will not sexaulise women in order to try and get men to buy the magazine. My magazine is aimed at both men and women of an older age, so they don't feel out of place or silly when reading my magazine because Kerrang! is aimed at young teenagers and therefore can be informal at all times.

Magazine Ideas

POSSIBLE NAMES - Unplugged, Pause, Replay, Notes and Amped

PUBLISHED -
My magazine will be published monthly this is because there will be more content inside my magazines such as all albums released that month, interviews and concert reviews. I could also include a CD on the front cover which could attract more readers. My magazine will be more put together and well thought out than Kerrang! which is a weekly magazine, it can be difficult to find good content and images each week which can make the magazine seem rushed.

GENRE -
The genre of my magazine will be alternative rock this allows me to have a specific audience unlike Kerrang! that use a wide range of different sub-genres such as pop punk, metalcore and punk rock. Using these different genres doesnt allow Kerrang! to have a specific audience which is bad because some people like to stick to one genre, if someone likes pop punk but Kerrang! has a metalcore band on their front cover for one week then the people that only like pop punk wont buy that magazine therefore Kerrang! wont have a steady sales rate and could make alot of money one week and not alot the next. I also chose this genre because because i am most familiar with it, i enjoy listening to this genre of music and therefore i could create this magazine to the best of my ability.

HOUSE STYLE -
My house style will have dark colours in the background such as black and grey but will have bright colours for the masthead and text such as red. This is because unlike Kerrang! my magazine issues will have the same theme but each issue will be different this will make my magazine more professional looking. Kerrang! has a messy front cover, theres alot of text and images which can be difficult for someone to attempt to read which is why my front cover isnt going to as text and image heavy as Kerrang!

STAR IMAGE/REPRESENTATION-
On the front cover of rock magazines such as Rocksound and Kerrang! there are usually bands that include only men or fronted by one woman and the rest of the band are male therefore for my magazine I am going to have an all woman band on my front cover. They will be wearing dark colours such as black skinny jeans and their make up will be heavy especially their eye makeup which will include dark eyeshadow and black eyeliner. This is what makes my magazine different to other rock magazines, Kerrang! uses the same bands over and over such as Paramore, My Chemical Romance and 30 Seconds to Mars because they have large fan bases which will attract them to buy the magazine however my magazine will feature new bands and wont use the same bands lots of times which makes magazines like Kerrang! boring and repetitive. My magazine will reach a larger audience because there will be a a wide range of bands that will be used on my front cover each week.

MODE OF ADDRESS-
I want to target my audience to be adults, many rock magazines such as Q and Rocksound and mainly targeted at adults in a very serious and formal way but many punk/alternative music magazines are informal and targeted at teenagers therefore i want to create a alternative rock magazine that is formal but targetted at young adults so they dont feel childish when listening to alternative music or reading a rock magazine because Kerrang! can be childsih

PRICE-
The price of my magazine will be £2.50 this is because it will be a monthly magazine, unlike Kerrang! which will allow me to have a better quality magazine. I believe this is a fair price to pay as my magazine only comes out once a month, however special editions may cost extra because of the extra printing.

PAPER-
I will have high quality glossy paper which will make it look good as well as having good content, unlike Kerrang! which have thin, easy to rip paper. The presentation of a magazine is just as important as the content inside, if it doest look good then the potential reader may not buy the magazine because it inst aesthetically pleasing.

PUBLISHNG HOUSE- Bauer Media Group will be my publisher because they publish Kerrang therefore they are familiar with publishing rock magazines and know how to advertise a rock magazine.

Magazine Ideas Brainstorm

My Genre

For my music magazine I have chosen Alternative Rock as my genre, this is because magazines such as Kerrang! target all different sub genre types such as heavy metal, hard rock, pop rock and alternative rock therefore I have chosen Alternative Rock specifically to target one specific audience that will enjoy the magazine without having to read about other genres they don't like. Rock music has a large influence on many people with the music, hair styles and fashion sense which is very different to any other styles that are popular. Rock music is so popular that there are specific radio stations for this genre of music such as Kerrang Radio, Absolute Radio and Plant Rock. Alternative rock emerged from the independent music (produced from major commercial record labels) in the 1980's but became widely popular from the 1990's onwards. The "alternative" definition refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream rock music, expressed primarily in a distorted guitar sound, subversive and transgressive lyrics and generally a defiant attitude. Alternative music is usually created from bands with 3 people or more and generally have all men bands with the exception of Paramore, who have a woman as the singer.

Star Image

Star image is the change of an normal artist into a record companies manufactured product. The artists are shaped into what the record company thinks their audience wants and to become more appealing and for advertising purposes. The artists are given a specific style or something they are most recognised for, this means the artist may have to change their clothes, hair and even their style in music to 'fit in' with society and sell their records. However in media the artist can also be recognised for their band logo or signature look.
These are some star images of the alternative rock industry:

Paramore are a alternative rock band from Franklin, Tennessee, formed in 2004. There are many reasons why people easily recognise Paramore, however the main one is because its fronted by a woman, Hayley Williams. Hayley is considered a fashion icon in the rock world and is widely know for her fiery red hair which changes from time to time. Another would be their logo, although it has changed twice many people still recognise this logo as it is on the front of their self titled album, 'Paramore'. Paramore are all about self love and expressing who you are, as many rock lovers are considered 'different' Paramore promote that and encourage people to not be afraid. They seem to have an 'i dont care' attitude which makes them seem 'cool' and 'edgy'. However Paramore have changed alot since 2004, they used to be younger, rebellious and more 'rock star image' but since then have grown up and become wiser with their audience.

My Chemical Romance was an Alternative rock band from New Jersey, formed in 2001. They are widely known for their famous logo which hasn't been changed throughout the 12 years of being a band, although they had some other logos and symbols none were as famous as the logo above. However although the logos stayed the same their sound and messages of their albums did not, the band created music from their experiences as people, Gerard Way (front man) created the band because of the 9/11 attacks, he was scared of what the world was coming to and wanted to voice his opinions which happens to be the opinions of many others as well which created the success of the band. Many rock lovers and considered to be 'scared' 'angry' 'confused' 'alone' 'hurting' which were some of the messages in the bands albums which appealed to so many teenagers. With each album the band would tell a story, their videos would link to the album and they would create costumes which changed their star image throughout each album. However Gerard Way is also known for the changes in hair colour similar to Hayley Williams from Paramore as exciting unnatural hair colours such as red, blue and green are associated with rebellious teens that listen to rock music.

Contents Page Conventions

What is a contents page?

The contents page is usually found on page 3 of the magazine and its purpose is to inform readers of what type of articles are inside the magazine. It includes page numbers, title of articles and different pictures. The contents page allows the reader to navigate around the magazine without any trouble and find specific articles they want to read. The contents page is one of the most important key features of the magazine because it gives the magazine a 'purpose', it also allows the reader to understand what genre the magazine is.

Layout of the magazine

The contents page has similar conventions to the front cover such as having the masthead at the top of the page and images must be included Usually the layout would have 2 to 3 columns and go either side of the main image, this makes the articles easier to read therefore the reader can find different articles quickly. Just like the front cover the contents page has a main image, this image relates to the featured article as it is the main focus of that magazine issue, however the contents page does include other smaller images as the contents page should be have an equal amount of images and text, this makes the contents page more interesting and allows the reader to visually work out what else will be inside the magazine. The article titles and page numbers are found next to each other which helps the reader to quickly find different articles inside the magazine to read.

NME magazine's contents page is a perfect example of this, it follows the conventions of having a main image with 3 different columns around it, its easy to read and doesn't look too busy however they could improve it by including more pictures as there is more text than pictures.

Masthead & Subheadings

The masthead of the contents page usually is at the top of the page and in a sans serif font so it is big, bold and easy to read by the reader. It will usually read 'Contents' or may have the front cover masthead to show consistency and fluency. Every contents page needs subheadings so that the readers are able to easily and quickly navigate around the magazine, they will be able to find specific articles they want to read. Subheadings will be 'Reviews' 'Regulars' ETC. and will have article pages and titles underneath them.

COLOUR

The colour scheme of a contents page will either be completely the same or similar to the front cover and the rest of the magazine this is to make it consistent throughout which makes it look professional. This also allows the readers to understand the genre and theme of the magazine, for example a brightly coloured magazine using colours such as pink, blue and purple will usually a pop magazine. Also it allows the readers to understand if the magazine is a special issue suchs as Halloween or Christmas editions.

Front Cover Conventions

 The front cover of a magazine is the most important part of a magazine because this is the first thing the reader will look at. At first glance the reader needs to see something that is eye catching to keep them interested for when they look carefully at the sell lines to get an idea of what is included in the magazine. Magazines must have a similar style and theme throughout each issue to become recognisable but must also differ to keep the reader coming back and buying each issue, for example the logo will be the same on every issue but the colour scheme may vary due to the artist being featured or it may be a special issue. While creating a front cover you must keep the target audience in mind as well as the genre of the magazine in order to create the most professional magazine

The masthead usually the most eye catching convention as it is generally the first thing we look at. The masthead usually has the biggest font on the magazine front cover so it is the first thing that the reader sees and the colour of it is usually different to the cover lines/ sell lines so that it stands out from everything. The masthead also needs to stand out from all the other competitors on the shelves otherwise the potential buyer will look at the more attractive magazines on offer. Sometimes well known magazines like 'Rolling Stone' or 'Kerrang!' will have part of the masthead covered with the head of whoever is on the front of the magazine this is because the magazine is so well known that the whole masthead doesn't need to be seen because people should already know what magazine it is, especially if the potential buyer is a regular reader. This is an example of Kerrang! covering part of their masthead with the band 30 Seconds to Mars.

The 'Z' formation rule is also an important because in a 'Z' formation the reader will see the logo (if there is one) in the top left hand corner and then read the masthead followed by the most important cover lines, sell lines and images which leads the reader to end up at the bar code in the bottom right hand corner allowing the reader to decide if they will buy the magazine or not. When creating a magazine the 'Z' formation rule is extremely important because it could determine whether the reader will buy the magazine or not, therefore whoever is designing the front cover of the magazine needs to put the most eye catching images and intriguing cover/sell lines to tempt the potential buyer to buy the magazine.

Q magazine is a good example of using the Z formation rule Starting at 'Q' then following onto '100 most shocking moments in music' which is intriguing then there are a few cover lines, then moving down to more cover lines which leads us to end up at the bar code where we then decide if we want to buy the magazine or not.

The Main image is the most important image on the page. Most magazine companies use their main image to show what that issue of the magazine is about, in the music magazine industry there will be an artist or band on the front cover usually from the waist up. The artist or band on the front cover will usually be the most popular artist from that week/month/year so it attracts more customers. The main image should be centred so it creates enough room around the outside for the sell lines and cover lines and the artist will be looking straight into the camera so it creates eye contact with the potential reader. If the potential reader is interested by what images are being shown then they will carry on to read the captions and if the captions interest the reader further then they will carry on to look at the article names and pages so they can read what its about.

The colour scheme, one of the first thing a reader will notice is the colours on the magazine and decide how attractive the magazine is, the more attractive the magazine is the more interested the reader will be. Having a colour scheme makes the overall magazine look more professional which will attract more customers.The colour scheme can also affect the readers mood for example bright colours like yellow can make the reader feel happy and cheerful while dark colours like black can make the reader feel depressed and upset. However in the music magazine industry the colour schemes are used to show what genre the magazine is and the audience they are trying to attract.

for example The Fly use dull colours in their background such as white, grey and black because it is an indie music they is trying to attract indie music lovers. Dull colours such as black are considered 'cool' by indie people as many of them only wear plain, dark and dull colours, their music taste ties in with their fashion style therefore indie magazines would want to use these colours. Similar to the Kaiser Chiefs on the front cover that are wearing plain colours like black, grey and brown.

Typography is the font and text on the page, the text needs to be eye catching and attractive in order to attract someone to the magazine. Most of the font should be the exact same, apart from the sell lines which can be different to attract the reader, this is because if there are too many different fonts on the page then the magazine will look messy and unattractive. The arrangement of the text includes font, font size, line length, leading and kerning this is important because the wrong arrangement could result in the magazine looking unprofessional.

A front cover and a contents page are very closely related, the front cover gets the reader interested about what else will be in the magazine therefore the contents page goes into more detail about what is on each page which interests the reader further. Both pages have images which makes the magazine more exciting and aesthetically pleasing rather than just a block of text.

Colour

The Colour Wheel

The Colour wheel was invented in 1706 by Sir Isaac Newton, he arranged red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet into a arrangement on a rotating disk. One use of the colour wheel by designers is being able to see which colours are well suited and which aren't. The colour wheel is separated into 3 different sections, Primary, Secondary and Tertiary colours. By mixing the Primary Colours together you are able to create the Secondary Colours and when mixing the Primary Colours and Secondary Colours together you create the Tertiary Colours.

When creating a magazine the colours are just as important as any other part of the magazine because it can have an impact on the way people think and feel about the magazine. Colours can cause reactions such as irritating or soothing your eyes, people see colours before they absorb anything else. Colour Harmonies are taken into consideration when creating a magazine, colours that are opposite sides of each other are called 'complimentary colours' for example red and green, they go together to help things stand out and look vibrant however should not be used for text as it will become difficult to read.

White -White connotes light, goodness, innocence and purity. However in advertising, white connotes coolness and cleanliness. 

Black - Black is associated with power, elegance, formality, death, evil, and mystery. However black also is associated with negativity and sadness which is used in many rock magazines because rock music is also associated with negativity and sadness.

Purple - Purple is associated with royalty. It connotes power, nobility, luxury, and ambition. However dark purple connotes gloomy dark feelings which could be used in a rock magazine because it suits black and they both cause the same feelings.

Blue - It connotes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven. However the colour blue is also thought to cause positive impacts on the body such as calmness which wouldn't be used for a rock magazine because rock music is loud, exciting and fast.

Green - Green connotes growth, harmony, freshness, and fertility. Green is also used for hospitals, medicine and peace which creates a sense of safety.

Yellow - Connotes joy, happiness, intellect, and energy.

Orange - Orange connotes enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation. It is also a very tropical colour.

Red - Red connotes energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination. However it also connotes passion, desire, and love.

Typography

What is Typography?

Typography is the way text is presented on a page it is used to create readable and visually satisfying text without the reader realising. This is important when creating a magazine front cover because the more aesthetically pleasing the text and the rest of the magazine is the reader will more likely buy it. For example the choice of font, colour and size can affect whether the reader finds the front cover aesthetically pleasing. Typography can be used to convey feelings, also if the font of the title doesn't match the font of the text and what it's about it can affect how the piece of text is understood, for example if a really important, serious text has a girly and fun font for the title the reader could become confused because the title will mislead them into thinking it would be an informal text but once they read the serious text they could become confused and uninterested.

Sans-serif fonts are simple fonts without any decoration or features at the end of each letter. These fonts are usually used for headlines rather than the main text because they are easier to see from far away however sans-serif font can also be best for smaller fonts because it keeps the general shape and its easier to read.

Serif fonts are more decorative fonts, Times New Roman is a commonly used serif font. Arial is a commonly used sans-serif font. Serif fonts are usually used for printed work. Serif fonts are easier to read in printed work than sans-serif fonts.

What is a music magazine?

A music magazine is a magazine that is completely dedicated to music and the music culture. Music magazines usually include photo shoots, concert reviews, and famous artist interviews they also sometimes include a cover mount which is a recorded CD on the front cover for the reader to enjoy. There are many different genres of music and typically one magazine will stick to one genre, for example, rock, metal, pop, classical or R&B.

Music magazines stick to one genre so they can target one specific audience, some people will only listen to one genre and only stick to that genre, and therefore if a reader only listened to metal they wouldn’t want to buy a magazine targeted at pop, classical and metal. Therefore the genre of a music magazine will determine the type of audience it will attract because everyone has different personal taste and style. Examples of two different genres of music magazines are Kerrang! And Billboard.

Genres -

Rock

Rock magazines generally use lots of dark colours such as blacks but also use grey and white this is because it connotes the serious and deep lyrics of many rocks songs. However rock music is also considered 'emo' or 'punk' and these stereotypes are associated with dark colours and sadness. For example Kerrang! is a rock magazine and has used black as a background and white for the masthead however the band name 'Bring me the horizon' is in yellow to attract the reader.









Pop 

Pop magazines usually are bright coloured and exciting which

pop music is like, its loud, happy and fun to listen to so pop magazines have followed that same approach in their magazines. Pop magazines usually use the artists most popular in the charts which appeals to the people that want to keep up with the latest celebrities music and gossip. This type of magazine is aimed at a wide audience because it features whoever is popular at the time which could attract a large range of people.

Indie

Indie magazines are considered to be cool and edgy unlike

any other magazine you have seen before because they are 'different'. Indie magazines usually have a chilled colour scheme such as black and white background, the artist wearing dark colours and the typography is red, yellow or white. NME have followed this typical indie magazine style therefore we know it is indie. Indie magazines attract people that enjoy finding new music or are interested on the artist on the front cover.

Rap/Hiphop

Rap magazines usually have a set colour scheme of red,

black, white and yellow however this can vary throughout different issues. There are usually only one main image on a rap magazine this is to focus on the one artist on the front cover, they are usually posed in a scary and intimidating way because rap music is usually associated with 'gangsters' which people are usually scared of. They typically have tattoos, listen to rap music and look scary which rap magazines try to recreate on their front covers to appeal to their audience.



Introduction

Hi, I'm Sophie Day and I am an AS Media student. I have previously created a blog to track my progress while creating a school magazine which you can visit here: school magazine However, now I have created another blog to post all of my coursework which is researching and creating a music magazine. While creating my school magazine I had to use programmes such as Photoshop and InDesign which has allowed me to become familiar with the programmes and the different tools I had to use to create a front cover and contents page for my school magazine. I now feel that I am confident in using these programmes which will allow me to improve further on my skills so I can create a professional looking music magazine.

The first few posts on my blog will be researching music magazines to understand fully the different conventions used different genres and the importance of typography in more depth. This will help me to create a professional and realistic music magazine. After I have finished my research I will have an idea of what genre of magazine I will be using and the important conventions I need to follow.